This thread made me try to go up George St. when riding to work this morning since it is part of the simplest and most direct route. I was on 7-3 shift (rather than the usual 3-11) today so decided to ride instead of driving since I would have daylight on both ends, and figured I would try to just suck it up and take George St. rather than my usual side streets and wrong turns . Boy was it tough! I got about 1/3 of the way up (if that) and had to get off and walk. Then again, this "new" bike only has a double right now and I probably could have gotten a lot further if I had the low gears--I will definitely be looking into adding that third chainring! Then maybe next year I'll have the guts to try the Challenge (and not totally embarrass myself in the process)...if so, at least I can practice since I live here!