I forgot one other suggestion about climbing ... and I forgot it because I forget to do it when I climb.

When climbing, especially when you're tired and you're concentrating on pushing hard on the pedals, it's easy to let your pedaling technique slip. And that can slow you down ... a lot.

Concentrate pedaling in circles, pushing down on one side and pulling up on the other. Use both your legs throughout your entire pedal stroke.

It's not easy. It takes practice. It's easy to forget, especially if you're tired. And you'll discover muscles you never used before.

But if you look down at your speedo while you're doing it, you'll see 1-2 MPH more speed for what seems to be the same effort.

PS: The best part is that you don't need to lose any weight to try it.