A British Columbian cyclist has conquered the same mountain not once, not twice, but over 10,000 times. Knox Mountain, which rises approximately 200 metres above Kelowna's Lake Okanagan, is not only the favourite ride of accountant Dave Tindall, it's also his only ride.

He loves it so much that he does it four times a day, and has been doing it since 1983. He has gone through 10 bikes, but is far from worn out himself. Tindall recalls his initial ascent in 1983: “It took me 34 minutes the first time, zigzagging up the road. I could only do it every two or three days; it was too exhausting.”

The 56-year-old used to walk to work, but when he moved his office into his home, he needed a new fitness routine. The base of the mountain was just down the street, so he headed off on his wife's five-speed Norco, complete with plastic baby seat. He wasn't discouraged by that first wobbly climb and continued until he could do it every day and then two, three, four, and sometimes five times a day. With Kelowna's climate, he's able to ride seven days a week most months of the year. Last November, he completed a record 140 climbs, and when the snow fell in January, he switched to a mountain bike. It takes four inches (10 centimetres) or more of snow to stop him. In 2000, Tindall did four climbs on Christmas Day and a total of 1,015 climbs that year. His fastest time was 12:17 in 1991-being an accountant, he keeps statistics. The actual ascent is 2.2 miles (3.5 kilometres).

Having surpassed 22,000 miles (35,420 kilometres), his next goal is 25,000 miles (40,250 kilometres) or once around the world going uphill all the way. On a typical day, he does two morning climbs and two afternoon rides. Tindall says the hardest part is not the strain on his legs and knees, but rather the dry throat and rasping breath. He credits the cycling routine with clearing up the bursitis he had in his arm and with freeing him from headaches that used to plague his working day.