Hills -- is it true?

[Grog]

This brings up something I've been wondering about. I use the speed from the downhills to help make it up the next rise but then I always get passed by someone about 2/3 of the way to the top. What is the best way to climb...stay in a hard gear as long as possible and then shift or shift sooner? Staying in a hard gear could wear your legs out sooner but down shifting too soon causes you to gain less ground per pedal stroke. So what is the best way?

DO shift BEFORE it gets difficult.

If you have a moderately recent road bike you have a pretty broad selection of gears just 1-2 teeth from each other. I shift down one or two gears at the time, as soon as there is any resistance. I keep my cadence relatively high through the hill. Of course I still might be passed in the end by strong cyclists, but the idea is not to loose momentum, and to avoid loosing speed quickly (which will definitely happen if you wait until it's hard to shift down).

Good luck!!