Do you feel like it's muscle strength or cardio? We do a lot of climbing on the mountain bikes. As long as the grade is 20% or less, I'm good. But there are some short, freakishly steep sections above that, which send my heart rate through the roof. Of course those sections are near the top, when I'm already tired. Maine roads are a lot like that - short, steep rollers. What's been helping me recently, is focusing on keeping my breathing even and chanting to myself that my legs are strong.

Do you go to your easiest gear right away? If you are, you might try staying away from that gear. When I first got my Cervelo, it was an 11 - 25 and I climbed much faster. But with that gearing, I could only do one sustained 5 mile climb. If there was a second one my legs were shot! After a couple of months of me wanting to cry on every second climb, we changed it out to an 11-32 - I think. It's definitely got a 32 at any rate.

Veronica