Passage #413: 26 July 2017
Gradient Assent
Like many criteria we use to evaluate a bike ride ("difficulty," say, or "funness"), "hilliness" is a relative and, at least to some degree, subjective measure. It depends both on the slopes of the routes available to us and on our own experiences and expectations. So when people ask "is it hilly?" we can only give a relative, subjective answer. This week, we will be bathing in that relativity and subjectivity, asking at every turn "is it hilly?", and basing our route upon the answer. In order to please both flat fanciers and hill hounds in equal measure, we will be switching every 30 minutes between choosing the flattest or the steepest route forward (unless of course we find ourselves circling about some relative minimum or maximum, in which case we will switch whenever we return to the same spot).
