for me, the first 4 miles out of work is slightly uphill, with a climb at the end of this 4 miles which i hate. the reason i hate it is because when i first started cycling it defeated me the first time. it gets steeper at the top as it turns a corner and its a tight squeeze with the traffic. car drivers overtake me on the bend and don't leave any room... putting myself in primary makes no difference, the just cut me up with an inch to spare anyway, nearly killing the drivers in the opposite lane. i spend more time looking back and putting my hand out to hold drivers up than i do looking where i'm going. all in all, it's just a pain in the arse, it is still my nemesis even tho i've now done much worse gradients (it's about 6 - 8% for about a third of a mile so not that bad but the traffic situation makes it a whole lot worse).
After that, it's pretty much flat and i can get off the main road onto quieter lanes, and so it's after that hill that i feel like i'm home even tho i've got another 13 miles to go
