My partner suggested to get into my small chain ring... find a steady cadence (don't worry if its low), and just work your way steadily up the hill - make it smooth, don't try and speed up... and this works a treat...

And it works...

The other thing I do (advice from my sis-in-law...) is never, ever walk up a hill, not even a bit of it...

She told me if I get to a point where I can't get any further, to stop and hop off and rest for a minute or two, then get back on... so I do - and there is no hill I have tackled so far that I can't ride every bit of it (even if i do have to stop once or twice on the way).

This is a HUGE psychological boost - because you get home and thank - "I rode that hill - I climbed EVERY inch of it!!! I can do it!!"

And next time, you ride a bit further before you need to stop - or you don't stoop at all - because you are telling your self - I HAVE ridden this before!

Of course, I don't choose gradients a long way from what I know I can tackle, but I do challenge myself...


Word of warning - if you are wearing clip-in pedals, be very careful about stopping on a hill, and be aware that you need to start by going down a bit while you clip in again, before turning and going back up...