The other day I did a 58 mile ride. The first half was up the mountain, but after 20 miles we had only gained about 97 feet of elevation. The incline was 1% or less, does this count? We averaged around 16- 17 MPH. The next portion got a little steeper with the last 1.5 mile at 6%. After a short break we got to go back down, I hooked up with three other riders and did a paceline with them, one of the first times I've done one with more than one person where everyone took their turn. We didn't get organzied until we got down off the steeper slope, then we tried to keep around 21 MPH, with some bursts to 24 MPH. Why didn't it seem as much down as it seemed up going up? There was a slight head wind.

I was the youngest and most inexperienced rider. One of the guys was 20 years my senior and another who was probably close to that. The third guy was somewhere in between. With about 7 miles to go they picked the speed up to 22 MPH and I couldn't keep up. I just smiled as they rode away knowing that I have a lot to learn and I'll still be able to ride well for another 20 years or more!

I hate "false flat" rides. Those horrid 0.5% to 1% inclines that make you wonder if your brakes are rubbing or if you've got a slow leaker flat because the speed just won't come, no matter how much you pour it on.
Yeah, it's a hill.

We've got one like that around here called the Ventura River Trail. Only a few miles between the beach and the hills but it is a slow, gradual climb. You don't notice the incline but you sure notice the drop in speed. The return trip is awesome though. Easily spin away at 20+ MPH most of the way back.

Climbing hills is all in your head. When you're tackling a steep one, you don't look at the top, but make short, easy goals for yourself. "False flats" mess with your head. Suddenly, things that should be easy are harder than they should be, but there's no obvious reason why - like Clifton said.

I did a ride once where I gained about 1,300 feet over the course of 14 miles. I couldn't figure out why flat ground had taken so much out of me. It's not flat.

Up hill or into the wind =

down hill or down wind =

I don't know, depends on what you mean by a "hill ride".

a ride with a hill in it?...yes
Or a hilly ride?...............no