Christie has been training for the Bob Cook Memorial Hill Climb (July 21), and has conquered the big mountain and the highest paved road in the world several times in recent weeks. She also went to Maui for a short vacation, rented a bike, and pedaled up Haleakala, the massive volcano that dominates half of the peanut-shaped island. When I asked her which mountain gave her the most trouble, she surprised me a bit.

Haleakala definitely holds its own against Bob Cook Mountain, she told me. The island climb is steeper and gains more elevation. The Colorado Peak formerly known as Mount Evans gives riders more altitude-related trouble, but both hills are exposed and ungodly windy. On the tops of each, amazed flatlander tourists pretty much wanted her autograph.

"I was exhausted at the top," she said, referring to Haleakala. Exhausted? That's good enough for me. Haleakala: hard.

All I know is the citizen class better eat its Wheaties Saturday morning.

[photo taken looking into the crater on Haleakala summit]

[UPDATE 8/2: Christie conquered Mt. Evans, I mean Bob Cook Mountain, captured second place in her age group while racing in a decidedly casual fashion, and maybe learned what many of us had long suspected, that her climbing ability could take her pretty far in the bike racing world if she put her mind to it. Alas, she finds the bike racing world to be a pretty whack-o place. Let's face it, she's right. Sounds like she's pretty much done with Mount Evans, I mean Bob Cook Mountain, and will be looking for a 24-hour mountain bike race for her next challenge.]