The Hill

Today I conquered The Hill. The BIG hill. Sydenham hill.

If you're not familiar with this area then you have no idea what I'm talking about. Sydenham hill is a huge hill in Dundas that was built in the 70's that climbs the north side of the escarpment. It is a Dundas landmark. And it's huge. The Canadian cycling team practices on this hill. In cycling circles, there are people who will ask you if you have climbed "The Hill" yet. Up until now, the only route I had taken was down the hill ... which is a rush! (Imagine going 60km/hr on those incredibly skinny tires - crazy, but exhilarating!) My cycling group kept telling me that I could do the hill, but I was terrified and had convinced myself that they were exaggerating my cycling skills.

But today, my friend M talked me into it. Or more like, he wore me out until I said yes. You see, ever since my big amazing bike riding fundraiser in June, I have been slacking off. Then there was a couple vacations thrown in (like this past weekend I was in Wisconsin drinking American beer ... far too much American beer). So I've been putting on weight and haven't been nearly as active as I should be. Anyhow, I finally told M that I would do it. It was a beautiful day ... why not?

So we started up the hill and after about 20 seconds I was sucking wind. And my hips were hurting (bad sign-out of shape). But instead of panicking, I put my head down and took a very slow but steady pace up the hill. It was easy to distract myself from the pain - the view was amazing, the air was clear (for a change), and I had a song in my head. And before I knew it - I had reached the top where M was waiting with a big cheer for me.

Cycling is such a mental game. And I do the worst thing possible with hills - I am scared of them. But today I conquered The Hill and I feel great!