Today I had to be content with some quasi-hills. Recently I began using a new pair of cycling shoes; and it helped that my left foot didn’t keep coming unclipped.

How do you do quasi-hills? Keep shifting into harder and harder gears. When it feels really tough, stay there for a while. This morning I worked to do it one minute at a time for a total of six efforts. I didn’t worry about speed; just effort level.

That’s all very well; but how long are the climbs on RAGBRAI; and how steep are they? Recently I met some people who are going to this year’s RAGBRAI; and when they return, I mean to ask them about this. As with so many things, though there’s a catch. The RAGBRAI route changes every year!