Yesterday, I finally succeeded riding up Toe Jam Hill in zone 2, breathing only through my nose. This short stretch of road from South Beach sports a 23% grade. Some caveats: I was still breathing pretty hard, had to tack back and forth a few times.
Aside from entertainment, my larger purpose is to establish that anyone can climb any hill on a bike with the proper attitude. Of course, that statement is not true, there are still plenty of hills I cannot climb. Nevertheless, Toe Jam Hill establishes a steep upper bound.
Clearly cycling speaks a language of metaphor. Life challenges us with many hills to climb. Even if we can’t make it up K2 or Everest, even if we can’t swim across the Atlantic Ocean or bring peace to the Middle East, I claim the biggest impediment to achieving most dreams is our attitude.
