About a 12.5 mile ride today since I was short on time. I picked a route with some good hills since I am working on climbing...the total amount of climbing was only 674 feet according to MapMyRide but it is ALL in the first half of the loop, the second half is a long gradual downhill. The first climb starts about 1/2 mile in and goes on for about 2 miles with a couple of steep sections...that section was brutal since I was in no way, shape or form warmed up yet when I started the climb. The second big hill was better but still hard because it also had a really steep section. I do OK with the longer more gradual uphills (can sometimes even shift into a higher gear after a while), but throw a steep section in and it's painful! Seems to be much more of a leg strength issue than a cardio issue. On the second half of the ride, I happened to get mixed up in a group that was doing a training ride for the Trek Across Maine next weekend and was able to stay with them for a few miles...some impromptu speedwork of sorts. Today was also the first ride with my new cycle computer...it was interesting to see my speed on different sections (average 13 mph, hit 37.4 mph going down the other side of one of the big hills!).