I've got a pretty meaty butt for a white guy. Runs in the family. That is another reason I was the thinking I might be pretty quick to pick up the hill climbing. I am in my 40's. This was a tough ride called bulldog in the Santa Monica mountains. I'm all the way down in the lowest gear.
I could likely try to pedal more smoothly. I try too apply power in a circle, but when it gets tough I seem to switch back to the up/down motion. I was on low-dose statins for a while. Now I am off. Statins did cause me some muscle pain.
Thanks all for the quick notes. I'll try to pedal more smoothly and just build up the muscles over time.