Love on the Climb: How We Met During a 100-Mile Bike Ride in the Mountains
A love story.
We’re doing something a bit different today…
Long-time readers of this newsletter will know that most of my writing is instructional. I share helpful triathlon tips, practical advice, and expert insights to help you become a smarter, stronger, and more successful athlete.
But I just did a 70.3 over the weekend and the brain fog is real…
So instead, I’m going to tell you a story.
Today is my husband, Matt, and I’s second wedding anniversary! And the story of how we met is kind of crazy.
Seriously, I can 100% guarantee that you’ve never heard anything like this before.
This story was originally published in Triathlete Magazine back in 2020 and was actually what led to me writing for them professionally.
So I hope you enjoy- Love on the Climb: How We Met During the Most Epic Century
Love on the Climb: How We Met During the Most Epic Century
Neither of us was supposed to go to Six Gap. If I’m being honest, neither of us was completely prepared to ride Six Gap.
How we managed to meet in a sea of 1,500 riders is still a mystery to me. But we did, and it changed our lives forever.
2020 was to be my second season competing as a triathlete. At the beginning of the year, my coaches and I sat down and prepared a full calendar of races- 12 in total. Most took place near my home in Tallahassee, Florida, but the big one was in May in Tennessee.
Chattanooga 70.3 was to be my first half-Ironman, and I was ready. But it turned out that the world was not.
In late March, we received word that, due to the pandemic, the race had been postponed to August. That was fine. A bit disappointing, but fine. It hadn’t been canceled outright like most races, so I still had a big goal to work towards.
Fast forward a few months later, and another email appeared in my inbox letting me know that the race was canceled. Dreams were deferred to 2021.
It was time to come up with a new goal.
As a Florida girl who’d never ridden in the mountains before, tackling the Six Gap Century, a 102-mile bike ride over six monsters with 11,060 feet of elevation in Dahlonega, Georgia seemed like the perfect challenge.
In the meantime, a former runner-turned cyclist in Tampa was dealing with some emotional news of his own.
Matt’s mother had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and sadly passed away in March. Couple that sudden loss with the stress of working as a doctor in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, and he too was looking for a reason to get out of town for a little while.
When a few of his buddies from Miami invited him to do “a bike ride in the mountains,” he gladly joined in.
Important facts to note:
Matt had never done a century. His longest ride up until that point was 60 miles.
The only mountain in Tampa is an overpass.
A road bike with gearing for fast flats seems like the perfect choice for the mountains. And, who really needs disc brakes anyways…
There are no mountains in Tampa.
When I arrived in Dahlonega, I had every intention of doing Three Gap—the shortened 50-mile version of Six Gap. Because I had just started cycling one year prior, doing the entire ride was never even part of the discussion.
Do Three Gap this year to get my feet wet and tackle Six Gap in the future when I had more experience.
Matt and his buddies had intended to do the full century, but that soon changed after the boys climbed the first mountain…
As I started up the first climb, I heard a voice from behind asking if I’d like some company. Since I was quite a ways back from my own group, I welcomed the camaraderie. It was then that I met Mike, one of the members of Matt’s crew.
We rode along together chatting about the joys of cycling up a 6% grade at 5 mph. When we finally reached the summit of Neels Gap, Mike met up with his buddies and we bid adieu as they headed off to finish their ride.
Once I rejoined my group, I noticed we’d picked up a new member.
It was Matt.
Still wanting to do the whole ride, he was in search of another group. Later on he would say that he’d spotted my coach and friend talking at the aid station, thought “they looked friendly,” and asked if he could join.
That was the beginning of an eight-hour ride spent together climbing the mountains of Georgia.
Looking back at my GoPro footage from that day, we were surprised to learn that we had ridden together for the entire ride. We just didn’t know each other yet.
Matt’s group had arrived late that morning, well after the official start, so they rode in through the entrance and waited alongside the road for an opening. My group started at the back of the pack, so for whatever reason, we ended up starting the ride at the exact same time.
Despite his lack of training on anything steeper than a Tampa overpass, Matt is undoubtedly a stronger climber than I. Still, he stayed right with me for the entire ride.
If I ever lagged behind, I would notice his cadence slow just slightly so I could catch up. Frequent glances over his shoulder told me that he was intent on making sure that I made it up the challenging ascents and down the perilous descents safely.
Eight hours, countless energy gels, one bandaged knee, a busted brake, and a jar of pickles later, and we had both completed our first Six Gap Century! I never imagined I was capable of doing something so challenging on a bike. Matt never imagined that his first century would be a 11,060-foot climb in the mountains.
But we did it, together.
This adventure at Six Gap was the most incredible, epic, and unusual way to meet the love of my life. The only logical explanation is that it was most definitely by design.
Since that day, Matt and I split time between Tampa and Tallahassee. After meeting my crazy group of triathlete training partners, he was inspired to start running again after knee surgery in 2017.
Not only did Matt and I meet that day, but he also met his new coaches, who are training both of us to compete in our first half-Ironman together: Chattanooga 70.3 in 2021. Matt will be competing on behalf of the Ironman Foundation in honor of his mom.
2020 was a challenging year for us all, especially for athletes who’d trained all year for races that never happened, goals that were never attained, and dreams that were never fulfilled. But looking back, I’m so incredibly thankful that my race was canceled. If not, there would’ve been no reason to go to Six Gap. And I wouldn’t have met Matt.
There’s always a reason things happen the way they do. I’ve found mine.
What Happened Next!
Flash forward to 2021, and we did our first half-Ironman together at 70.3 Chattanooga. We’ve since done this race three times.
Flash forward to December 2021, and we got engaged at 70.3 Florida.
Then, we did Six Gap again and tried to recreate our first photo together.
Flash forward to 2022, and we got married in October. We decided to incorporate several elements from Six Gap into the wedding, including cookies with the elevation map from the ride and table numbers named after each mountain. Since there was no way I was wearing heels, I painted my own running shoes and we took some photos running on one of our favorite trails nearby.
News & Notes:
We did 70.3 North Carolina on Saturday along with 21 members from our local triathlon club! More to share about the race on Thursday. (FYI, I don’t often write race reports, because I like to write about topics that help people, instead of a glorified diary entry about myself. But I know people like them, so let me know what you want to read!) Either: a personal race report with the entire experience from an athlete’s perspective, or practical takeaways and lessons related to racing a 70.3 in general.
Now we’re getting ready for Ironman Arizona in four weeks, so we have one more century ride left.
Our neighborhood is having a Halloween block party next week and each house has a theme. Last year, we did a chalk obstacle course where the kids did squats, push ups, and planks to get their candy. Nothing in life is free, and a little workout never hurt anyone. Also, they LOVED it. See if you can guess what the theme is this year…
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btw, i did NC 70.3, too!! as a relay. i did the run portion, my husband did the bike, and our dear friend who just turned 70 did the swim! so much fun - and perfect weather.
love it! beautiful story.