Quote Originally Posted by makbike

One other thing I did to help me was I pulled out an old book I had purchased back in the 1980's and made myself a gear inches chart to tape to the top tube of my bike. It allowed me to make better selections on the various terrain around here. If you want the formula let me know and I'll be glad to share it. Some of the guys in local club have laughed at me for my chart, but I'm not a numbers person and having a visual in front of me has made my time on my bike even more enjoyable.

Good luck and don't let the hills intimidate you. As my boyfriend keeps telling me, hills are your friends.
I'd love to see your chart. I've only been riding for about three months and although there are some hills around here I tend to get through them mostly by trial and error with the gears, not through any sensible gear pattern.