Altitude, not age, matters in Mount Baker Hill Climb

"Oh, we will make it," Tarleton said.

"We've already done it in training," she said.

It's in training, in fact, where Tarleton and Fine have inspired younger cyclists in Tammy Bennett's eight-week preparation course.

"When I first met Leah at our first class," said Bennett, healthy lifestyles director for the Whatcom Family YMCA, "I double checked the roster. I thought there's no way that gal can be, but darned if she isn't.

"If Leah summits, she'll be the oldest rider to reach the top during the annual Mount Baker Hill Climb," Bennett said. "The records are 72 for men and 67 for women."

Tarleton has been a recreational cyclist since moving to Bellingham 14 years ago. Ironically, she literally had to have one door close on her to see another figuratively open.

"My garage door closed on my back as I was leaving to come to Bellingham," said Tarleton, a former recreational marathon runner. "I was hurt so badly that I had to stop running, but I realized I could pick up bicycling. But I've always gone out and about, not up. It never occurred to me to ride up Mount Baker."

When she and Fine met as members of a women's walking group, Fine talked her into considering the hill climb.

"Two years ago, I made it to Heather Meadows on my first attempt, but that's 2.1 miles short," Fine said. "When I looked at that switchback and realized I just couldn't go on, I burst into uncontrollable tears.

"I told Leah the next day and she said, 'Don't worry, we'll do it.' And this time, Leah and I are both going to make it. We're entering in the summit division, not the highly competitive division, but it means so much. It was an embarrassment not to finish two years ago, so I look at this as my revenge ride."

The two women credit each other for inspiration.

Bennett, an accomplished cyclist who teaches how to ride safely and efficiently, said both women are inspirations to younger hill climbers.

"You know you shouldn't be complaining when Leah's there," Bennett said. "They're both amazing women.

"But what the men really want is Leah's bike. She has the neatest bike in our class."

Tarleton wanted the lightest possible bike she could ride, so she found and ordered parts on the Internet and commissioned a bike shop in Burlington to build her bike.

"It's 121/2 pounds," she said. "I'm sure it's just about the lightest bike in Whatcom County."

Tarleton has three children and nine grandchildren. One of her granddaughters, Mari Tarleton, was an all-county soccer player for Sehome High and is now a freshman on an academic scholarship at the University of San Francisco.

Before retirement, Tarleton served as a registered nurse while running the health center at College of San Mateo, Calif., and also taught a variety of courses.

Fine is the grandmother of nine children in a blended family. While growing up in Wheaton, Ill., she was a state-level club swimming standout and competed one year at Southern Illinois University. She won a national master's backstroke title a decade ago after returning to swimming, but she since has found cycling best meets her recreational needs.

"Now my goal is just to do the Mount Baker Hill Climb and hang out with the big boys," Fine said.

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