I live in a river valley so every direction out and back I have to climb hills. With my Spring legs this has shortened my mileage to 30 miles or less. The general altitude gain is 1200 - 2500 feet or consistently rolling hills. Truthfully the hills kick my butt. I'm not sure if it is just weak legs or poor climbing technique. I tell myself that all this hill climbing is good for me but I'd think I'd rather deal with a headwind in Kanas.

So the questions are:
What is good Climbing technique?
Is riding the hills as good as putting on the mileage?
Or should I just shut up and ride...