TORTURE! One word says it all. Why? Because I think no one has done the whole 100 miles and 10,000 feet of it before on a tandem and because Louie and I are preparing to ride the Blue Ridge and Natches Trace fully loaded in September, we set out to conquer the Torture 10,000 on the Blueberry. We didn't lighten it up. In fact, we put on the heavy touring rims and wider tires that we are going to use on our September tour. For added weight, we loaded the trunk with everything and anything. Up we went, slowly.

OK, so we didn't break any land speed records. We knew that. However, just by doing the Torture 10,000 on a tandem we think we qualify as road animals. So, we wore our animal print jerseys and handed out animal crackers to those who passed us going up Larch Mountain. One has to have a sense of humor about these things.

I couldn't have had a better captain for this ride. Louie is a climbing machine. I on the other hand, am a bit of an anchor. I like to climb, but even though I pack a lot of muscle, all this weight has to be hauled up that hill. On the way down, Louie picks a perfect line around the corners.

The ride was every bit as beautiful as represented. There was very little traffic, the rest stops were well stocked, the support was terrific, and we certainly enjoyed it - all day long - for 10 hours. We obviously had plenty of time to ponder the meaning of life.

We had our ups and downs - pun intended. We both had a rough time recovering after the cold trip down Larch Mountain. We each felt sick to our stomachs and could not get our rhythm back until after the Sandy rest stop.

My worst time was up on Wildcat Mountain. As we were going around the loop, I kept feeling as if we were going around and around the loop, missing the exit down to Eagle Fern Park. Louie kept telling me that we had not missed it, but I would not believe him. We came to a sign that said bear left. It pointed to a plastic bear in a field, honest! Louie said we would have remembered that bear had we seen it before. I told him that if I see that bear again, I was going to saw the Blueberry in half and find my own way down the mountain as best I could! As it turns out, I was just "tripping", and we found our way down without any trouble.

We missed the turn on the second trip to the Sandy rest stop, but I was not going to go down that hill to come back up for any reason on earth so we continued down Highway 26 to Bluff Road and skipped the rest stop.

We felt the challenge to be as much mental as it was physical. The rain was a bit demoralizing. This is supposed to be summer! The sun came out at one point, and in wishful thinking, we put on sun screen only to have it washed away by the next downpour.

This being the morning after, I am a bit sore in the quads and a little mellow, but none the worse for wear. Next weekend we are going to pack up the Blueberry with everything we are taking on our September tour and do the Bridge of the Gods ride. Having lived through Torture 10 and hopefully the Bridge, we should be all set for September and the Blue Ridge!