Originally Posted by
TrojanHorse
If you don't routinely ride hills/mountains, you really owe it to yourself to drive out to one of the big climbs on that ride and try it out. If you don't already have a compact crank, get one of those first.
The mental part of climbing might be the toughest... if you don't know how much farther you have to go it can really mess with your head. If you've already ridden the climb even once you will know what's going on and what to expect and that makes a huge difference.
Not knowing where the top is will mess you up and even driving a route is better than having it be a total mystery that reveals itself as you go. If you have an altimeter, know where the climbs start and stop so you can plan your effort. If you don't have an altimeter, know which elevations correspond with which odometer readings -- for big rides, I write this on my arm or tape it to my TT depending on temps on the climbs.
When you've been out all day, you'll get really depressed if you can't tell if you have hundreds or thousands of feet to go to the top and if you can get more water in 2 miles or 8.
Gearing is helpful. You can do anything on anything if you're willing to suffer enough. But suffering sucks.