After riding forever in extra-flat NW ohio, I now ride in the hills of south central michigan. I went on my first group ride this spring and was quickly going to be dropped b/c of the hills. 2 nice guys from the group stayed with me. They helped me to get better at hills by explaining that I don't always have to shift up and spin all the way through the downhills (I was trying to use the downhills to catch up w/ everyone), instead, I now use downhills as a time to rest when I find myself on a road that just keeps rolling up and down. I don't know what it says about my form, but I shift down before I meet the hills resistance and often its so early that I can't spin b/c its too loose. I find that in the long run on a steep hill, being in a low gear early helps more than shifting down on the hill.

I can say that going from flat to hilly, I now have a love/hate relationship with the hills, flat's boring now, but hills are tough. I, too, use mantras, one comes from that ditzy fish in Finding Nemo: "just keep spinning, just keep spinning". my other mantra is "i will not shift, i will not shift" (meaning into my granny gear - haven't used it in a month!)