Today, I went off to help at a bike-jumble held by my cycling club. Not something especially exciting to blog about, spending most of the morning with the other women in the kitchen, toasting tea cakes and washing plates. The men of course, were dribbling over assorted bike bits, brakes and derailleurs, cranks and handlebars; they were also eating most of the teacakes I was toasting - if ever I get fed up with healthcare, I could have found my vocation!

How did I know what the men were doing? Well I went to have a look myself, I am a cyclist albeit a not very skillful one, especially when it comes to mechanical devices and the repair of. It took me a whole weekend to put mudguards and a carry rack on a new bike, well okay, I also put on a pump and bottle cage but you get my drift. I've got well versed in changing saddles however, and the five I've bought and fitted on my mountain bike, not at the same time I hasten to add, have increased my abilities in one aspect. I have now apparently got one that allows me to ride all day without annoying my remodelled plumbing, so far so good.

Back to my main topic, the hill. Between here and the next town is a ridge of chalk. My town is higher up than the coastal town down below the ridge. My town is also on a rise which scoops down and then sharply up again before going over the ridge. I've ridden that hill several times without too much bother. Coming back is another matter, the hill is longer and steeper, so I tend to use other routes to avoid it. It is a busy road with a poor record for accidents, including some fatalities. For all these reasons, I held it in awe and had never attempted it from the coastal side although it was a nebulous goal ;labouring under the belief that once I could ride up the ridgeway hill, I would be showing distinct improvements in my fitness levels, not bad for someone in their middle fifties.

After visiting a friend who lives near the hall we used for the cycle-jumble, and who was recently widowed, I decided I was going to attempt my bete noir and take on the ridgeway. I felt almost nonchalant about it, perhaps even cocky - pride before a fall? That remained to be seen.

I set off on my challenge reminding myself it was only a hill and it didn't matter if I had to stop and rest or get off and push, except it did matter. After dreading and wishing for this day for the past three years, I was finally reaching the showdown. Yes, it was personal me against the planet, well a little bit of it.

I'd divided the hill into three parts, simply to avoid thinking of it as a mile or so of misery, chunking it down to manageable pieces, my NLP trainer would be proud of me. The speed of ascent was unimportant simply getting over the hill would be success enough. I kept pedalling dropping down through the gears as necessary, not looking too far ahead, just at the road immediately before me and at the traffic belting up behind me in my mirror.

Suddenly, I had two hundred yards to go and despite the unhelpful blustery wind which had become a headwind, I not only knew I was going to do it, but with more ease than I had expected. I was actually accelerating towards the end although it's as steep there as anywhere, I had the confidence to do it. I'm no Lance Armstrong, but neither am I afraid of that hill anymore. My sense of achievement was very enjoyable and lifted my whole afternoon. Of course now I want to do it on my hybrid and finally on my road bike, then I will feel good. (For those who don't know, each of these bikes has higher gear ratios than the previous which mean they go faster but need more effort.)

Now we get to the moral(I can hear you groan already), being over the hill is essentially a state of mind, as well as a figure of speech which is in this sense in opposition to the former. It's about achieving goals, but realistic ones and being ready for them. Today I was up for it and it worked. Tracey posted a blog the other day about the anti climax of surgery and it's potential for depression. Been there done that, and while one can't directly compare my little sporting success with something as life changing as surgery, it's about the same thing a sense of achievement. In my case I was prepared for the outcome and looking to build upon it, I know what I want to do next find a bigger hill or ride a faster bicycle up it. I shall keep building upon this by training to ensure optimum outcomes and in believing that I can do it. That last bit is pretty important, self belief makes things happen, and if you can't believe in yourself, then why should anyone else?