I bounce when the gear I am in is too low for the speed I'm going. Typically, if I ratchet it up one more gear the bouncing stops. It sounds like to me that you dropped to too low a gear and that's why you were bouncing and also felt like you were pedaling your little heart out to no avail. Try staying in a higher gear or the one you are in until you slow down, then shift to a lower gear and keep spinning. Do this till you reach the top. I've been at this for a year now and it does take some time to learn how to conquer a hill. I've still got a lot to learn but I can already tell a big difference in how I handle them from last year. Your brother was so not helpful.