Hillzilla

So I got my new most favorite bike - a Gary Fisher Rig.  Sweet ride, one gear.  Erik says "You better start hitting Hillzilla..."  Uggh.  He's right, but Hillzilla hurts.  18 minutes is my record up the the north side, from the front door of work to the beautiful views at the top.  Only hacking up 1 lung is the best I can manage coming up the south side.  The north side is currently a sloppy, frozen mess.  I can make it up, but the effort takes its toll.  Rolling down the south side is a blast - probably the best part of the whole out-and-back ride.  Turning around at the (currently frozen) creek begins the torture-fest.  The previously screaming descent becomes a screamer of a climb.  It's hard to catch any kind of rhythm. Some parts are relatively flat, but quickly turn back up.  Mostly, though, it just goes up.  And up.  The final climb, after the last switchback, sucks.  It sucks your soul, your legs and, did I say soul?  When you finally reach the top, you don't look back.  You just go down again. It's sloppy, frozen and fast. 

I've got to start that climb.  Soon.