Comments on: Why Do You Climb?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 20:08:26 +0000

Ha Ha Ha! You cyclists are completely twisted and waaaay too competitive..I caught up with a dawdler just last week who was lagging around on the road. I was just riding tempo and when I pulled around to pass this dolt he suddenly upped the pace and refused to be passed. Of course I was annoyed and so dropped a bit of a hammer on him . Miles later, here he comes like a freight train,complete with huffing and puffing ! Luckily I spotted him and came back to him ever so. Just as he was about to snap me back, well, of course, you know I did it again…scooted away like the proverbial hare. Some folks never learn. Couldn’t have helped matters that he was most definitely a clydie type and on top of it all, I am a mere woman! ;)
Like I said, you cyclists are waaay too competitive-glad I’m not that way!

By: drapisking

drapisking — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 23:53:32 +0000

I climb because there are only two ways to pay for the joy of downhills, with cash or with lactic acid. working at a bike shop leaves me rather short of cash, so I pay for my descents with pain on the way up.

By: Anne

Anne — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 19:29:06 +0000

All I climb is stairs. And that’s good enough for me. WIN SUSAN

By: Rod Newbound, RN

Rod Newbound, RN — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 17:56:33 +0000

Your writing skill left me feeling as breathless as the guy you passed. Excellent and compelling post.

And I agree…

Our greatest challenges and our greatest victories are the ones we have with ourselves, but a little competition makes them easier to achieve (and adds another dimension of pleasure).

Thanks,
Rod

By: Joseph Camp

Joseph Camp — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 12:31:33 +0000

Yeah. Hell yeah.

By: joliver3

joliver3 — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 02:35:51 +0000

Al M., your description is spot-on and eloquent as usual. You’ve nicely summarized all the reasons why….. I HATE descending! No one wants to be behind me on the trails, because they’ll be forced to go downhill at my pace, and then I’ll leave them behind on the next climb (or at least what passes for climbs around here). Good strategy for a race maybe, but not so good for a ride with the guys.

I’ve never climbed a real mountain, but I sure enjoy going up the hills that I ride regularly — faster than all the younger guys that I ride with.

WIN Susan!

By: Maria

Maria — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 23:06:13 +0000

My cycling bud and I rode hills yesterday, and we usually try to encourage eachother along the way when we ride them. (We’re girls afterall, and don’t play silly challenging games.) But last night I had to stop and catch my breath. As I stopped and watched her ascend, she glanced back and I could’ve sworn I saw a hint of smile on her face. But like Flyin’ Ute, I’m a big’n and caught her on the descent. I redeemed myself on the last hill home. Superpowers indeed!

WIN SUSAN!

By: mtnbkrideeho

mtnbkrideeho — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 22:27:45 +0000

I climb because all the trails around my house go up. I also enjoy reeling riders in, I especially enjoy the look of misery on thier face when they look over and see a guy old enough to be their dad with a silly grin on his face asking them if they are having a good day…

By: Jake

Jake — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:34:38 +0000

“Knowing that he wouldnâ€™t get a look at my tell-tale quads until it was too late.”

Do you really think he was looking at your legs (Freudians would have some fun with that one)? And does having stumpy quads (you said you are short – Elmer Fuddish) guarantee that he didn’t stand a chance? Or was that just your chance to bring up your quads again?

This one, then, has super tell-tale quads:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://greasybeardedhands.com/fat_legs1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://greasybeardedhands.com/&h=459&w=410&sz=41&tbnid=rxsZEqc_4r8J::&tbnh=128&tbnw=114&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dfat%2Blegs%2Bphotos&hl=en&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=3&ct=image&cd=1

Good story, though.

By: Chad

Chad — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:25:53 +0000

Right now I am not able to ride much, because Im in a foreign country, but I am running everyday. There is a wadi system right behind my house. I usually love to climb hills anyway, either on foot or on my bike, but right now I am running up this one ridge almost every time I go out because I am guaranteed to see at least 1 gazelle per run, have a beautiful sunset view back into the wadi, and maybe see some foxes, jackals, mongooses, or more gazelle. Its impossible to resist.