New to cycling

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by sgt_doofey

....Shav, with the TDU tour this year, I hope you like climbing hills! All distances have to climb Mengler's Hill outside Tanunda which is the second king of the mountain climb on the stage. I rode it a few months back and it's a killer. Approx 3km long, 7% grade and a gain of 198m in altitude. It's all downhill from the top though.
You'll be right with the flat bar bike though. Two work mates rode the 60km last year with us on hybrids. They were actually faster than me on my road bike, but they ride to work each day!

Interesting. I read on the TDU website that people who do the Tanunda part can opt to chicken out of Menglers Hill if they want and take the by pass route. Im not one to back out of a challenge though. I tend to do better with hills than outright high cadence. So I may give the hill a shot even if its a slower pace.

[sgt_doofey]

Originally Posted by blueoval

Interesting. I read on the TDU website that people who do the Tanunda part can opt to chicken out of Menglers Hill if they want and take the by pass route. Im not one to back out of a challenge though. I tend to do better with hills than outright high cadence. So I may give the hill a shot even if its a slower pace.

Yeah, they have an escape route to cut out Mengler's Hill, but it knocks 19kms off of your ride, so if you do the 33km Tanunda to Tanunda loop and take the escape route, you end up only cycling 14kms.