When I ride with the fast guys, I use whatever gear will allow me to keep up and minimize effort, which means that I try to spin at a fairly high cadence. When I'm riding with a group that isn't moving nearly as fast, I generally use bigger gears to build leg strength. Kinda like the thread on climbing in your big chain ring. When I ride by myself, I vary cadence and effort, depending on what I'm trying to accomplish.

One of the guys I ride with is one of the top 55+ masters racers in the state, and he says that whatever I'm doing is working. I plan to start doing structured hill intervals with hopes of improving my climbing. No particular objective other than my own amusement.