2021 DHVERTCHALLENGE Winner
The Winner of the 2021 DHVERTCHALLENGE is Lauren Foley Zhadanovskiy!
This ride pushed the limits of her available terrain, climbing over 4,000 Vertical Feet on a 65Ft. hill in Florida, USA. Most would have written off this challenge due to not having a large hill or mountain. The mental fortitude it took to even see this as possible (let alone start), is why she has been chosen to win the Garmin 830 Sensor Bundle. View her ride on Strava HERE or read her words describing the ride below:
"Thank you to @DialedHealth for pushing me to go for my biggest ride (vertically!) as part of the #DHVertChallenge. Living in South Florida at 0ft above sea level after participating in out of state rides makes that especially challenging!
Although I could have opted to participate by setting a distance PR, I was inspired by the recent MTB Everesting accomplishment to PR my climbing on our own SoFlo Mountain -- a 65 ft tall retired landfill at Dyer Park.
Previously my most climbing was 3,700 ft at Jerdon Mountain Challenge in Old Fort, NC. On Sunday I spent 5 hours on my MTB climbing 4,000 ft on our own local Mountain…of trash.
Before the challenge the most laps I had done on Trash Mountain was 5. On Sunday I rode 12 plus some climbs to the top on the walking path for eating/drinking breaks. Although it was a physical challenge, I trusted my training (shameless plug for the trap-bar deadlift!).
The biggest challenge was absolutely on the mental side. Huge thank you to @that1russian for coming out to cheer & bring me dry socks, and to my Gravel Gal Pal @val for surprising me at the end and helping me finish strong.
Although the community is always working hard to maintain the trails, on Sunday the conditions were not my favorite. Recent heavy rains had caused washout and exposed some large rocks. The path is also only ~1ft wide in sections, and the grass had grown heavily --in some spots as high as my shoulders."
Thank you for the inspiration Lauren! This only leaves one question for those reading...What ride will you conquer for the 2022 DHVERTCHALLENGE?