Originally Posted by suetee

Thanks, guys. those are very helpful suggestions. My steel bike is pretty old (Bridgestone) so I think I might look for something newer and lighter, but stick with steel.

p.s. Johnny, you may not have meant it this way but your comment really felt like a put down to me. A thousand foot unbroken climb is not insignificant. And even if you think it is I'm not sure why you needed to point that out.