Day 10 - 628 Miles To Date - Asheville, NC

Today was set to be another one of our hard days, but I've come to realize I enjoy the hard days. As I've become stronger and stronger at climbs over the past ten days, I actually look forward to seeing a warning for six miles of switchbacks. It's also nice team bonding because even though we might all not climb the mountains at the same pace, we all accomplish the same thing. Yesterday we had 84 miles of rolling hills from Kingsport, TN to Asheville, NC (no one is really sure why we went down to North Carolina and then back to Tennessee.) There were two climbs. The first, steep switchbacks for about a mile and a half, the second was about four to five miles of long gradual switchbacks. The great thing about the second climb was that the state line was at the top, state lines are awesome and show you that yes, you actually are getting somewhere. It was a long, hot day for everyone and there were a few bike and injury problems along the way, but I can already see our team getting stronger both mentally and physically. After the last climb, as I zoned out and finished the final rolling hills, I realized each day of riding is a parallel to life - as cliche as it may seem. There are going to be mountains, as there are going to be obstacles all throughout life, but if you do not climb that mountain then you will not get to your destination. Yes, yesterday was tough and we had a final ascent measurement of about 6,000 feet, but it was on our way to Asheville and the only way to get there was to climb. If you do not face obstacles in life, you won't reach your goals. People struggle every day, cancer patients deal with different mountain climbs every day of their treatment, but the only way to reach their destination is to reach the top of the mountain. Day 9 to Kingsport was pretty uneventful, I was exhausted from the century so just took it easy for a cool 64 miles. I also rode today for my great grandmother Katie Cario who passed away of stomach cancer, I try to pick the tougher days to ride for someone because when I am suffering I can remember why I am riding.