I used to just dislike hills abut I put up with them and felt I could climb most of them. I was never very fast but I was steady. I had a neighbor that was a hill climbing fool and riding with him I always knew we would have a climb somewhere on the ride. About twice a week we would make the 1000-foot climb from downtown Riverside to Lake Matthews. My neighbor was always one of the first to get to the top and I was always one of the last. So I would have said acceptance with a slight tinge of anger except when I got an attack of over confidence.
One day my neighbor came up with the bright idea of riding from Riverside to Crestline or Lake Arrowhead California. Like a fool I let my pride get the better of me and I agreed. I never guessed he would want to go through with it but about a week later he decided we should give it a try. We rode from Down town Riverside through San Bernardino and headed up Waterman or highway 18 towards the mountain communities. San Bernardino is at about 1000 feet and Crestline is at about 4850 feet. The road itself is 16 miles from 30th street to the City of Crestline and about 20 miles to Lake Arrowhead at just over 5200 feet. It took about 4 hours of climbing to get to Crestline. I was too proud to get off and walk and so I attempted to keep up with my neighbor. I have never been that tired in my life and I hope to never be that tired again.
Today my bike riding style is totally different and I just about hate hills. But I realize that even if I have to get another bike I will have to accept that there are some hills between where I am and where I want to go. So now they just make me angry and I attack them till I get over or I can’t ride another revolution. And yes, sometimes I now walk.