Isn't it interesting how sometimes we can struggle on part of a ride that we thought would be easy, and fly where we thought we'd struggle? And then sometimes, the hardest steepest part really is the hardest steepest part.

Do you ever read Fat Cyclist? He wrote a race report, where he talked about riding on a fixed gear bike which just plain forced him to walk in sections that he normally would have toughed it out through & he came out of it pretty happy with the experience. And I remember seeing photos from a mountain bike race where even Lance Armstrong had to walk. And that just tells me that it's all a continuum: there's a grade that will make anyone on the planet walk, we're all on that continuum somewhere.

http://www.fatcyclist.com/2008/08/14...0-race-report/

And thanks for posting the report & the pictures!