Badger South writes:

I'm wondering if there are any good tips out there for keeping
cadence high going up moderate hills. I find I really have to hum a
tune, or count reps when the going gets tough and I start to sink
below 65 or 70 (or lower).

I count to 50 and then try and take a deep sigh (more or less
forceful breathe out), and think 'sink/get centered', then do it
again.

Why do you care? From what you write, it seems you don't have any
real mountains to climb. In that case it isn't cadence that counts
but speed. Here you have a great opportunity to determine in which
gear you climb faster by clocking the same run repeatedly in a lower
and higher gear with statistical sampling. Just measure the ET.

Have the experts pretty much decided that higher cadence is the way
to go? I realize we just discussed this here, in relation to energy
conservation, but we still see low cadence riding a lot in the pros
during climbs. I'm thinking maybe it's something that's just very
hard to change once you've developed your riding, and climbing
style.

I don't know that we have heard from any experts, although some have
claimed such skills. You can't tell what the credentials of posters
to this newsgroup are, only whether they make sense. Don't take oft
repeated "facts" as valid. They just get repeated here enough to
become absolute among the faithful.

I haven't learned the 'quiet upper body' phase yet, but it seems
like that's next.

That's called the "nothing moves but my legs" syndrome, a fetish among
beginners and only on short grades. I have ridden many long climbs in
the Alps and never seen anyone ride like that near the top although
some riders start out that way.

Get out and ride and don't worry about form. That will come naturally
if you hurry when riding. This is especially true if you ride with
someone who's a bit faster.

Jobst Brandt