Author: Caroline

Follow me on Instagram @carolinegleich

August 30th, 2019

This morning, my husband @rob.lea started his bike ride across America. If I’m honest, there’s a part of me that is jealous that I can’t do the whole ride with him because my knee isn’t in shape yet (I feel like the worst wife for writing that). I was really hoping it would recover sooner, but too much mileage still puts some pain and strain on my kneecap and new ACL. I’m trying to channel that jealous green monster into stoke for him and for myself, that I was able to ride 30 miles today (my longest ride since knee surgery)!⁣⁣I find that when things make me jealous, it’s usually because there’s something missing in my own life and it’s a good idea to check in and see what is missing. I’m still trying to figure out my next big goal or project. And that’s ok to take some time doing to make sure it really speaks to me and I’m not just rushing into it to answer the most dreaded question, “what’s next.” I know it’s human curiosity to ask whats next, but sometimes, I don’t feel it lets us appreciate the goals we’ve achieved. Sometimes I need to a minute to reflect and regroup. And the best projects take years, not months, to come together.⁣⁣Anyway, riding today felt awesome and the best part of the day was meeting the dozen people who came for Rob’s send off in Anacortes at 9 am. It warmed my heart to meet you, and it made us feel so happy and welcome in Washington. It’s wonderful to be able to join Rob for the next 9 days, and I can’t wait to keep telling this story. If you want to track him, we will have a link coming soon! Thanks for your patience. #climbforequality #triforequality⁣⁣Photos:⁣1. Rob at his starting point in Anacortes. ⁣2. Things got wild on a sunset shoot last night with @vertizonphoto. Pro images coming soon!⁣3. Morning send-off at the beach! Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the warm welcome and good bye. ⁣4. Some enjoyable bike paths on the way out of town. ⁣5. Taking a dip in the river while enjoy a @fattire. Great for leg recovery. ⁣

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August 29th, 2019

Six months ago, I took this fall and tore my ACL. It happened exactly one day after making a final non refundable payment to climb Everest/Chomolungma. It’s still hard for me to watch. For the first two weeks after the fall, the sequence of events in this video kept playing in my head over and over. I was so scared to talk about it because I feared losing sponsors and opportunities. It kept me up at night. ⁣•⁣But hiding it didn’t help. Writing about it and sharing my story and hearing from you made it less bad. I’ve found that showing what happened has help me overcome the trauma. ⁣•⁣I’ve learned it’s not about how you get knocked down, it’s how you get back up. I was able to rehabilitate my knee and climb Everest without an ACL. @rylo just released a new edit of the short film about my journey with new Everest footage that you can see via the link below or in my profile. I’m finding a huge sense of redemption with this new ending. ⁣•⁣I’m not going to lie and say this has been easy. I had ACL reconstruction surgery four days after getting home from Everest and right now, I’m almost three months out. ⁣•⁣Healing this is just like doing any other big hard task. There are good days and there are not as good days. Emotions and energy ebb and flow. If you don’t like how it’s going, sleep and it will usually feel better in the morning. ⁣•⁣#climbforequality #storiesthatmove⁣•⁣https://vimeo.com/356275108

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August 28th, 2019

Protecting public lands is fighting climate change. The CORE Act will protect 400,000 acres of public land in CO, establishing new wilderness areas and safeguarding existing outdoor recreation opportunities. Check out this short video with my fellow @patagonia ambassador @clare_gallagher_runs and @protectourwinters to learn more. ⁣⁣More than one fifth (20%) of our country’s emissions come from our public lands. The CORE Act puts 200,000 acres in Colorado out of consideration for oil and gas development. ⁣⁣This is a federal vote and we need all our elected officials to step up to protect public lands. Text COREACT to 52886 to contact your reps and ask them to vote for the CORE Act! Or visit this link: https://protectourwinters.org/our-work/support-core-act/⁣#COREAct

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August 28th, 2019

Behind the excitement in @rob.lea’s eyes is fear. We are leaving right now for Anacortes, WA where Rob will start his ride across the country on Friday, August 30. This is the final leg of his self-created #ultimateworldtri and #triforequality. ⁣⁣⁣As far as the route goes, he will generally be sticking to what’s called the northern tier route. Rob will start by riding through the North Cascades then head for Glacier National Park. After that, it’s due east to Fargo followed by Minneapolis and a stop in my hometown, Rochester, MN, before he heads to Chicago, Cleveland, New York, Hyannis Port and then the ferry to Nantucket. ⁣I will accompany him for the first week or so before I head back to Utah to do a talk at the University of Utah September 9, and then head to Washington DC to lobby with @protectourwinters. I will also be doing a talk at @patagoniadc September 14. ⁣⁣It should take him until the end of September. It’s approximately 4200 miles/6760 km which means he will have to average over 130 miles/209 km a day. ⁣⁣⁣That’s a daunting task because he’s barely had time to ride at all this summer between Everest, his English Channel crossing and our wedding! This is not going to be a gimme. ⁣⁣Stay tuned for tracking info!⁣ Go Rob! ⁣

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August 27th, 2019

If there’s one piece of camping equipment I can’t live without, it’s my pee bottle. This pee bottle came with me on so many adventures, from bike packing across the Northeast to the top of the world’s highest peaks. It bit the dust on Everest (it froze and I had to break it- don’t worry, I packed it out), and I need to replace it. I knew @rob.lea was husband material when he would empty my pee bottle in the morning. He earned the nickname the “pee fairy.” I highly recommend a pee canteen for all my fellow adventurers out there! Not sponsored- just a helpful tip for fall camping season. Photo: @jjamesjoiner @keen #keenambassador

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