DNU: Just the opposite, actually -- I can go uphill at a pretty good clip as long as my heart and lungs will hold out. However, it seems that I have a sort of Donald Trump thing going on in the steep downhill stretches, especially if the terrain is at all treacherous. I find a thin spray of gravel over a smooth rocky surface to be the most intimidating, but any significant downhill grade will slow me down to the extent that my times are usually better going uphill than down. Plus it beats the hell out of my quad and groin muscles. Counter-intuitive, I know, but true.