why the french?

yesterday was a bit of a milestone in my new "training" regimen. i rode alameda n-s to ralston, and then, for good measure, i rode ralston up instead of down. all this with no granny gear.

right as i approached the 15-20% starting hill at alameda, i said, "bring on ze pain!", hopped out of my saddle, and rode up the hill. after the initial climb it levels off to a series of 10% grades separated by 5s. it's not a long stretch of road, but it's intimidated me since i got my bike. i had gotten to the "it's no so hard" point by using my granny, but it took me a while to attempt it without.

finally having done it, this being my first set of real hills without the GG, i can say: it wasn't so bad. ralston was far worse, in fact, since it's longer. i find it much easier to sprint up a steep hill than slog up a steady one. but in a higher gear, i'm done sooner in each case.

whoopie.