Everesting is all about repeating the same hill  over and over until you reach a vertical gain of 8848m.
I am not a big fan of repeats.
But I decided to give it a go when I had the opportunity to do it with eight friendly, welcoming guys. And we would even raise funds for a good cause.
I was now committed.
Our chosen hill (there is a strategy for choosing a climb) was short.
1.1 km long with an elevation gain of 50 m.
That meant 177 repeats.
Sounded like I better start liking repeats.
 
So although there is no question about the huge physical challenge, I was worried how I would deal with the shear amount of repeats.
Would I go bananas from all the repetition?
 
Friday 10 pm was the kickoff for many, many laps ahead.
It was a nice, cool temperature. Clear sky. No wind. Pitch black.
 
Lights and bike computers were ready. The countdown started.
We dispersed within the first few laps. Jeremy and I stuck together for a few hours. However, at some point our pace didn’t match anymore.
 
I was riding by myself now.
In the dark.
The only excitement were the other eight headlamps popping in and out of the night.
I got bored.
Boredom is the worst place to be in. I had time to think of all the things I shouldn’t be thinking of.
The remaining distance. The lack of sleep. Body ache.
It was 1:00 am. Only 3 hours into the ride.
I had to come up with something quickly!
 
I usually dont listen to audio-books but was recommended to give it a shot.
I gave it a shot.
5 hours passed and I cannot recall anything that happened around me.
Listening to an ultra-marathoner crossing the Saharan desert made my 177 laps look… normal.  (Audiobook: Running Man by Charlie Engle.)
Time passed quickly.
 
7:00 am. Within a few hours, a massive amount of cyclists, families and supporters started dropping in.
There was so much action going on. Meeting old friends. Making new friends. Eating pizza. Trying the new arrived brownies.
And the laps ticked away.
I realized that as long as I am engaged, I am ok. As soon as I am not engaged anymore, I would get into trouble.
But with such great support around us, there was always something going on. Plus, Danny, a newly made friend, dedicated himself to be a super domestique. He rode 6+ hrs with me until the finish.
My original worry was that the repetition would get me at some point.  But that never eventuated due to the fantastic support we had.
Thanks to everyone who came out and supported us. That was huge!!!
 
Special thanks to:

• A fantastic Mo-Everesting group! Thanks to Stuart, Joel, Brodie, Daryn, Ray, Eddie and Jeremy for a great time – from preparation to execution!
• Supporters. Thank you so much for the motivating and encouraging words. For the delicious meals and baked goods. For cleaning the road! For fixing four flats. For taking pictures. And for listening to my non-stop monologue.
• Alistair for creating and monitoring the live tracking website.
• Blake for letting me use his solar-driven battery pack
• Mark O’Gara and Graz Ina for the pictures!

The ride: