Day 5: Race Day

On Day 4, Rich (Ride Commish) and Charles took a 3 hr. train ride to Zermatt, a little town under the Matterhorn, in lieu of climbing the Gotthard. At supper that night, Nel, our tour leader, made a surprise announcement: the Ride Commish had phoned in and asked her to declare tomorrow would be Race Day. The first climb of the day, up Susten Pass, would determine the official Swiss Challenge 2009 KOM (King of the Mountain). Rich and Charles didn`t return until 9:30 PM, and they seemed particularly high-spirited, with Rich joking how much better he felt after seeing the doctor. There were whispers among the rest of us about Aspen blood bags and the rumored presence of Dr. Michele Ferrari in Switzerland.

I didn't sleep well that night. My legs were achy from the past 2 days and didn't seem to be recovering well. Mostly, though, I didn't relish the concept of a race up mountain climbs that were long and hard enough without the pressure of speed. And tomorrow's climbs were "The Red Climbs." Markham and Rick had proven themselves the strongest of us over the first few days, with Charles and Howie showing promise, so it seemed the perfect setup for shredded legs and little success.

My heart pumped hard at the thought and I struggled to turn off a hereditary competitiveness that, at age 56, no longer seemed to serve me well. Did I need to torture my legs and redline my heart for 1.5 hours to prove.....exactly what? Some things may be primordial, deeply embedded in our chemistry so as to defy one's rational brain, because my heart pumped hard anyway, and I never really seemed to fall asleep.