Article October 20, 2003 Issue

The joy of cycling

By John DeRussy

I'VE ALWAYS LOVED cycling, and I'm always open to new challenges relating to the sport—whether it's in amateur races or in longdistance touring events. And here's what has been so special: These challenges have always helped give me a better understanding of my relationship to God.

The toughest challenge I've faced to date was in a unique event, the annual Mt. Washington Bicycle Hill Climb Race in New Hampshire. The organizers bill it as the toughest hill climb in the United States, and possibly the world.

The seven-and-a-half-mile trek (a third of which is ridden on hard-packed dirt and gravel) climbs at an average grade of 12 percent, with extended stretches of 18 percent, and a finishing stretch of 22 percent. Mt. Washington is notorious for having some of the world's worst weather, and can claim the highest recorded wind speed on earth—231 miles per hour. Also, competitors can set out in a temperature of 80 degrees F. or more and find that it's no more than 38 degrees at the summit.