I grew up in NYC, was born & spent some time in central NC and went to college near CLE (Oberlin) thus though I rode a lot not much hill climbing was involved. Then I spent a summer in Berkeley, CA and applied for a job at Orinda Spoke and Pedal on the other side of the Berkeley Hill. The owner asked me to come in for an interview.Stupidly I decided to follow the most direct route, which over a mountain of course means the steepest. I almost died on the way up and got there super late. Got the job, by the end of the summer I was quite the hill climber.