I've commited myself to doing the Iron Girl Columbia Triathlon next August so today I went and rode the bike route. It's only 17.5 miles but it averages more climbing per mile than anything I've been doing. They call it "challenging". It was around 45 degrees and cloudy and my quads felt tight the whole ride. The route definitely had some challenging hills but I was able to get up them in granny gear (when necessary) and never got close to feeling like I was going to have to stop and walk. I finished in 1' 15" for an average speed of 14.2mph. Not so bad for a first try. I'm finding it hard to imagine what it will be like to do it after a swim.

(It was also my first ride going commando )