I just tried taking part of the would-be commute route I would take on my bike to work. I didn't even make it half way before turning back home. Oh man the hills are horrendous in my area. I had it down in the granny gear barely going 4-5 mph up some of those things, and ended up stopping quite a few times along the way.

My commute route is about 14 miles one way. I made it about 5.5 before turning back, so a ride of just a hair under 11 miles, and that took me 1 hour 15 minutes.

Is this just the way it is with hilly areas or do I just still need more practice? I do still have the suspension fork which I'm sure is not helping on the climbs.

Elevation graph, midpoint is where I turned back.