Lisa- thanks for the encouragement about the steeper hills. New Paltz is beautiful but I'm not in school anymore by a long stretch I'm 43 - so I'm done with all that now thank God.

salsa- yeah, I'm going to ask my LBS about the back and the bike fit as you and a few people suggested. I suspect, as Lisa suggested, that it may be about logging in more miles and building up the legs. In season I had been logging in about 50-60 miles per week. My goal this year is to log in more like 75-100. The lower back strain is only when I climb up the steepest parts of a hill. Otherwise I'm comfy cozy on the bike.

It's so great to have a forum like this - I'm loving it - thanks everyone for being there...