27. Day 8… We did it Eurostyle

So we woke this morning with further medical challenges and to be honest there was a long debate as to whether or not collectively we could and should tackle this ride. We nearly got in the bus all the way to the start of the heavens gate climb but insanity prevailed and for some ridiculous reason we decided to ride our saddle sores all the way to end. Tracy woke with a head cold which meant breathing was optional and made the start a bit more interesting.

The tour guide had said that from the 13km mark to lunch (which was at the base of the Heavens Gate 20km climb) was flat and downhill I.e. An easy ride which made sense given the heart stopping climb we were facing after lunch. Imagine our surprise when we found ourselves climbing a 9km hill being reduced to granny gear very early on. When we pulled in to the lunch stop (35km’s in) Carryn was holding back tears from the pain of being on the saddle made a lot worse on the inclines which doesn’t bode well for the impending climb. A little teary she walked in and asked her fellow riders for drugs. Several people pulled out blister packs it was like a western quick draw but one was the clear winner – a little pink pill with 400mg of pain relieving magic. Carryn said give me two! Her fellow adventurers put their hands out too and we emptied the blister pack.  Now very nervous about the climb to heavens gate everyone literally swallowed a roll for sustenance and then got back on their bikes. We asked Tom to please stay with us on the ride up (knowing we would lead from the back and would need a lot of motivation and distraction if we were to survive). It was a huge ask even then and now with hindsight an even greater ask. Given the sore bums Tom said ‘girls, really you need to try Eurostyle (this is his bum anti chaff cream which he says is fantastic). Having tried every other brand to date and given the heightened level of pain frankly we were prepared to try anything. So Carryn quickly whipped out her hands and Tom squeezed a blob of Eurostyle and Carryn said she would just pop behind the truck and apply the necessary.  Tracy decided to hop onboard and did the same and then we were ready to hit the hill (or for it to hit us). As we mounted the bikes Carryn said ‘ooooh it is getting cool (from the Eurostyle). Then Tracy said hey is yours starting to tingle and it was! We turned to Tom and asked if this Eurostyle was perhaps men only??? It must be said that Tom was right – we emptied a tube of Eurostyle over the course of the next 19km and without it there is no doubt that Carryn would have been hospitalized. Carryn was saying how it was helping and Tom said ‘yeah, I think I am going to use it everyday when I get back’. All personal boundaries have now well and truly been crushed with boys and girls standing back to back, on the road side, traffic and all, applying the various lotions liberally (wet wipes optional). There are so many levels of wrong in the hygiene stakes but you gotta do what you gotta do.

We won’t bore you with the blow by blow pain staking 19 km climb up to heavens gate – suffice it to say that it was the hardest thing that we (adventurers and the rest of the team) have ever done. It took the unlikely adventurers 5 hours to climb this beast and to ascend to the 1948m that took us to Heavens Gate. At about the 7km mark we stopped for a break (some of us gasping for air). Tom was taking photos mesmerised by the beauty and commenting on just how high up we were. Carryn said ‘wow, it is hard to believe we cycled all the way up here’. Tom hadn’t thought about it that way and with a renewed enthusiasm took more photos saying ‘I remember cycling past that’. It really helped to see just how far we had come because at that stage another 12km of gruelling climb seemed unachievable. We were ready to get back on the bikes – Kathy turned around and saw Carryn, Tracy and Tom’s bikes in a cluster behind her and with alarm she said ‘where is my bike, I’ve lost it’. The mystery was solved very quickly she had simply parked it further up the road (by about 4 metres just to give you an indication of the levels of fatigue and confusion at this stage). We all laughed about how we could call the tour leader to say he needed to come fetch us cos we had lost our bikes. Peering over the magnificent cliff face we were standing on which went down for miles and miles in to a lush green forest base we must admit that we did discuss how satisfying it would be to hurl our bikes over the railing but felt our story of ‘oooops sorry not sure how that happened’ was unlikely to fly. Carryn asked how much the bikes cost tempted… thinking it may just be worth it. But our story was not yet finished (our butts and our legs however were) so we got back on the bikes and again started peddling. The breaks we took were short but many as we crawled up this beast of a hill – at several stages we could have done with extra gears (granny gear was not cutting it). At one point a truck over took us and went around around the switch back. In horror we watched as it climbed the hill over the valley – dropping gears and struggling to make the climb. How were we going to get up there??? While seeing where we had come from was helpful, seeing where we had to go was heart breaking and on several occasions we had to say to ourselves just one pedal at a time because when you looked at the mountain in front of us there was no doubt that we would not have the stamina and strength to make it. Tom was a god send, while he too would say this is was the biggest challenge, in the moment he was focussed on the here and now and said to just stay focussed on the current hill always helping to point out the silver lining. At some stages he was struggling to find silver linings and at one point, so desperate to find us a silver lining he said ‘well ladies, at least you haven’t lost control of your bowels’. While we were horrified at the thought we could not argue that that really would be worse. Someone unhelpfully pointed out that there was still time!

As we continued to ascend the beauty really only increased. We found ourselves comparing the scenery to The Lord of the Rings movie – this quickly turned to everyone allocating Lord of the Rings characters  to our cycling tour – oh the things to keep us distracted and moving forward. It is fair to say though that nearing the top the beauty could not be compared to anything – really breath taking. It was such a contradiction as we were really struggling to breath and yet mesmerised by our surroundings. There was so little activity around us and it really at most stages felt like we were the only people in the area – such a privilege.

5 km from the top saw a dark moment for Carryn – all the pain killers and even the Eurostyle was not cutting it (excuse the pun). The pain was extreme and the climb left  more extreme still. We could look up and see the top but it felt so so far away and the truck was so close.   But having fought the last 14km there was little option but to keep pushing and that is what we did. At about three km to go a Belgian guy came down on his moped with a message from our team ‘your team mates are waiting for you – keep going’. A much needed boost and very sweet of him. We knew that everyone else was there and assumed that they had been there for quite a while. It is such an incredibly tight group of people we knew with confidence that they were all routing of us – a great feeling.

At about 1.5km to go Tom went ahead to take pictures before the cloud cover came over and to catch the three Unlikely Adventurers as we crossed that all important Heavens Gate line. We were exhausted, shattered and sore as we rounded the corner expecting to see THE gate (It must be said there is not frikken gate) we were heart broken to see yet another blind corner. But one more corner taken and we could see our team mates standing waiting for us – a welcomed sight. And as they started to cheer those that were not standing on the corner at the time came running down to welcome us over the line. There are no words to express how much that meant and how special this team is to us as a group – amazing people. As we crossed the line and got off our bikes we were surrounded by the team with hugs and words of congratulations all round. Everyone hugged and the bikes whipped away from us (oh what a relief) the three of us came together in a group hug with tears flowing. Kathy said ‘are we ever going to do this again?’ And in unison all three said NO! Next minute Mr Chong joined in the huddle so incredibly pleased for us. Then the team photos ensued (you cannot believe how many cameras we have between us).

A huge thank you must go out to Tom – his patience and his story telling over that 5 hours was unlimited and much needed. We are so grateful and are confident that with out him we would not have been able to do what we did. Seems that Tom was right on the very first day – ‘god sent someone to make us do good’. When Carryn took a quite moment to thank Tom he said ‘no worries, it was an honour to ride with you girls’.

There was a lot of emotion on the top of that particular mountain and we are so proud of what we achieved not only today in climbing 1948m but in the last eight days. We have officially ascended 8985m smashing Kilimanjaro (at approx. 5800m) and exceeding the height of Everest which is 8848m from sea level. We have exceeded our wildest imagination of what was achievable. What started out as a good cause has become so much more. While we are now very tired and sore we are very proud of what we have achieved together as the three Unlikely Adventurers as well as our own personal achievements. We have well and truly been challenged physically, mentally and emotionally – which is what we set out to do! Thank you all for your support you cannot know how much it contributed to us getting here. It is now safe to say… We survived.