Thanks for your encouragement Marni. I took some pretty good hills yesterday, just being patient with myself, my body and my chain which popped off twice (it went right over the innermost sprocket on the back while I was shifting down). I have to figure out how to stop it from doing that What kept me going on the hills was a comment I read about how hills are good for your legs, now you say they are good for the butt. That is encouraging because i really need to drop the lbs I put on after a back injury this past winter I live in Omaha and this part of Nebraska is not flat!!!! When I rode allot 22 years ago I was in Dallas, what a difference!