Day 133 - The Hill

September 22 - 99km (Kelowna)

I biked through the Okanagan Valley on my way to stay with a friend in Kelowna; the sights were fantastic, the weather was nice and the biking was great. But none of that is important. Today’s story is about The Hill. This was not just any hill - it was a very special hill (The Hill). But before I talk about The Hill, I need to give you some context.

I had been biking on the 97 for the last little bit and the shoulder was… questionable. As cars zoomed by, I realized I needed a safer option. I got a recommendation to take the Okanagan Rail Trail which would allow me to circumvent the heavy traffic on the 97.

However, an early section of the trail was closed off due to maintenance work. No worries - I just had to take a miniature detour. It involved some heavy climbing, but nothing I couldn’t manage. I biked through neighbourhoods until I eventually reached The Hill. It was a gravel hill that I needed to take to rejoin the trail.

At first glance, The Hill seemed like nothing to me. I scoffed at its mere existence - I had climbed mountains at this point. The Hill was pretty steep, but nothing I hadn’t dealt with before. There was just one small issue: it was a gravel hill. That wouldn’t be a problem, I thought. Right?

Immediately my bike started to slip. The bike was not able to get any traction because of the gravel, and coupled with the weight I was carrying and the steepness of the hill, I failed. A man nearby told me I needed more speed.

So I backed up a little bit and got more speed. Didn’t help. I tried again and again, until I realized that I would have to take off my bags. Ever since I had to walk the first hill on my first day in Newfoundland, I absolutely refused to walk unless I had to.

I took off all the bags and tried again. And again. And again. And again. Until I was there for over an hour. I experimented. I tried attacking at different angles. I tried different gears. I tried shifting down at different times. I tried everything conceivable.

After over an hour and (easily) 50+ attempts, I got it. It took a lot of time. It took a lot of energy. The neighbourhood probably thought I was crazy. But was it worth it?

Absolutely.