Originally Posted by jschen
If you feel like you're just freewheeling in place, then that's great. Just keep at it, and if your pedaling speed increases enough, shift up a gear while retaining the feeling of freewheeling in place. Going in such an effortless manner won't win you any races, but it will allow you to climb the hill comfortably.
Excellent advice. His only problem really is impatience. Just relax and enjoy the ride. It's a good time to focus on breathing and just see how you are going.
Personally, when I get to the top of the hill, I tend to coast. That's as much of a function of my bike's gearing as anything else. It's a repurposed mountain bike so it's got the low gears, but shifting up to find anything resembling a gear is too much like work. The hills around here are the ends of the Ouachita Mountains so it's up or down. My commute is short. 1.9 miles with a 27 foot drop total to work. But there's 200 feet of climbing and 200 feet of descending inbetween. One hill drops 60 feet in 1/10 of a mile. Whee!.
So, take it easy on your knees and keep them warm this winter and you'll do fine.