Originally Posted by
Grumpy McTrumpy
Machka:
let me offer a suggestion on how to work on the mental aspect of this (since it seems to be a significant portion of it).
try riding some of these hilly courses at night. You might find you think differently when you can only see a few feet in front of you as opposed to observing the entire hill.
See now ... that's an area where I have a lot of trouble, and which gets me into a lot of trouble on my randonnees. My usual method of climbing involves seeing the hill, and making a plan of attack to get up it. When it is dark, or when the hill continues around the next curve, my energy from the initial plan of attack dissolves and I'm left struggling.