The obvious answer is of course I am a pansy, and it's true. But beyond that, am I a total pansy for being rocked by hills a quarter of a mile long but with 13.5% gradients? There are several of these damn things around here, and it drives me crazy. I am totally out of shape because I've been studying abroad for the last year, and Cairo destroyed my lungs (just breathing there normally=a pack/day worth of damage) but I still feel so very weak when I drop down to the small ring on my compact...
I really need to get back in shape.

Me too. Embrace your destiny. I think it's a shame that all of the jersey's that have pansy's on them are cut to fit women.

no. just ride and train to climb that hill. once you get up it with little to no problem start training on it to get ready to ride up your next hill.

hills that give you problems are great things cause they punch you with reality.

After you reach the top of that hill, turn right around and climb it again!

I know, it's just frustrating to be in worse shape than I was three years ago when I started riding!

13% is steep, but 1/4 mile is not very long. Practice makes perfect.

27t.

You pansy! Get rid of that compact and go fixed gear already. And you call yourself a man.

My fixed gets here tomorrow.

Sweet, what kind?

I think the proper descriptin is "wussy"

Just keep at it, don't expect wild gains overnight and you will get your shape back within a couple months.

Just a Moto Messenger. Going to city-proof it for when I move to NYC in May, use it as my around the town bike. Going to put some Krylion Carbons on, keep the brakes on, and will probably replace the cranks and wheels at some point when I have a job and money.
Going to put in a good number of city miles I am hoping. Also hoping it will help me transition some from a masher to more of a spinner.

If you have to ask...

Yes.

If you THINK you are. I'm an effing machine that rides the calves off the other master A's!

"Pansy" is such a harsh term . . . . how about "incline-challenged" . . . yes, that sounds much better.
Don't beat yourself up too much psychologically, just enough to motivate yourself.

Just ride a lot and keep attacking those hills and after a while you'll see the improvement. It's simple, really . . . it just involves pain and there's no way around it.

Just ride your bike.

Don't worry about who's a 'Pansy'. Compared to the strong guys I race with I'm a Pansy. Compared to the pros, they're Pansies. Compared to Iron Man the pros are Pansies. Compared to Superman, Iron Man is a Pansy. Everybody is a Pansy on some level.

We all go into shape and out of shape, based on how much we get to ride.

Don't fret about being out of shape, the remedy is a fun and pleasant one.

When I'm out of shape and suffering up a hill that is normally delightful, I just tell myself:
It's a good slogan.

that is not good.

I like that one. I may borrow it.

I hardened the f*ck up today. I did hills. In the rain. And then it snowed. And then the snow turned to rain again. I still can't feel my cheeks, but it was a good feeling, to feel that again.

Yes, you are a pansy, but don't sweat it. 13.5% is no joke, even for a quarter mile. I have a similar hill right near me, and the first time I went up it, my garmin beeped at me, to let me know that I'd stopped. Yep, I was going so slow, it thought I'd stopped. If I had a compact, maybe it wouldn't have told me I stopped, but it still would have hurt.

There are two rules:

1. You can always get better.
2. There is always someone better than you.

I just got back from a ride with that type of gradient (Goat Hill in Lambertville - I guess that makes more sense than Lamb Hill in Goatbertville...). One of my buddys, who is retiring in a month, did the ride on his fixie. Maybe by the time you're his age, you will have similar skills.

I, myself, did the ride on my compact.

My $0.02 just work out what gear comfortably allows you to get from bottom to top, then repeat it over the weeks working on increasing your cadence. Once you've got that down, think about resetting in a taller gear and start again -- it'll come.

FWIW -- a post titled "Am I a Pansy?" is the BF equivalent of walking around with a piece of paper marked "kick me" on your back.