I'm with Aint Doody here. And bcipam. And Trek420. I'm a beginner to this, or a re-beginner. But back when I was a seasonal commuter my season would progress through stages: 1) walk half the hill on the climb home. 2) stand half the hill. 3) sit and spin the whole hill in granny gear. 4) spin up the whole hill in a mid-gear. 5) first snow, put the bike away and fall out of shape again til Spring. So now I figure I'm starting again at step 1. If I don't make it up a hill, I keep walking (I'm good at that, do it all Winter!) and figure I'll be further up the hill before I bail next time.

Did two tries on a small hill while out on a training ride under Trek420's tutelage last weekend. First try, chain fell off. Personal victory of the day was unclipping fast enough not to fall. Next try I got maybe halfway up, tried gearing up and standing the rest, but didn't hit a gear that worked for that, so walked. Oh well. I was doing bigger hills in the Fall. Outa shape, I guess. Or maybe it was all that weeding in Mom's garden the day before. Anyways, now it's back to -20 and spin class, upping the resistance and hoping to do better next time on the road. But if I make it through the Cindy walking every darned hill, I'm still keeping my hands on the bike and going on my own power. It counts.