Good to hear about those bike lanes. Governments should stimulate their citizens to take the bike more often, esp for short rides, say <5 miles. I always take the bike for shopping or working out, but I realize that things are different in other parts of the word (car culture of peace).
Not sure how steep that hill is and what kind of bike you're riding, but why not use that hill for some cardio work?
It's steep. The hill is closed right in front of our home as soon as the first snowflake hits the pavement. But you are right about cardio. In fact, I've seen some folks breezing up the hill on their bikes, even folks who look to be as old as me. Obviously, it is not something one should tackle on their first bike trip out. Given some time for conditioning, it might just be the hill to break the calf development barrier so many of us face.
I read once where Steve Reeves had a bicycle route as a kid which was hilly. He attributed some of his calf development to that experience.
We are lucky in the Portland area to have laws which favor bicyclists over motorists. Also our politicians realize there is a strong bicycle contingency which help get them elected so they tend to vote for upgrades to bicycle lanes.
