Yet another gearing question

[Kano]

Barb -- no hints, no tips, cuz I've got NO clue about gears! All I've got for you is a "you're not alone!" and to go with that, an "I'm so glad I'm not alone too!" We were out practicing today -- in this weather! If you have a peek at the attached picture -- sunny, high clouds, 70-some degrees, sounds and looks ideal, doesn't it? Sadly, it LOOKS like plains, but there should be mountains in the background! Tater and I are surrounded by wildfires! the air stinks!

Anyhow, hills were not fun today! We had a good strong head wind today as we headed south and east to the hills (yay! come tired time, we'll have a tail wind! HAH! it shifted! we enjoyed SOME tail winds, but then, by tired time, we had head winds again!) The false flats got me today, and then we got to the real hill. Poor Earl, he offered to go back toward home (I think he was hoping) several times before we tackled the big one, said, it's okay -- those "roadies on their fancy bikes" turned down toward town instead of riding up this one, but I kept telling him that he could go back, but _I_ was going up that hill.

I think I stopped to let my legs and breath catch up to me five times today. DH came back once and asked how I was doing, which was probably a bad idea -- messed with my ego when he came down to ride back up ahead of me a second time, you know? When we got to the top, and my speed started building again, suddenly I was raring to go, and there was DH, "don't you want to stop?" I can't decide if it's in my body or my head that makes hills such a challenge: last weekend, I did far more hill climbing with no stopping and no maddeningly low speeds (which is what I think bugs me MOST about hills!), so I've got no sort of consistency even to whine about!

One of these days, maybe I'll get me one of those road bikes like you have, and start climbing hills like, like, like, maybe six miles per hour! And, one of these days, maybe I'll have lost another 30-50 pounds, and then I'll REALLY go up the hills!

That reminds me, I've got a mighty serious post-ride hungry going on....

Karen in Boise