Hills, Glorious Hills

There's an article in The News Tribune today about the benefits of training on hills.  I found the article interesting because I absolutely love riding hilly routes.

One of my favorite hills to climb in Tacoma is North Carr Street.  The view from the top looks like this:

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It's a short climb, but quite steep.  (Turn sideways with streetview above and you can get an idea of the pitch.)  The road surface has a brick pattern which gives it an Old World feel.  It's a total lung-buster on any bike, especially this one:

Yes, I really did it and I had a witness.  This is a recently-acquired Worksman Cycles Industrial Newsboy that's maybe a few decades old.  You can stand up and pump the pedals really well with those tall bars.  Admittedly, it's not the best bike for climbing hills, but the feeling of accomplishment when you reach the top on a simple machine like this is one comparable to climbing Everest (I'm guessing.)  

[I might have been on my way home from a Tacoma MOB Ride when I did this and I might have Yahoo!'d loud enough at the top to wake a few neighbors.  Beer is a very powerful bicycle fuel.]

Speaking of conquering mountains, I'm riding the Courage Classic Bicycle Tour this weekend to raise money for child abuse intervention.  You can DONATE HERE and be entered to win some sweet Tacoma swag.  Just a $5 donation gets your name in the hat.