Last Sunday, July 27, Pete and I set out to experience new challenges: hills. We had cycled hilly landscapes in Huron County a few weeks prior, but this time we were off to conquer the Niagara Escarpment, namely Sydenham Hill rising out of Dundas, and the drumlins on Safari Road (which extends from Hwy. 8 near Sheffield to Hwy. 6 north of Hamilton).
We began our ride at the Dundas Driving Park, near the base of Sydenham Hill. Right away I needed to shift down into my lower gears and before I knew it, I was as low as I could go. I was barely up the hill and found it hot and hard going. Thinking about how much I still had to cycle up, I found myself succumbing to thinking I couldn't make it. I wimped out, and walked the majority of the way, feeling incredibly frustrated about giving in. Pete, on the other hand, rose to the challenge and was waiting for me at the top, having mastered the hill! It is now a goal of mine to conquer Sydenham Hill before I leave for the tour in just two weeks!
Reaching the summit of Sydenham Hill was just the beginning of our ride that day. We ended up completing a 75 km ride in all. Later in the journey we had to climb the drumlins of Safari Rd. From a distance, they were frightening! The grades looked steep and they looked higher than the hills of Huron County. Nevertheless, with momentum from descending the preceding hills, I was able to make it up all of them without walking! What a great sense of accomplishment! At the top of the final hill, I stopped for a brief rest... my heart was pounding!! The scenery was breathtaking, though! I know these hills will be nothing compared to what we have yet to experience in New York State and Pennsylvania on our tour, but they were a good challenge, nonetheless.
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