Did you know December 11 is International Mountain Day? This annual celebration honors the majesty of the world’s mountains and their importance to the environment and human spirit. To pay tribute, I created the profile “In Honor of Mountains,” but this ride can be enjoyed any time of the year. There’s something powerful about simulating mountain climbs in our classes—it taps into our desire for challenge, evokes a sense of accomplishment, and lets us imagine the inspiring views from the summit.
Tip: To add an extra layer of inspiration to your ride, consider weaving in some motivational quotes about mountains. You can find a collection of them on our International Mountain Day Theme Ride Thursday page, ready for you to download and share with your riders.
This profile offers two different experiences, giving you flexibility based on your class preferences:
The Original Version: Three Climbs
The first version of “In Honor of Mountains” features three distinct climbs, each lasting around 12 minutes. Between climbs, riders enjoy brief downhill recoveries and a few flat roads at higher cadences to reset before the next ascent. Almost every song is centered around mountains or the sensation of being “on top of the world,” making it a perfect tribute ride.
The New Version: One Long, Epic Climb
In 2022, I decided to remix this profile into an all-climbing experience with one continuous ascent from start to finish (outside of the warm-up and cool-down). This version eliminates recoveries, adding more climbing songs for an immersive challenge. In 2023, I made a few final tweaks, including a new warm-up track and minor adjustments to the playlist—because, as we all know, every profile can be a work in progress! Remember that you can always adapt a song here and there, making it a new experience every time it’s taught.
You can choose the version that best suits your class or switch it up to keep things fresh throughout the year. Both versions are designed to be inspirational, drawing on visualization techniques from my Energia Magica profile, where riders imagine the breathtaking landscapes around them as they climb. I also integrate ideas from our Strategies for Strength series, focusing on mental resilience, flow state, and the empowering feeling of conquering a challenging ascent.
Important Note About Formats
The newer version of this ride is available only as an Express Profile, which provides a concise, one-page spreadsheet with essential cueing. However, the original version is available in both a detailed long-form profile with extensive coaching cues and as an Express Profile. Even if you prefer the newer, all-climbing version, I highly recommend downloading the original version as well—you’ll gain access to all the rich coaching and motivational tips that can enhance your ride.
And don’t forget—you can mix in songs from our bucket playlist, “Mountain/Summit/Climb/On Top of the World,” which has over 180 tracks.
Inspirational Song Highlight
One of my favorite tracks in this profile is “Moving Mountains” by The Brevet. Its powerful lyrics are perfectly aligned with the spirit of this ride:
“Moving Mountains,” by The Brevet
Clarity paint me bright, like stars in the dark of night
And open up the sky, now meet me by the mountainside
Where there is a fire in my belly and beast in my mind
That keeps trying to tell me to strengthen my spine
All through this life, there comes a time to move a mountainside.
Hold, my hand
And lead me over this strange land
‘Cause this great unknown, was meant to be found
Oh-oh-oh, it’s calling me now, now, now
Open the doors
I’ve been here once before
But wasn’t really sure what I was looking for
Mold, my soul
Into something to uphold, a book untold
So won’t you unfold these pages now
Oh, ’cause they’re crying,
and they’re calling out saying, “hear me now”
Success Story
Leslie, an ICA instructor, taught the all-climbing version in January 2024 and shared how much her class loved it. It’s always inspiring to hear how these profiles resonate with riders. If you give it a try, let me know how it goes!
Share Your Experience
I’d love to hear your feedback on both versions of this ride. Do you prefer the three distinct climbs or the single sustained ascent? Did you find any new tracks that worked well for the mountain theme? Leave your comments below and share your success stories or any additional song suggestions.
This was so fun! Thanks for a great profile, one big climb was A great challenge for my group. I live any theme that celebrates mountains!
thank you, Meghan! My class really enjoyed the one long climb profile as well.
After class, I told them, “now that we’ve taken out all the reds and the blues (outside of w/up & c/d) I’m going to put them all back in for Monday’s class!” 😉
We really enjoyed this celebration of mountains profile, Jennifer! I adjusted a few songs, primarily to accommodate the upcoming holidays and rider preferences for some holiday flare. The ride was fun, challenging, and went quickly. Riders commented that they covered more distance than they typically do in a 60 min ride. We use Keiser M3i bikes, so distance reflects power. More distance over time means their average wattage was higher. Great profile! Thank you!
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4T1rH6DGQ9GerQHyHeYxCO?si=L72HQ6hRQfCpoZC1sPNYsA&fbclid=IwAR0ZykDP6NMoWdSdV7kUlZ0W8tLsChV_m8a8xqP7YpyKdXSkULfyz-BQDZE
great playlist, Laura, thanks for sharing!
Laura,
I love your playlist. Thanks for sharing.
I see you included a song by Zayde Wolf in this playlist who I really like. It’s not necessarily mountain related, but I have used 2 of his others songs: Golden Age and Walk through the Fire. They are both energetic and uplifting.
I love Zayde Wolfe! I’ve used quite a few songs in ICA profiles. But these two I was unfamiliar with so thank you so much for sharing, Dayton.