Originally Posted by
CliftonGK1
... I don't think this kind of discouragement is warranted.
Sure, the reality is that on average, Clydes will never climb as fast as their lighter ride partners... but there are Clydes in my rando group who have no problem with 300k routes that have 12,000' of climbing. There's a guy on this forum who finished the RAAM (again) this year, and there's a lot of climbing involved there.
I wasn't being discouraging, I'm on this forum myself (though I only just qualify), I'm 55 years old, and I can climb at 2500 feet per hour. Faster, when I'm really in shape. But the little guys who can
really climb dance past me like thoroughbreds past, er, Clydesdales. And the OP was comparing himself to other riders whom he can hang with on the flats but not going uphill. There's nothing discouraging about telling him that he can improve, but that heavyweights will never be true climbers. It's just a fact of life.