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Harder than you may think

April 11, 2017 April 2017 No Comments

By Ava Rickey
Heaving myself onto my bike I groan inwardly, dread filling my body. I am already pitying my poor legs,  predicting torture on the ride up. Nevertheless I start biking through the Featherston Rimutaka incline entrance and begin my arduous journey. To begin this, ah, wonderful ride, we (the Wills family, Amanda Draper and myself) are immediately hit with an uphill slope *Sigh*. Although the slope was very small, it wasn’t a great first impression to our ride. The start carry’s on like that, up and down, up and down.
Moving off my bike I pull it over a small mound of landslide debris and shimmy back on to the seat to have to hop off again on a bridge. Riding along the stony dirt path, we have to shelter under overhanging branches to get away from the glaring sun.

I have to say, I am pretty proud of myself, as a pretty horrible biker, that I had not fallen off yet. I may be able to finish this ride without falling off at all! Unfortunately my hopes are dashed as I jinx myself and fall off on a particularly steep and twisty part.
This ride is not going well. A bit shaken I pull myself on to my bike and (a bit tentatively now!) cross a wooden footway to reach the actual incline path, old remainders of the train track poking out of the dirt. Stopping for a drink with the others I wonder how on earth I am going to finish this, are there is three tunnels and we have not even reached the first one.
 
The road onwards is a steady uphill slope on a stony rut-filled path. The first pedal is hard, the second one harder, the third even harder, the fourth extremely hard, and the fifth unimaginably painful. And you can imagine how many more of those I have to do! On one side of me there is a boring dirt wall, and on the other side a pretty nice view, though half covered with dead bush.
The hardest thing so far is the track. It is bumpy and really rough, so my several sizes too small for me bike is not giving my behind any mercy. By the next stop my teeth were chattering so hard from the track I probably looked like a minor earthquake. Relieved from my pain momentarily, I sit down for a break with my fellow bikers for a long refreshing drink and a muesli bar.
Once we finish our food it is time to start up again. Just as I am about to hop on my bike I nearly step on a bright red mushroom, covered with white speckles. Staring closely at it I feel connected to it, like its telling me something. I drift deeper and deeper in to a daydream, thinking about that mushroom…
 
*”Oi, twit!” I yell at the creature standing before me with its tan skin, yellow weeds sprouting from an egg shaped lump with grotesque lumps and dents protruding from it. To be honest it is so disgusting I almost have to look away. ‘It’ continues to face me, rudely ignoring the fact that it had just nearly stepped on me. It should have more respect for a being of my status. For I am no weed, plant or rock (or whatever that hideous monster is). I am a mushroom*
… As I snap out of my strange inhuman mind space I realize that no I am not a mushroom, I am an 11 year old girl and I am ages behind the others! Racing to catch up I fantasize about the summit, and the glory I will have when I reach it. My daydreams are disrupted when I catch up and reach a small stream. Even with the parents help it is still a nightmare getting the bikes across the slippery rocks and gushing water. After that arduous job we are hit with a steep uphill route. Fortunately it is over and done with soon. Not far from there we reach the first tunnel. It is short, dark, wet and filled with potholes. Once we got out we reached a small waterfall coming down from the mountain. Stopping to fill up our water bottles with cool, refreshing water we decide to have a snack. Biting into a nectarine I stare off into the distance, wondering how on earth I am going to make it up this hill and reach the top, when we are only a miserable 2 fifths of the way up! But I’ll keep going. Or at least try.
 
It wasn’t long before we reached the second tunnel, this one slightly longer and less pot-holey and more twisty. It was just as dark as the one before, leaving us biking in the pitch black, running into walls and each other. From there onwards it was the same, bumpy dirt road, dead bush and aches and pains all over my body. Stopping for a break I realize that the slope isn’t quite as steep, and one of the adults say that we are not far from the top.
I am utterly relieved but that good news doesn’t stop the hurting on my body. Not far from our drink stop is the last tunnel. Yay! It is more wet, dark and has got more pot holes and ruts than the other two. It is a lot longer, as the first and second were around ninety to one hundred meters long, and this one is over five times that!
Finally we reach the end, blinking in the bright sun. We are almost there! Biking hard now we catch a glimpse of the summit. Laughing with joy I bike around for a bit, taking in the glory of the moment. Mrs. Wills prepares a snack/lunch for us and we happily munch away. One of our muesli bar wrappers fall to the ground and as I bend down to pick it up I see a tiny ant carrying away a crumb. I feel the same kind of connection as I did with the mushroom, a tingling sensation running down my back. Again I fall into a trance, the ant pulling me in…
 
**”Hello!” Waving happily I take another nibble of my lunch, waiting for the giant to reply. It doesn’t, so I try again, louder this time.”Good day!” It still doesn’t reply. I try a few more times, getting more confused and frustrated by the second. Now desperate I yell at the top of my lungs “Can you hear me?!”, while waving my six black arms around like a complete lunatic. No reply. In the end I just give up. Some people are just so rude!**
 
…I slowly pull myself away, and realize that my companions are calling me! Hurriedly pulling myself onto my bike to start the race down. It feels amazing zooming down the track, the wind blowing in my birds nest hair. Going through the tunnel is scary and  in the pitch black I am constantly stopping, fearful that I will rub tires again with a nearby biker and fall off!

Coming out I keep my hands on my brakes, fearing that if I let go I’ll catapult forward. Before I knew it, we were done. As soon as I passed through the entrance I fall off my bike and lay on the dry grass, hot and sticky. Driving back I can still feel the pain in my cramped fingers, sore legs and tormented behind. Reclining back into my seat I smile in spite of all of that, hoping madly that I never have to do this again anytime in the near future. But yeah, it was definitely worth it!:)
 
*Perspective of the mushroom.
 
**Perspective of the ant.
 

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