I think the biggest thing that people forget about when training is to establish a regular cadence for themselves. I find at least for me its a very important thing to do.

A regular cadence means I know when I need to shift to a different gear to keep the pressure off my knees. It also means I am doing everything I can to keep from damaging my knees. It makes my Ragbrai a more enjoyable and comfortable ride for me.

If you practice spinning up a hill instead of mashing up a hill then your legs will not be so wore out when you reach the top of that hill. Of course I ride a recumbent trike so I cannot stand up on my pedals so I am left with no choice but to spin up the hill. Riding the recumbent bike has taught me not to get excited but to establish a regular cadence and to use the gearing on my bike to do the work for climbing and speed. I think its a very valuable lesson. Even if I was riding a regular bike now I would practice the same training method for Ragbrai. After all I only have one set of knees and I would like to keep them as long as I can. If gearing you have is not working for spinning up a hill then get it changed to gearing that will.

Jason