what do YOU call a hill????

[Lynne]

Ok, I'm getting distinct impression that what people call a "hill" can vary greatly. I call a hill anything with like a 6% or higher grade. Around here, you usually hit ones that are anywhere from a mile to three miles in length and the grade varies on each particular hill anywhere from 6% to 10% on average. I only do between 6 mph and 8 mph up those two or three mile suckers, averaging like 7 mph (obvously :o )

On a smaller continuous grade (like 5% steady), I can comfortably ride 10-11 mph.

See? Hills are not my friends!!!

So, what's a hill to YOU?

[emily_in_nc]

How do you find out the grade of hills you ride? I just don't have a clue what the grades are on hills I ride. So, I define anything that is tough to ride up - you have to shift down, possibly stand up, your HR goes up, and it's just basically a hard effort - as a hill, regardless of grade. There are long ones and short ones, but they're all hills to me.

Very simplistic, I know!

Emily

[skibum]

I think of a hill as anything that noticeably goes up. Something you might have to shift down for or work hard to get up. It doesn't matter how long it is, a couple hundred yards or a couple miles, it's still a hill.

I can't say that I go uphill any faster than you do, Lynne. I am working hard to develop the mental attitude that hills are my friend though. You can't really ride around here without hitting some hills so I figure I'll enjoy the rides better if I think 'woohoo, another hill I can challenge myself with' rather than 'oh darn, not another hill already'.

[RoadRaven]

Anything that goes up - like skibum says... 100 metres or a few kms...
A low gradient can still be tough if it goes a long while, or if it comes at the end of a long ride...
I'm aiming to stay above 15km per hour (thats about 10miles) and once I acheive that I will aim to stay above 20km (about 12.5miles)
Like I've said before, at the moment, hills are not my strength

[SnappyPix]

I never really knew what hills were until I moved here to New Zealand!
My absolute max heart rate used to be 184. Previously a hill was something that made my quads burn, and my heart rate go up to 184.
I now find that a hill is something that I can't bring myself to look at; I have to stare at the tarmac in front of the wheel. It makes me dig real deep into my psyche even though I'm in my lowest gear and I'm out of the saddle. My heart rate is bursting my lungs at 191 and still the hill goes on, upwards, round the bend and out of sight.
When I'm climbing my hills, speed becomes irrelevant - just getting to the top is a miracle.
That's my hill! But the view at the top is FANTASTIC! And the descent is knee-trembling! :eek:

[RoadRaven]

hey there Snappy - aint it great?

If you decide you like hills, you should think about trying the K2 --- though I don't think you'll be seeing me riding in it, just cheering from the side

http://www.cycleclub.co.nz/eventsCalendar.htm
link to Manakau, Auckland club

http://202.20.65.2:3000/sportzHUB/ARC/K2_Noticeboard/
event summary from last year

http://www.ramblers.co.nz/links.asp
Link to my local club which lists events round NZ abd a few overseas

But yeah, views are great. I think its understood that no matter where you drive in NZ you are only about 2 hours away from the ocean - and we still have the amazing forests and mountains - the backbone of the fish Maui pulled up so long ago

[SnappyPix]

hey there Snappy - aint it great?

If you decide you like hills, you should think about trying the K2 --- though I don't think you'll be seeing me riding in it, just cheering from the side

http://www.cycleclub.co.nz/eventsCalendar.htm
link to Manakau, Auckland club

http://202.20.65.2:3000/sportzHUB/ARC/K2_Noticeboard/
event summary from last year

http://www.ramblers.co.nz/links.asp
Link to my local club which lists events round NZ abd a few overseas

But yeah, views are great. I think its understood that no matter where you drive in NZ you are only about 2 hours away from the ocean - and we still have the amazing forests and mountains - the backbone of the fish Maui pulled up so long ago

RoadRaven,

Ha ha! Ha ha ha ha! :eek:
I'm trying to break myself in gently here!! LOL! :o
Plan to do the Taupo Challenge (160km), the Hamilton to Auckland (measly 97km!!) and the Taranki Challenge - that's enough for starters!
Thanks for the links - that's brilliant, but dangerous! Hee hee!

[nuthatch]

How do you find out the grade of hills you ride?
Emily

Cute new avatar, Emily! You look so spunky!!


I call a hill anything with like a 6% or higher grade. Around here, you usually hit ones that are anywhere from a mile to three miles in length and the grade varies on each particular hill anywhere from 6% to 10% on average.

In Illinois, this is called a "death march."

[Technotart]

standing in granny gear - that IS a hill!

Nah - anything I have to use the granny gear for is a hill. Anything else is just an incline.

[betagirl]

Yeah living in IL, don't see a ton of hills. There are a few around here, typically by river valleys. Those I consider REAL hills for this area. But we have lots of lower grade long climbs that can tax you more than a brief high grade hill. We also have a lot of bunny hops/rollers.

[swlsue]

Ha!
I live in Houston = sea level.

therefore,
overpasses=hills! :p

[tatormc]

I think of a hill as anything that noticeably goes up. Something you might have to shift down for or work hard to get up. It doesn't matter how long it is, a couple hundred yards or a couple miles, it's still a hill.

This is exactly how I feel

[CorsairMac]

Ok, I'm getting distinct impression that what people call a "hill" can vary greatly. I call a hill anything with like a 6% or higher grade. Around here, you usually hit ones that are anywhere from a mile to three miles in length and the grade varies on each particular hill anywhere from 6% to 10% on average. I only do between 6 mph and 8 mph up those two or three mile suckers, averaging like 7 mph (obvously :o )

On a smaller continuous grade (like 5% steady), I can comfortably ride 10-11 mph.

See? Hills are not my friends!!!

So, what's a hill to YOU?

ahhhhhhhhhh Gods Love ya Lynne! I climb every night on my commute home - about 495 feet for 6 miles with a gradient from 3%-8% and I average 10 mph on a good day. I was reading one of the other posts and thinkg 18mph on a hill? I'll NEVER do that!! We also have false flats around here - they Look like flats but then why is my speed dropping and why am I'm changing to a lower gear?? I was SOOOO excited yesterday when I had a 20 mph tailwind so my avg spd on my climb home was 12 mph!! wheeeeee
The highest gradient I've ever ridden was 14% and I was soooo sorry I knew that! lol

[BikingAt50]

Lance Armstrong says that a hill is nothing more than the road slopping upward. Early in his career, he said he only focued on about twenty feet of the road in front of him. That way he never had the psy effect of going up a hill. It was just the road in front of him. It works! On my last organized ride, there was a few places where the road slopped upward significantly. I lowered my head and focused on the road in front of me. Before I realized it, I was on level road again. If I look at a hill, I psy my self out - I defeat myself before I start. Hills are tough for me, but hopefully in time, I will take them with out a problem.....I hope :(

[SimpleCycle]

I don't really understand the % grade thing, and don't have any way of telling, so the only ones I know are ones that have signs when you are going down them that say "7% grade, next 12 miles". Those signs aren't my favorite, especially when I know I'll have to come BACK UP! I think 5-6% climbs are pretty intense. We have a mountain here (Mt. Lemmon) that is a 5-6% grade for 23 miles. You're a pretty good climber if you can hit mile marker 11. I've yet to try it and don't really ever want to.

As for what is a hill, I know it when I see it! Pretty much anything I shift down to my third chainring for qualifies. Although we also have 3-4% grades for 10+ miles, and I don't ride those in my lowest ring, but they are hills, and usually called climbs.

[runnergirl]

Wow, the biggest hill we have here is about 8% grade for 200 feet or so. The longest incline is about 1/2 mile long, maybe a 3% grade...

We are thinking of going to the "mountains" once a month for some climbing work, otherwise I'll be in trouble for the spring college season.

[bikerchick68]

I have no idea how to measure percentages either.... but I DO know that if it's steep at all, I granny gear it! I ride a double and have thought about switching to a compact but I seem to be able to climb anything I want... just reeeeeeally slowly! There's a 3 mile climb that is part of my training route that I climb at about 7mph...

when I did the Solvang Century there is a climb 85 miles in that is about 1 1/2 miles long and freaking steep... I was doing 3.7mph and was concerned that if I slowed any more I was gonna fall over and make an *** of myself... :rolleyes: I would've laughed about it but I was too tired... :D

[Veronica]

I have no idea how to measure percentages

My HRM calculates altitude and distance. Using those two numbers it calculates the grade. You can do the same thing if you know the altitude you started at and the ending altitude - either from a map or a GPS.

For example I climbed a hill with Jo on Tuesday. It climbed 1280 feet in 3.3 miles. Convert the feet to miles or vice versa, but you need the units to be the same. I climbed .24 miles in 3.3 miles. Divide .24 by 3.3 and you get 7%.

For me a hill is fairly short in duration - under 5 minutes to get over it. A climb is any ascent that takes longer than that.


V.

[RoadRaven]

My son says that he thinks you measure grade this way

The distance travelled in height/altitude every 100 metres... therefore, the hill just before I get home which climbs at about 11 metres per 100 metres is an 11% gradient.

It makes me feel like vomiting by the time I get to the top... but at least I can get to the top... now... at about 7km/hour (about 4 1/2 miles per hour)

Then a gentle 1km slope to get rid of the lactic acid before I reach my gate

[SimpleCycle]

when I did the Solvang Century there is a climb 85 miles in that is about 1 1/2 miles long and freaking steep... I was doing 3.7mph and was concerned that if I slowed any more I was gonna fall over and make an *** of myself... :rolleyes: I would've laughed about it but I was too tired... :D

Yeah, that thought has occurred to me at points. : ) I also learned the hard way that it's not a good idea to stop on a very steep part of a hill. When I went to start again, I didn't have enough momentum/coordination/whatever to clip in on the first shot, and over I went at zero miles per hour.

Last week I went on a ride that was a 3% grade or so (I'm guessing) for the 30 miles out, and then the real climbing began. Or so I thought. Then I hit mile marker 1 of the canyon and it starts getting steeper, and think, oh, this must be it. 11 miles later, it becomes seriously steeper, and I slow to about 5 mph. One of my ride partners pulls off into a picnic area, and I say, shouldn't we keep going? He says, "Oh, I've never actually been to the top. Way too much work." Our other partner climbed to the top. This guy was born to climb, and had said he didn't think it would be too hard for me. (I'm still a newbie) On the way down, he says "I take back everything I ever said about Madera Canyon." He said he was pretty sure he was going to fall over for lack of momentum at points. I was really glad I turned around at the picnic area.

[CorsairMac]

Just as an aside: if you stop on a hill, ride partway Down the hill to get yourself clipped in then turn around and go back to your climb.

[Lynne]

LOL, I'm glad I started this thread! Some of the posts are pretty funny. Plus, it helps me understand everyone else's perspective.

BikerChick...one of the women I was riding with yesterday said the same thing...how slow can you go before you fall over? That's too funny!

And, I was able to gauge the incline because I temporarily had a computer that measured incline. Otherwise I'd have no idea either...It's a wonderful idea to check the mileage and speed, but honestly I'm just trying to keep my lungs in my chest and can't focus on the average speed and distance (and I won't reset my computer to get it because then I won't have the stats for the whole ride).

Oh! And I forgot, I learned on my 3rd ride on a bike (in December or so) about not starting on an incline. That was my second fall...yep, zero miles per hour with some construction workers behind me who could see the whole slow tip over. It was like I was a cow and someone had just pushed me over (hehe, just kidding-about the cow thing, anyway). My third and last fall (I swear, it's my last!!) was about 1 ft from the side of the car at the end of the ride-I was just too tired to stay upright and just flat fell over...that one was about 2 mph, as I recall :D

[Steph_in_TX]

Ok, I'm in North Texas and while there are certainly hills that are 6-7%, they are generally pretty short. To give you an idea...I did a ride Saturday that is considered to be fairly hilly in these parts and in 29 miles I climbed a total of 1100 feet. DH did 55 and climbed 1800 feet. I'm in awe of you that do this in one climb. It's just not the terrain I live with...

[RoadRaven]

Lynne... your 2mph... LOL... I think it was about 3.8km that I sloped sideways...

:o

[nuthatch]

how slow can you go before you fall over? That's too funny!

I know you can't do this on an incline, but can anybody here do that "track stand" thing? I saw the boys at a crit race doing it the other day and I want to learn too!! Wonder if I can overcome my natural lack of balance??

[bouncybouncy]

Track-stands are very helpful...practice in thick squishy grass and move to harder surfaces slowly...it is worth the practice!

All this hill talk is making me nervous!!! I live in S Florida now (we have an old garbage dump gone park that we call a mountain :D ) and moving to N Carolina (Asheville to be precise) I will LOVE hills, right? :confused: My average is going down huh??? :(

[mom2twins]

and that's all I have around here. I don't know about grades but I do know about going so slow you fall over :D I'm getting better about hills. The first 3 times I rode this year all I did was go down this 2 mile hill that I live on top of and then struggle back up. I had to walk up the last 1/8 of a mile or so to the top the first 2 times. The 3rd time I was able to stay on my bike the whole way and that is when I knew I could branch out. Now I have 3 additional big hills in my normal morning ride and each one I just tell myself the whole time that even 4 miles an hour up hill is faster then walking and pushing a bike up hill so I keep going.

I might have to look into one of those new polars with altitude. My husband will probably kill me if I buy another gadget but a girl has to know what grade the hill is...right???

[alison_in_oh]

A sprinter's hill is a short bump in the road, usually something you stand and mash over. Rollers are a series of short uphill bits, or any incline up to a half mile or so.

A climb lasts a mile or two, we have a bunch of climbs around here that I'm told are in the 3-6% range, in the 8% range, and even a couple with stretches of about 12%.

A mountain lasts many miles! I got to ride in the mountains in Vermont on our vacation at the end of last month! Whoo-ee, that was crazy, of the longest climbs I did I would guess that one averaged 6% with stretches up to 12%, for about 7-8 miles! Another was a little longer and a little shallower, maybe 5% steady.

bouncybouncy, look into a computer with altitude. Replace your average speed stats with vertical gain stats, and stay proud! :D

[SadieKate]

I know you can't do this on an incline, but can anybody here do that "track stand" thing? I saw the boys at a crit race doing it the other day and I want to learn too!! Wonder if I can overcome my natural lack of balance??

I can do a trackstand for a second or so on a single bike and for a tad longer on our tandem. I learned by doing slow races as recommended by Ned O, the ageless wonder. Slow speed riding skills can really enhance your ability to stay clipped it at traffic lights, clipping in when mounting, or on the trail while assessing your line. Bubba and I have slow races in parking lots at the end of trail rides all the time.

http://www.boure.com/slowspeed.html

[CR400]

Anything that I can't make it up without using my triple and only going 4mph. Or a hill I can't make it up. If I can maintain at least 8 to 9 mph without the triple I don't consider it a hill just a bigger rise where the road isn't quite flat.

[CorsairMac]

I was watching the TdF yesterday and I thought of this thread:
They were showing Stuart O'Gradys stats and he was climbing the last Cat 1 climb at 10 klicks (about 6.1 mph) over a 5-6% grade.
Ok..I Know he's a sprinter so mountains are just not his forte but for a brief moment in time there I was all excited that I could climb a 5-6% grade faster than a pro racer! LOL
Just thought I'd give everyone a little hill climbing boost there! Next time you're climbing look at your speed - you May just be climbing faster than a pro racer! :p

[emily_in_nc]

All this hill talk is making me nervous!!! I live in S Florida now (we have an old garbage dump gone park that we call a mountain :D ) and moving to N Carolina (Asheville to be precise) I will LOVE hills, right? :confused: My average is going down huh??? :(

Oh yeah! I live in central NC, and it's rolling hills here. Having lived in central Florida, I can tell you that there is a big difference! Of course, you have more wind there, so that will help you, but western NC is seriously hilly and mountainous. You will definitely have to work hard, but you'll love it. It's gorgeous!

Emily

[Lynne]

I was watching the TdF yesterday and I thought of this thread:
They were showing Stuart O'Gradys stats and he was climbing the last Cat 1 climb at 10 klicks (about 6.1 mph) over a 5-6% grade.
Ok..I Know he's a sprinter so mountains are just not his forte but for a brief moment in time there I was all excited that I could climb a 5-6% grade faster than a pro racer! LOL
Just thought I'd give everyone a little hill climbing boost there! Next time you're climbing look at your speed - you May just be climbing faster than a pro racer! :p


OMG, too funny! I'm kicking Stuarte O'Grady's butt. Hmmm....now if I could just toss on 2 cat 3 climbs, a cat 2 climb and like 127 miles BEFORE the cat 1 climb and STILL do 6mph...whoo hoo!

[CorsairMac]

OMG, too funny! I'm kicking Stuarte O'Grady's butt. Hmmm....now if I could just toss on 2 cat 3 climbs, a cat 2 climb and like 127 miles BEFORE the cat 1 climb and STILL do 6mph...whoo hoo!

Minor details! :rolleyes:

[SadieKate]

They were showing Stuart O'Gradys stats and he was climbing the last Cat 1 climb at 10 klicks (about 6.1 mph) over a 5-6% grade.
Ok..I Know he's a sprinter so mountains are just not his forte but for a brief moment in time there I was all excited that I could climb a 5-6% grade faster than a pro racer! LOL
Just thought I'd give everyone a little hill climbing boost there! Next time you're climbing look at your speed - you May just be climbing faster than a pro racer! :pI haven't been able to watch until today, but I have to ask: How far had he already ridden? And how far had he towed a team mate up the hill? And, did he have to go back for water bottles and deliver to a team mate? Even sprinters have to do some work in the hills. And, how many consecutive days had he already ridden at this tempo?

Don't want to rain on your parade, but can you ride at this pace day after day (times 23? days)? :eek: Ok, for one brief little shining moment we can all ride faster than a pro. Just don't blink when it happens and make sure someone is there to be witness. :p

[bikerchick68]

Don't want to rain on your parade, but can you ride at this pace day after day (times 23? days)? :eek: :p

OF COURSE WE CAN! ;)

HA! Corsair thank you for the stat... I, too, am Tour worthy now... :D

[chick on a bike]

The way I see it, a hill is anything that's not on the flat! :D *lol* I don't like hills one bit and have reason not to as my one knee doesn't track right and I need like a brace thing for it, and my other knee has had surgery on it in the past (torn lateral maniscus :P) and it's possible that it may not track right either. *bleckh* My knees can hinder things at times, I hate it. ~grumbs~ But I have gotten better at them and the better I get at them, the more I don't have such a problem...even though my knees may. ^^ *giggles*

The kind of hills we have here in Corvallis OR, are slight to difficult, depending on what area you're riding (and also depending on the irritating headwinds that seem to always be against you-at least they are me! *lol*). I don't know what the % grade is on the way up these hills but alot of the hills around my place, you're either down in the grany gears still sitting or you're standing all the way up for about a quarter or more of a mile; and you can easily feel gravity tugging against you. (I'm just guessing on that distance as I only have a car to calculate milage! *lol* Don't have a computer yet but desperately need one!) The hills suck to go up but they're so worth it as the ride down is such a blast!! ~ornery grin~ :cool:


~Liz :)

[MomOnBike]

I've been giving this a lot of thought recently. And, being who and what I am, realized I classify them. Roughly:

There are False Flats. You don't really know you're going up until you turn around and go down faster.

There are Inclines that only need a slightly lower gear to handle.

Hills are those grades that terminal velocity going down is > 20 mph.

%$*@!! Steep is when I have to get off and push.

I have come to terms with all but %$*@!! Steep. Those still bother me. A lot.

[Zub_Zub]

All of those who live in auckland should try Mountain road, up in the waitak's. Its about 3 km of just hill. No lies just hills. It takes about 20 mins for me to get up. Ive been cycling for three years. Round taupo is sooooo much fun. I did it last year and i would love to do the ham to auck but ive got a two day on the same week end. :(

[pkq]

If the land rises 2000' or more above sea level, it is a mountain. Everything else is a hill. SW PA has nothing but hills but they are steep.

Last year, to prepare for the big bikejournal ride on the Talimena Scenic Drive, I rode as many hills and mountains as I could with steep grades. I did this intentionally knowing the terrain in Arkansas. It's very similar to SW PA. I rode with jjfox in the mountains about once a month, sometimes twice. I did hill repeats during the week on a climb with an average 10% grade, that gains 500' in elevation, and takes 1 mile to travel up. It's tough. At the highest grade, my top speed is 6-7 mph cranking hard.

To prepare for this year's bikejournal ride up Logan's Pass in Glacier, I didn't do that much prep work for steep grades. We weren't going to ride anything that steep. I did some hill repeats on the steep grades but concentrated on the long, shallower grades. But I hit them as hard and fast as I could. When staying with friends in Eugene, OR, I rode Old MacKenzie Pass with GEARS. I did fine on that climb and knew I'd be OK with Logan's Pass.

Wind and hills are your friends. They make you stronger.

[trigurl]

I ride up a 10% incline 1.89 miles, takes me oh bout 18 min, first time it took 19:54, I am getting better. Hills here are steep, I don't consider them a hill unless you CAN'T pedal down them :D

[joyrider]

...is when I experience that moment of clarity going up, consisting of a little voice inside saying, "Why the hell am I doing this?"
I heard it just the other day on the Guadalupe Mines Road.

[Crankin]

I learned on my trip to Austria this summer that i have never really been up a mountain before... I climbed 3 "hills" with 12-15% grades. One seemed long, but it was probably a mile. The others were shorter. At one point, I was going 3-4 km/per hr... on all of them. I didn't care. I cared that I got up them, didn't have to stop or be picked up by the support van!

[pkq]

trigurl, I want to draft you. You are much stronger than I am.

[CorsairMac]

So I saw the title of this thread and my first thought was:

I call a hill a dirty rotten piece of **** (insert whatever cuss word works for you) that God put here just to Mess with my Quads!!

THAT"S what I call a hill!!!! ;)

[Trekhawk]

We have a hill near us with a sign that says 15% grade. Is that the grade you are talking about? It does look rather steep and is pretty long. So far I have given it a wide berth but when I get stronger I hope to give it a shot.

The scenery is not bad too I have passed plenty of lovely lean men out of the saddle on it while Im cruising up it slowly in the car - very slowly so I can really enjoy the view. :D

[DirtDiva]

Hmm. My take on the mountain vs. hill thing has always been about how much snow it collects in winter, but I guess that's the skier/snowboarder in me.

[trigurl]

pkg, you have to be strong here, if you aren't you will be after riding a few months!

I rode that mtn/hill yesterday I was really going up it faster than ever, my riding buddy was having a hard time but I felt great, I didn't time it but I know it was faster than before. I give my riding buddy a break tho she IS 58 :eek: but she doesn't look it or act it. :)