I had my 110km (60km and 50km loops) on Saturday. It was very cold (11c), windy and last few kms rainy. I only did the 60km loop. It was 10km of hills in the middle and since I had not been able to train properly with my tibial plateau fracture in January, then the other issues that rose up because of this, my training started only mid-May and it was minimal vs the 5-6hours a week pre-fracture. Some hills I finished walking up to preserve the other knee as it has a baker's cyst and I do not want it to rupture (going to call ortho so he can take a look at it at some point). It felt great, I had no problem, did good speed on flat surfaces and hills...are hills. Last year I was able to climb them all but the biggest one which I ended up walking (because of knees again). But this year, I had to stop and walk 3-4 of them. But that's ok. I finished the 60km with a smile, and the last 2km were in the rain. We opted out of the 50km loop at that one is following the Champlain lake, and lots of opened fields. No need to push my knees or risk a fall at this point in my life. We did the 110km last year and the 50km loop, although mostly flat I think is a bigger (but boring) challenge due to winds. I think I prefer the hills.

I will register next year and hoping to do this time all the hills...on the bike. But hey! There are worst things in life than walking up a hill (saw a few women finishing on feet) and I count myself lucky to even be able to cycle right now.