The Climb Goes On [From BA 43-300]

"That familiar symphony of saddle and shoe leather straining and squeaking."

from BA 43-300

Here’s what you really need to know: if the climb is long enough that the talk stops, there in the heat and quiet rises the familiar symphony of clicking cleats, heavy breathing, straps and shoe leather straining and squeaking, the inevitable tcha-tcha-tcha-tcha-ta-tchunk of somebody going for the low gear previously thought unneeded.

The climb goes on and the sloshing swish of drivetrains and tires becomes audible. Hear it?

Riders begin to swear softly, and you are one of them.

Next up, the murmurs and the spit, the discovery that you’ll make the top eventually as long as you just keep pedaling.