Did my usual ride half way home from work. 18.4mi with a decent hill along the way (decent for Essex that is, the flatlands of England). Blasted up the hill faster than before! Stayed above 8.5mph for most of it so all this training must be working. When I first did this route many months ago I was struggling to keep up 5mph and had to have a breather stop at the top. Aunty Trek (Trek420) and Mother Duck (Duck on Wheels) will probably lynch me at the next family gathering for doing this, but I was listening to my mp3 player on my ride. Very low volume so I was still hearing all the birds tweeting, and the rabbits rustling in the bushes and heard the tinkle of the dog collar well before the dog jumped out of the bushes in front of me. But the beat of the music was great help up the hill and good for keeping the brain sludge to a minimum. If you are ever looking for good music for pumping up big hills (virtual in spinning class or real), try Gogol Bordello's cd Gypsy Punk. Fantastic and completely insane