In a few months the hills that seem big now will seem much smaller. I guess it's erosion. :D

I am amazed by the psychology of hills. One morning, was commuting while listening to my iPod in shuffle mode. Coincidentally, as I hit my first incline, a really thrashing electro-dance track queued up. Without really thinking, I hammered the incline, charged by the music. It wasn't difficult, but it wouldn't have occurred to me to do that before. I would have been afraid of spending my strength

I have also read the suggestion of breaking the hill into parts--focusing on a series of short goals rather than focussing on the top. I also notice that my energy seems to give out about 30 feet from the top no matter how long or steep the hill. Perhaps I should pretend that the top of the hill is another 60 feet away.

x2!

I used to drive 10 miles to get to the towpath in order to avoid hills with my multigear bike.

Then I started googling every article about hillclimbing, from the simplest about spinning and how to approach the hills, to the very complex formulas of power to weight ratio.

There are a number of techniques out there regarding climbing (spinning, standing, mashing, walking :D) and so far I will give you the 5 golden rules of learning to climb for the new intense recreational cyclist.

:note = some of them have been mentioned before.

1) RELAX = you are supposed to be having fun. Being tense and stressed only eats up your energy and your joy of riding as well. It is an energy game, not so much of brute force game.

2) SLOW FIRST = try to target a speed on a familiar climb and stick to it. Try not to sprint up the hills YET! ... that will come later in a few short weeks.

3) BALANCE = because you are going uphill it does not mean that you need to "bite" your handlebar for hunching forward too far. Try the following excersise = hold the by curling your fingers without using your thumbs, stretch your arms to and shrug your shoulders back a little bit. If it feels that you are waterskiing, you dialed your balance. Practice till you can climb without hands.

4) CHANGE = If you climb in only one position, you will only experience one result. Depending on the characteristics of your bicycle, you might try to slide forward a little for easier spinning. Perhaps your seatis an inch too far from the handlebars, and that can make a huge difference. Learn how to "handstand" on your handlebars so to pedal a couple inches off the saddle. Get your hip closer to the bar and you will be mashing the pedals at full torque at low rpms. Learning to "push pull" your pedals and handlebars just enough to propel you forward without energy takes trying different things

5) CLIMB = the best way to learn to climb is .... climbing. Leave flat areas for later use, they will be there when you go back :D. Find some climbing buddies if you got some. Unfortunatelly I do not have many friends around the area at all, and I had to learn to climb by researching all climbing articles I could lay my hands on, in addition of following and immitating the serious cyclists in my area. Imitation is the highest form of flattery, and If you ask local riders they will be very proud and happy in teaching you. My climbing got to an acceptable form and speed (almost equal at my initial riding speed on flats) for copying what other people do around my pleasantly hilly area. I mostly ride alone (commuting) or with my wife, whom in turn had a case of "hillphobia". She overcame the "hillphobia" after consistent riding on hills; she has become a very decent climber.

I get more excersise in a shorter period of time because climbing, and now I am sure that when the time comes I will be able to enjoy radonneuring anywhere in the world that is not exactly flat.

Fear not the hills, they are the one of those things that makes you slow down and enjoy the scenery.

Time to shut up for me.

Low gear, high cadence and a very regular spin.

On one hand, studded tires help for traction. On the other hand, if you really want to practice good spinning, try to climb a 10% grade with a stokerless tandem.

Or try any double digit grade on a road bike when the pavement's wet. Especially if the steep part happens to be at a turn. Stand and mash, and you'll just get wheelspin. Be less than smooth when seated, and you'll still get some wheelspin.

I haven't tried myself (for lack of a MTB), but I hear climbing steep grades offroad requires similar smoothness.