Two powerful lessons hidden in that uphill climb by Kristy Petrillo

During the cycling portion of the Alpine Strive, the days were long and relentless. We rode endless mountain miles, the kind that blur together until your legs and lungs feel like they belong to someone else. Near the end of the last day, I stopped beside a peaceful stream, unsure if I even had enough left to finish. The setting was beautiful, cool air drifting off the water, green grass, towering mountains - yet inside my body everything felt depleted. It was a striking contrast: serenity outside, struggle within.

I got back on the bike anyway.

Soon after, Noah, one of the lead organizers, rode past and called out in his booming, confident voice, “You’re almost there!” Relief washed over me. I could do almost there. I could survive a few more miles. Adrenaline would carry me if strength wouldn’t. I pedaled toward the left-hand turn he’d pointed out, believing the finish line was just beyond it.

But when I made that turn, the road revealed a brutal truth, it wasn’t the end. It was the beginning of a steep series of switchbacks climbing straight up the mountain. The kind of incline most people would walk. The kind where losing momentum meant defeat.

Frustration exploded out of me. I felt misled, disheartened, angry at the expectation that had just been shattered. Yet Noah stayed beside me, laughing, encouraging, reminding me I could do it. And somehow, between my anger, his belief in me, and the simple refusal to stop pedaling, I climbed. Slowly. Painfully. But I climbed.

The aha moment wasn’t at the top of the mountain. It was in the realization that the struggle hurt more because my expectations were wrong - not because I was incapable.

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There were two powerful lessons hidden in that uphill climb:

First: Expectations can make challenges feel heavier than they truly are. When reality doesn’t match the picture we created in our minds, discouragement can hit harder than the physical effort itself. Sometimes the obstacle isn’t the hill - it’s the story we told ourselves about how close the finish line should be.

Second: We are far more likely to keep going when we’re not alone. Left by myself, I might have stopped. But encouragement, even mixed with laughter, curse words and frustration, gave me the strength to continue. Shared effort turns impossible moments into achievable ones.

In the end, the mountain didn’t shrink.

My mindset shifted.

And I learned that progress often comes from adjusting expectations and leaning on others - then pedaling anyway.

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Written by: Kristy Petrillo