Ah! My clutch leg is gradually getting back to normal!
I remembered too that, really, I knew less than a mile into my ride that it would go better than the first few last year. Last year the gradual (short, of course) climb on Regina from University Avenue to Columbia Street was a struggle to complete. But last Sunday, although I did gear right down, it was pretty easy. (Not like the quick sprint when I was younger, but...)
If I had to pick one gear to use last Sunday it would have been 42x19. I was using that most of the time. Any little hindrance and I went to 42x21. The only lower gear after that is 42x25, so when I say "geared right down" it's not really all that low. It is too low for standing up, but not really comfortable for the short steep climbs I encounter, but I ease back and pedal steadily but slowly. Sometimes I used higher gears, down short downhills, but not a great amount.
A new bicycle is in my mind, but might not come to pass. If I don't get a new bicycle, perhaps I should investigate if I can get 49/39 front rings.
When I originally got the bicycle, my intention had been to fit a front triple, but various details of technology made that impossible. It would be nice to be able to twiddle up hills in the early spring (and up to about 10 years ago, 42x25 would be a twiddling gear; part way through a season I would switch the rear from 14-25 to 13-21--but now I'm getting older).
Heh, I don't mean "exactly what gears do you select to climb Hill X", I just mean what chainrings and cassette do you have? I've got compacts and 11-32 and I can spin my way up just about anything.
Well I never use lower than 42/25 on any hill. Don't know if the few short climbs cause the pain, or just the general overall activity. It's not a "bad pain" and has gone away now. Though my legs and knees will never feel like when I was young. (Going up, and more especially, down stairs reveals that).
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