Stay Within Yourself

“The climb gets harder - its a steady 10 mile climb before we reach the top, then its downhill all the way back to the car,” said Margaret De Young. 

“Don’t tell me that right now!” - as I struggled to maintain a steady six-mile an hour pace climbing out of the Lake Meade basin in Las Vegas Nevada. If you think you’re in shape let Margaret and J.T. set you straight!

It had been over a year since seeing Margaret and her partner J.T. My first free weekend in Las Vegas would be touring the mountainous landscape on J.T.’s Trek road bike that he had so carefully outfitted for me that Saturday morning of our first ride.

Sixty-four miles over two days, “a casual weekends ride”, not so fast . . .

The story begins on Saturday March, 3, 2012, we agreed to meet at 10:00 a.m. to just take a bicycle ride around their neighborhood in Vegas. That first ride turned into a 25.8-mile undertaking with an elevation gain of about 958 feet. Five miles out we started our ascent - that climb lasted about eight miles. 

That wasn’t so bad, my challenge that morning was my inability to breathe. Because of the desert air and the elevation of about 3,400 feet the early portion of that ride I struggled. Once we started home, boy did we fly! The exhilaration of the wind and the speed were thrilling. That morning I also learned that J.T. was no slouch. Give him a climb and he was off and running.

So, we made it back to the house and headed off to lunch. J.T. was anxious to describe the ride we would do on Sunday. Casually he said, “It’s a more difficult ride, about 38 miles – I’m sure you’ll love it! We will pick you up at 8:30 and drive to Henderson. The ride is a loop, the terrain will give you a good feel for what its like to ride the 134-mile Valley of Fire ride in May.”

We arrived at the head of the trail Sunday morning about 9:30 a.m., it was a beautiful clear, warm day with virtually no wind. Unlike the previous days ride we needed no long sleeve jerseys or windbreakers. After lathering on suntan lotion we were off.

Once on the trail J.T. gave me the lay of the land. “We have some steep hills in the beginning, be ready, there is rolling terrain, then we drop down into the Lake Meade Basin. The tough portion of the ride comes the last 10 miles, it’s a long climb, stay within yourself!”

What exactly do you mean, “stay within yourself?”

With a quick smile, “You’ll see,” said J.T.

It didn’t take long for me to figure out what he meant – within the first 15 miles the ride seemed very easy. There were switchbacks, climbs, fast descents, and spectacular views! You could see the entire valley with the city of Las Vegas nestled in the center across the vast desert, the sky was perfectly clear, the air was fresh, and the ride was simply enchanting.

As we crested the peak and Lake Meade came into view we stopped for a snack together, (Margaret, J.T., and I) then once we left that stop it was uphill for what seemed forever.

That day I realized what J.T. meant, stay within yourself, we never saw J.T. for the rest of the ride . . .