Thanks everyone. As for the new frame, Dh left early this morning for a big ride and left me a voicemail. He felt really bad and apologized. He hadn't even thought of it the way I did. His view was that his frame was damaged, this was an insane deal on something comparable or better, so there really wasn't much to think about. Yet I pointed out that it was the best choice IF he got something at the same level of frame he had, but it wasn't his only choice. There are plenty of less quality frames and even similar quality used frames. He flat out hadn't even considered it. My question now is, is he willing to take the frame back and get a different one ... if they'll let him now that he rode on it today. And will I try to make him? This is especially difficult for him because he is in a whole other world of cycling. He climbs like nobodies business, has worked hard to get to the level he's at and, in his mind, this is simply the frame for him to help him keep up with his training and reach his big goals. He's not used to being tied to silly things like not really having the money to pay for it. He rationalized that it's paid for by money we forgot we were owed, yet that money could have paid for a whole lot of other things.

As for me improving on climbs, yeah I know I may never be the best climber. It doesn't come naturally like it does for some. I can descend like crazy and go hard on the flats, so I make up for it as best I can in those areas. But I do know that the lighter you are, the less weight you have to carry up a hill and it makes a huge difference. Dh just told me about a guy we did a big climb with a while back. He lost 20 lbs and he's a totally different climber now. I also know that I have a hard time losing weight AND training, so when I'm in serious weight loss mode, cycling has to be secondary. Just today I went on a club ride, but knew I didn't have it in me to do the big climb that was coming, so I shortened my climbing and came home alone at a super easy pace. And I'm okay with this because I know I lost 3 pounds this week and, in the long run, that will pay off in my cycling.

I do intend to do more interval training, hill repeats specifically... withOUT my friend! But I'll just have to see how I'm feeling on the days I have available to do that, which would be days I'm not riding with her. If not now, once I've lost the weight, I can really focus on the training again. It's good to have a break anyway, so that's the way I'm looking at it.

Thanks again for all your encouragement.