This was a great route ... for awhile. Garmin's algorithm correctly identified the difficult climbs (3.6, 5.5, and a smaller one at 10.4) and boy they were ... hard. The first coupla miles of Tipple Top and Pig Iron were quite fun, if a little overgrown in places. And we were glad we were going southbound (generally) because the climb in the other direction at 3.6 woulda been a LOT harder. But 3.5 to the road crossing at 7.8 ... the climbs were hard, yes, but the switchbacks were incredibly tight and my Salsa simply did not fit in many of them. There was waaaay more hike-a-biking than necessary. All I can figure is little people riding little bikes made some of those switchbacks and accompanying berms. Not pleasant. No need to ride Pig Iron again :-( The ride northbound on Tipple Top was good, though, even with tired legs and an annoyed rider. Had to slow down those last few miles because the technical skills -- keeping your front tire where it's supposed to be and handling dips and corners -- had disappeared as I got more and more tired. Probably should have been in better shape, endurance-wise, but shoulda woulda coulda probably would have prevented the trip from occurring in the first place. Poor companion (50-60 lbs lighter) did a fair bit of waiting for the slower old guy to drag his body up the hills...