I used to hate hills, and tried to avoid them whenever possible (which was rarely when living in Norway), but riding ALC changed my mind. Not that I love hills now, but I enjoy the challenge. On ALC there were some monster hills, and I was dreading them for months before going over because I was afraid I couldn't do it. But then I found my pace, used my gears and just enjoyed the scenery and the sence of accomplishment at the top and realized I can do almost any hill. Now I quite like the challenge and I have even started training on hills, riding up and down the only big hill within reach of home to get better at it.