similar thing happened to me last year. it was my first ride in years, and i was tackling a hill that now seems rather small and sad. but i was out of shape and in the wrong gear and being stubborn beyond belief. i did get to the top, but i had to stop and rest. i was sitting on the grass beside the street panting like mad and a jogger who just made it up the same hill asked me if i was okay. how embarassing! in retrospect, i did everything wrong during and after to make it up the hill and then recover. live and learn! and really, instead of a nice woman jogger, it could have been a sexy guy i was embarassed in front of. thank god for small favours!