Originally Posted by
redpear
I'm not sure how much riding you've done around these parts, but I feel like if it were even possible, my knees would go before my muscles would get bigger.
No I'm well aware of the flatness of my area. My point being, I like to ride as high as a ratio that I can handle safely so I am constantly working on getting stronger. This is all relative to the topography of your area.
Velodromes are designed to be perfectly level, so its an even playing ground for all the riders. I'm sure you would smoke my ass because you're in SF, and you should have to deal with much harder grades on a more regular basis than at least I do.