G O L D   H I L L   N O R T H

Sandpoint, Idaho

Up I go some more then stop again when I'm out of breath. I repeat this cycle over and over again. At this point I'm not loving the trail or life for that matter. But thoughts of flying downhill when all this climbing is over continues to nudge me along.

After much huffing and puffing, I eventually ride to this bench after a mile and 500 feet of ascent. Thanks to friend's of Kevin Lauterbach I have a place to rest.

And to sweat, profusely.

Back on the bike I toil once again, quickly falling back into the unwelcome rhythm of strenuous biking followed by longer breaks of breathlessness. My heart is pounding now. Exercising is a good thing but I'm starting to wonder, "can this be good for me?"