Yen

I have climbed very few tough hills, but on the ones I climbed the best I reserved the lowest gears for when the climb got really tough, and each time I shifted down I felt relief in having another gear, which increased my mental (and physical) momentum. That is a trick I hope to remember on the tough hills in my upcoming metric.

Mental tricks can provide the motivation needed to perform any difficult task. When I don't feel like riding at all (too cold, too tired, too dark, etc.) I sometimes tell myself "Just go out for 10 minutes, you can do that much!" Of course, once I'm out there, 10 minutes turns into 30, 40, 60. The same mental tricks can be applied to climbing tough hills.