Rowan

I think quite the opposite. A downhill with plenty of curves and hairpins is exhilirating and a lot of fun. It's not for everyone, but it's a real technical test of braking and cornering skills.

I do hold back when the surface is damp, however, a result of going down and badly dislocating a shoulder about five years ago, and on the tandem (Machka is not quite as enamoured of fast, curvy downhills as I am).

pjcampbell

my ideal ride is just straight up hill at like 7-8% the whole time.

Terror_in_pink

+1, but mix in some steeper grades and several 15%+ punishing climbs and I'm happy.

valygrl

You need to come to the front range (Denver/Boulder/Ft. Collins/Colorado Springs). West = mountains. All other directions = Kansas. Out my door in north boulder I'm on farm roads in 1/2 miles and can ride a 60 mile ride with 1000' climbing or a different 60 mile ride with 5200' climbing.

p.s., I love mountains. I especially love rides up into the mountains on canyon roads with a river on one side and cliffs on the other. Hills (up and down) are harder but I like them too. Flats, I could live without.

KiddSisko

What are some of your favorite LA region climb routes TIP?

pdxtex

i really enjoy hills, portland's west hills especially. those neighborhoods are steep and windy and have low traffic and really nice views. awesome way to spend an afternoon.

njkayaker

Sound like Jersey! I did a ride with 11.5k in 106 miles (in NJ with a bit in PA). I like hills (but kind of suck at them).

Terror_in_pink

One of my all time faves that has steep goodness: Beachwood>Ledgewood>Mulholland>Tahoe Dr.>Canyon Lake> (through the Hollywood Hills) to Lake Hollywood Drive (16% goodness). Can be combined with Mt. Hollywood to make a nice little loop. The first time I discovered this climb was when my dude and I were out riding and were on our way home when he talked me into another 20 miles or so. I agreed as long as we didn't do anymore climbing since I was beat. So we headed up Beachwood and I realized that we had started climbing again and it got steeper and steeper and did not let up. I thought he might have been playing a joke on me, until we got to Lake Hollywood drive. I looked up the 16% grade and became infuriated. As we began climbing ( I was probably tacking at this point) I began verbally assaulting my dude and the couple walking on the sidewalk next to us got to hear the whole thing since they were going the same speed as us. It was quite embarrassing. My dude was lucky because by the time we got home, my post ride high had kicked in and I was no longer angry. It is now one of my favorites.

But I think Latigo, Big Tujunga (not as steep, but long enough!) or ACH to Red Box are pretty awesome, too. Just anything that goes up. I did a lot of steep neighborhood climbs 15+% grades when I lived in La Crescenta.

freighttraininguphill

I love hills! It's my favorite type of riding, and it's causing the most weight loss. Contrary to the old saying "it never gets easier, you just get faster", it is getting easier and I'm getting faster.

Machka 

I miss the pancake flat of Manitoba, and if I were to move back to Canada, Manitoba would definitely be one of the places I would consider moving.

I like looking at the mountains, but I've always said that I can appreciate the beauty of the mountains from the bottom, without having to climb them. And if I were given the choice between climbing hills/mountains or wind, I'd choose wind. The slowest I've ever ridden in wind was 8 km/h, and that was a rare day with a very strong wind. But I'm regularly down to 5 km/h on climbs.

Now we live on the edge of the Great Dividing Range, north of Melbourne ... and we could do all sorts of climbing on every ride if we wanted to. There's a 16.5% grade right out our front door, and numerous long and short 8-12% grades all over the place. But fortunately there are flat routes around, in between the mountains, and out of the range. So we can and do ride flatlands quite a bit.

I guess we've got the best of both worlds.

downtube42

+1

Vireo

+1

Gotcha38

My last ride as 18 miles with 600+ ft of climbing and it nearly killed me. haha. I suck at hills, but I'm looking forward to getting better at them.

mudman22

Manitoba . . .

Holy two-month riding season Batman! When the snow is gone by June, the wind starts. Then it snows again.

I'll take the mountains any day because at least it is possible to ride away from the snow by going downhill.

Anybody wondering what Manitoba is really like should check out Guy Maddin's "My Winnipeg." Brrrrrrrrrr.

Dantebfd

I have to ride through a few miles of open farmland to get to the part climbing part of my ride and the hills are a nice break from the monotony of open fields and headwinds. My area is not mountainous by any stretch but the Boston Hills offer a decent workout for my legs and lungs. The nice part is I get to ride home on the flats with a tailwind.

awesomejack

This. 100%.

rooftest

Hills are good warm-up. I love mountains.

northbend 

Love 'em.
Even when I'm outta shape and it's more like going to the confessional.
A hill will let you know exactly where you are in body and in spirit - at times this is very humbling and this is OK.