Yesterday a Fondo clinic friend and I tackled the first half of the RBC Gran Fondo Whistler route (round-trip), which ended up being 94 kilometres and over 1,400 meters of elevation gain (read: hill climbing).

There were good hills both ascending and descending (it was a round-trip ride so experienced both aspects of all hills) but nothing that overwhelmed me. It was validation of my training all summer and although I wasn’t pushing myself very hard, it gave me great insight into the first half of the route and confidence that I can complete the entire ride without too much difficulty.

The ride overall was absolutely gratifying. A beautiful trip up the Sea to Sky highway which despite highway traffic and occasionally some very tight shoulders felt comfortable and safe.

Here’s a snapshot of the telemetry from my Strava account (hey, PS: WordPress, please develop a plug-in for Strava!)