Oh, I get it, Robbie. I live by the coast and sometimes ride on the bike path along the beach. Still, it can get pretty hilly and even mountainous here in So Cal because of all the tectonics going on.

Over the decades I have trained myself to spin the crank at about 90 rpm. If I spin slower I feel I am spinning too slow. If I spin faster I know that, too. I pick a gear that allows me to spin at 90 rpm for the terrain I am on at that moment. That's how I do it.

My road bike is set up as a 12 speed right now. What a luxury it is to have those two extra gears. I am so used to only ten. I saw a Campagnolo Record triple crank on ebay and was going to bid on it but it was well over $336. An extra six gears would be cool, but not at that price.

My mountain bike has at least 18 gears, might even be 21. With 21 speeds spaced over a super-wide range you don't have to really worry about it. However, those of us with only ten speeds, ...

Obviously, the team Doc didn't pump enough EPO into that guy.

Seriously though, that IS a lot of numbers to think of. You'll have to tape those ratios to the stem just to remember it.
25+ years ago, the ones really concerned about double shifting and wasted gears are long haul bike tourist. They actually have the time to do all that crazy shifting.

For me, the ratios are hard to translate into pedaling. I go by inches. My low gear is ## inches and my high gear is ### inches.