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Sarah's Writing Page
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The Cricket
There is a cricket
Chirping in my room,
It's the only thing
I hear.
My ears are ringing,
My head spinning,
It's the only thing on my mind
Tonight,
Tonight.
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Mount Washington
This is a true story!
My family has a Santana tandem triplet that my parents bought when I was five years old. Before that my parents towed me in a trailer behind their Santana Ariva. My dad had previously rode up Mount Washington on his single, and he told my Mom and I that we should ride up on the triple. He meant it as a joke but I took it seriously. Soon enough, though it did turn into a real thing. We all agreed that we were to go up Mount Washington in August of 1998. The Mount Washington Bicycle Hillclimb is often refered to as America's toughest hillclimb. This event occurs once a year in August. The course is 7.6 miles long. The mountain has a 4,723-foot altitude gain, and has a 12% average grade with some sections at 18%. The last 50 yards of the course is a 22% grade.
I don't know what was worse going up the mountain or training to go up the mountain. We trained for months, riding every weekend and sometimes after I came home from school. The time seemed to fly by. Soon enough it was August, and we were at the foot of Mount Washington waiting for the gun to go off so we could start our asscent. "Bam!" the gun for our group had gone off. Everyone started to race off up the hill, but we didn't. My dad had set a pace of around two miles an hour. Our intention was to get to the top, not to win the race.
We were very slowly crawling up the mountain without seeing anyone except the occasional cameraman or a passing hiker. The weather was beautiful. I didn't remember much from when my dad climbed Mount Washington, and I figured that this was going to be no big deal. I was wrong. After about four miles the wind started to pick up. Occasionally a strong gust of wind would blow us into the middle of the road. As we got higher the wind was so strong that I was afraid that we would be blown off the mountain! Later, we learned that the wind gusts exceeded 45 miles per hour and the temperature had dropped to 40 degrees! When we got to the 18% grade dirt section the going got worse. It was so windy and steep that we had to get off the bike and push it along.
The mile markers seemed to crawl by. I waited hopelessly for the next one to appear, but it seemed like it took a millenium to. Finally, I saw the top. But we still had a steep 22% grade to climb. Everyone cheered us on and I felt a wave of confidence and strength. But it was too much to climb. We had to get off and push. At the top we ran across the finish line. Blankets were wrapped around us and we were given medals. We had made it to the top. It took us 2 hours 59 minutes and 18 seconds but we made it.
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My Journey
This is my journey
To the place where dreams come true,
One step, one moment, closer to the end,
Over the ocean,
Through the stars,
One day, one night closer
To the end,
Where dreams come true.
I could be just beginning,
I might be near the end.
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