Ok, I'm in North Texas and while there are certainly hills that are 6-7%, they are generally pretty short. To give you an idea...I did a ride Saturday that is considered to be fairly hilly in these parts and in 29 miles I climbed a total of 1100 feet. DH did 55 and climbed 1800 feet. I'm in awe of you that do this in one climb. It's just not the terrain I live with...