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fitness
Enjoy your fitness.
A good friend of mine once said to me: "most people will never know what it feels like to be truly fit". This statement had a profound effect on me - it's a staggering fact when you think about it. I was reasonably fit at the time, but I had certainly spent the majority of my 30s being quite unfit. Of course there are degrees of fitness, but if you're reading this post, chances are you're way fitter than the majority of people your age.
Getting fit, or going soft?
Over the past couple of years I've been increasing the intensity and distance of my rides to try and improve my fitness. I'm far from being a really fast rider, but I did finish the half fling in 3:01 this year, which is about 30 mins better than my time 2 years ago, so my fitness is improving. But here's the thing; in recent months I've found that if I drink more than 2 beers I get a hangover. My brother-in-law, a personal trainer, said he has seen this before with his clients - as they get fitter, their alcohol tolerance declines.
Hills
Can anyone suggest some good places for some hill training on a trail of some sort?
Something that will have a good 5-10 minute climb on dirt.
I live near the city so can access most places in a comparable time.
Thx
[Mod. moved to Northern Beaches]
Quarry Road Track: The famous waterbar punctuated descent
End of Stewart Ave, Hornsby
This ride quite literally has its ups and downs. The upside is the great downhill blasts on either side of the creek, but of course, what goes down must go back up 
But despite this, you'll get your fitness workout, as well as have some great views of Berowra Valley Regional Park, as well as see the grand old bridge at the bottom.
Won't go to much more detal - just look at the description of the track on the site... it says all you need to know.
BE WARNED: YOU NEED A GOOD DEGREE OF FITNESS TO ENJOY THIS TRACK!!
But once you can do the uphills, it's all great fun 
Mountain biking for fitness in 2008
Some great and very true words from Mountain biking for fitness in 2008 || Mountain Bike Blog || SINGLETRACKS.COM. Click that link for the rest of it, but here's a teaser:
Let's start with first things first: mountain biking is fun. Honestly, the word "fun" doesn't really do justice to what it's like to bomb down a narrow trail through the woods, adrenaline pumping and endorphins popping. Mountain biking is exciting and it's the kind of thing that millions of folks dream about while they're at work. Ever hear of a co-worker gushing about the great time she had at the gym on Saturday afternoon? I didn’t think so.
'nuff said - get out there!