“Val-ley. A low area of land between hills or mountains”. Yeah, right

Do hills with elevation grades between 11 and 15% fit the definition of a valley? That’s what I was asking myself all morning. We ascended this morning to Dante’s View in Death Valley. Here was the start:

We climbed 3,260 feet over 13 miles to a plateau right before the summit. My wife is now referred to as “Motor Mary” by several non-Westport members of our group and was the first to the plateau. I was, shall we say, not second. It was a grueling climb with a gentle 5% grade becoming 7-8% after 6 miles and then a punishing 11-12% for the last two miles.

A few words about climbing. Really good cyclists vie to be the fastest up a climb, known as “KOM/QOM” (king or queen of the mountain). KOM will never be associated with my name, but I do enjoy the challenge of a good climb. It is a real sense of accomplishment and there is a carryover effect to other aspects of life knowing that you accomplished something difficult.

Cyclists know that all uphills are not created equal. Although there are no mountains in Connecticut, there are a lot of short and steep hills. I can power through steep grades when the hill is relatively short and I know that the top is near. Conversely, mountain climbs can be long, but often with a less steep grade that is tough, but tolerable.

The problem arises on days like today when the hills are long and steep. A lot of stuff goes through my mind on these really difficult climbs, which usually starts with creative excuses and ends in pure negativity. Should I stop often on the pretext of taking pictures, when I really need breaks? Will anyone really notice if I get in the van for a few miles?

And then it becomes a mental battle and that little voice inside my head starts turning negative. From “come on, you can do it”, to “why I am doing this on a vacation” to “for goodness sake, there are four people on Medicare ahead of you” to “you really suck”. And while this didn’t happen today, sometimes in the words of famed cycling announcer Phil Liggett “he has cracked” or “the lights have gone out”.

The last quarter mile of today’s climb was at a 15% grade on a narrow road with a lot of cars and most of us chose not to do it. Kudos to our friend LIz who did not even stop for a rest at the plateau before powering her way to the top and earning QOM for today:

After lunch, we had another spectacular ride from Artist’s Palette

Back to Furnace Creek that included yet another gut-punching 11% grade climb. The scenery was spectacular when I was able to look at it on the downhill:

And while I was far from being KOM today, I was able to work on my cycling selfie skills:

This is clearly a work in progress. Kevin, though, was apparently inspired by helping refine my cycling selfie skills as he too made it up the 15% grade to the top of Dante’s View. KOM for sure!