Am 15.08.2019 um 00:23 schrieb Frank Krygowski:
The last glaciers stopped within five or ten miles of where I live. There is
a river valley just north of me, but if I cross the river and climb north for
mile or so, it's quite flat to the north or west.

The Rhine "Rift Valley"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Rhine_Plain gives me a similar
situation. Going South, North or West I'm basically flat (OK, West, I
lose some 10m on the first 25k and re-gain them on the next 25k), going
east I have a 500m climb up the Königsstuhl starting at the edge of town
(one popular hiking route contains a stairway of 1600 steps).