I'm considering transferring to my company's San Francisco office this fall. I think I've worked out the massive differences in costs of living (by seriously reducing my quality of life, I can't believe how relatively cheap Chicago is to other major US cities), but I'm worried about being able to cycle.

I've cycled to work daily for the past three years, except for the winters. But Chicago is the city that was engineered to be as flat as a pancake. I plotted my route on a USGS topo map and I have a total 6' elevation change over 4.5 miles (.02% slope). Unless I get well outside the city, or to the extreme south side, there just aren't any hills.

Are any of you NorCal'ers former flatlanders? I have no idea on how to even begin to prepare for the terrain, given that I can't even come close to replicating it. Stationary with add'l resistance? I'd love some tips, if anyone has anything.