Originally posted by Irulan

now this may not apply to you at all... but for me the better I became at mountain biking, and the better my fitness... both of those contributed directly to liking to climb as compared to tolerating it...

Irulan
I would say that early in the season that is a main contributor. But even when I was in the best shape ever with 10% body fat and strong legs, I just never could get in to the climbing until I got to the top and realized how happy I was to have made it. I then gained a bit too much weight and climbing got even more difficult. But I've slimmed down again and maybe that will help me both psychologically as well as physically this season.