Riding Uphill

Hill's Hardships Pay Off in a spot on Team USA

By MONICA S. HILL For The Birmingham News

When Carrie Hill was severely hurt in a cycling accident, friends told her she should quit riding.

When the Trussville resident was the victim of a hit-and-run car accident while cycling, the warnings resumed. And when her bike turned up missing prior to the biggest race of her life, it seemed fate had joined the chorus.

But Hill wouldn't give up. 

"Everybody kept telling me, 'Carrie, it's a sign. You shouldn't ride anymore,' " she said, "But biking and running, the feeling of accomplishing something ...I'm stubborn. I've got to complete it. If it's in my mind to finish, I just have to finish."

Hill's never-say-die attitude has taken her further than she imagined. The 29-year-old overcame the obstacles to earn a berth in the World Championships Duathlon in October in northern France.
Hill teaches people to play piano. Her "Carrie A Tune" business keeps her on the road to homes in Greystone, Helena, Trussville and at Samford University. Her road to France was a bumpy one that had plenty of sour notes.

During a training ride, she and a friend were chased by a pack of dogs, In their haste to flee, they collided. Hill was thrown over the top of her bike, landed on her shoulder and was knocked unconscious.  Lifesaver helicopter flew her to Carraway Methodist Hospital.  During her stay in the intensive care unit she planned her next opportunity to ride again.  Hill made a slow comeback by participating in a marathon in Nashville. She walked half and ran half to complete it in five hours.  

"Carrie could go for hours," younger sister Kelly Hill said.  Hill's next hurdle came in a cycling race on Cheaha Mountain near Anniston. She called her mother by cell phone to celebrate having reached the top of the mountain. On the way down, just 20 miles from the finish fine, a hit-and-run driver struck her and another friend.  Neither was seriously hurt. 

Another friend suggested the 29-year-old cyclist go to Sartel, Mn. for a qualifying race for the World Championship Duathlon, an event that sandwiches a 9 mile bike race between a pair of 13 mile runs.  Hill got there but her bike - a $700, 21-speed bike - never made it.  The Tennessee native settled for a pink 12-speed bike with gear shift controls on the bike frame.  "On my bike, the gears and the brakes are all on the handlebars so you don't have to move your hands off," she said. "I was so nervous about changing gears that I rode in one gear."  Hill, whose friends have started calling her 'Crash,' completed the course in three hours, 20 minutes. "All I wanted to do was finish, not qualify or win. I just wanted, to finish in a good time," Hill stated. But it wasn't until she received a call from Team USA that she realized how well she had done.  Her time earned her the last slot in her age group into the world event where she'll be among 1,000 athletes racing before 15,000 spectators.

"I don't think that I am that good; I just like to ride," she said. "I probably won't win, but I'll finish. At least I'll finish."