Hills

[ekcjwc]

I have been riding for about a year now and the hills still make me nervous! How do you make it up the hills? Do you stay seated until you feel as if you won't make it and then you stand up? I'm not horrible at them but I rode in an organized ride last year that had a few that I could not get all the way up without walking. Same ride is coming up soon so just looking for tips/encouragement!

[annielynn]

I hate hills. I find that I don't have the cardio yet to take a hill seriously. The little bit of advice that I have recieved so far is
- stay in your saddle if you can, when you stand up you cause your heart rate to increase rapidly. Which isn't good on a long pull.
- gear down. As soon as you start to feel it getting hard drop a gear.
- practice. Lots of practice will make the hills a little easier to tackle.

I am not an experienced rider. I have only been riding since August of last year but these are pointers that my husband and several of the climbers in my club have been telling me. Good luck to you!

[maillotpois]

What sort of gears do you have? Shift early into your easiest gear and then try to get into a rhythm and spin up the hill. If you do not have easy enough gears, consider a bigger cassette on back or a smaller chainring in front.

If you need to stop and take a break, try to do so in a place where the road is a little flatter so you can get started again.

Practice good use of your gears and climbing with a comfortable, high cadence. Be patient and don't try to "beat the climb". Slow, steady practice and good technique are important for climbing.

[ekcjwc]

I have a Cannondale Synapse Feminine 7 Bike (2009) Tiagra gears. I have a triple and usually stay in the 2nd position but shift down to my granny gear.

[maillotpois]

since you are having so much difficulty, I would suggest starting the climb in your granny gear in front, and a middle-ish to large cog in back, and then shifting in the back as needed during the climb. Try not to shift under load - give yourself a good push with the pedals and back off on the pedal resistance as you shift to the easier gear in back.

[Gowest]

good advice here. Are you riding with cycling specific shoes? (ie do you clip in?) If not - get cleats and pedals - you generate more power that way. Yes - sit down as much as you can and breathe deep and relax. Pull up on your handlebars (you should be on your tops) Stand up only when you have to. You can also "paperboy" to reduce the perceived steepness of the incline. Rather than ride straight up a hill - loop from side to side. (don't do this in traffic!!) Don't worry - you will get better!:)

[ny biker]

I have asthma and riding up hills is a big trigger for me, so I always take it slow and steady.

- Stay seated (I only stand sometimes on short steep hills).

- Shift down. The granny gear (small chain ring) is your friend.

- Go as slow as you have to. Sometimes I'm only going 3 mph with a cadence of about 50. But I can't remember the last time I had to get off and walk up a hill.

- If you have a road bike (curved handlebars), put your hands on the top of the bars rather than on the hoods or in the drops. You'll be more upright which opens up your lungs and makes it easier to breathe.

- Keep your upper body still.

- If it's a long hill, focus on shorter segments to make it mentally easier -- get to that tree or that telephone poll or that sign, then make it to the next one, etc. until you reach the top.

- Smile.

I actually recommend against zig-zagging. If you're doing an organized ride there will always be someone who is climbing faster than you and will need to pass you on the hill. Zig-zagging makes this harder and can ruin their momentum.

Good luck!

[mrjoe]

Sorry if I don't have good advice. My advice is kinda stupid: "Try your best." :p

[ny biker]

Sorry if I don't have good advice. My advice is kinda stupid: "Try your best." :p

That's always good advice!

[crazycanuck]

Make hills your friends :D They're very friendly, you just need to be nice to them :)

You can dooo it.

[XMcShiftersonX]

In addition to the great advice people have given you...I would Just keep doing hills over and over. Make them a part of every ride. Start with hills you're capable of, then add steeper and/or longer ones. I used to hate hills, but my husband loves them. So he takes me on rides that he likes, which usually have anywhere from 1800-2200 feet of climbing in about 40 miles or so. Some of you may be familiar with the Chilly Hilly ride we have here in the northwest, well my husband likes to do that ride and add on a few other streets so that it is hillier!! Now I often don't think a ride is that hilly unless it's rolling hills with a few good 8-12% inclines over a couple miles. Every time I do hills I initially thought were hard, they feel easier and easier. It's really just a matter of building up your muscles and your lung capacity. Good luck. It will get easier.

-Jessica

[malaholic]

The way I see it the two factors that can break you on a climb are the "leg strength barrier" - when you reach a point where your legs can't produce the larger force required to keep turning the pedals, or the "heart rate barrier" where you redline your heartrate and the muscles start to burn. There are tradeoffs to make either way, and different techniques work for different people - you'll have to try a little of everything and find out what feels most comfortable for you.

As previous posters have stated, seated climbing is more energy efficient overall. Assuming the same grade, gearing, and cadence, if you stand to climb your heartrate will jump higher than if you remain seated. However when you stand, all of your weight going onto the pedals makes it much easier to produce the force needed to push on the downstroke.

Personally I often take lesser-grade climbs seated (to conserve energy) but will stand up on something really steep (when I run out of gears). But that's just a generalization. If I hit a low-grade but fairly short roller, I might just stand up instead of gearing down, because I'll judge that I can crest the hill before my HR jumps too high and it's faster to push the bigger gear. Or, if the hill is mild enough to stay seated but is really long, I might prefer to alternate between standing & seating - I'll stand to give my legs a rest for a bit, then sit to let my HR drop again, and repeat. Or, if I really want to give my legs a hard workout, I might stay seated through a steep climb and just force myself to spin it out.

When I stand to climb because I want to (as opposed to when I stand because I've run out of gears) I typically shift up between 2-3 gears to get enough resistance so that the pedals drop more slowly and I can have a smoother motion. Reducing cadence when I stand also helps slow the rate at which my HR jumps.

If you ride the hill until you feel as if you won't make it, and then try to stand up, you won't be able to sustain it. When you already feel as if you won't make it, your heartrate is already in the redzone and you're too taxed to meet the added energy demands of standing up. If you want to try standing you have to do it before you burn out.

Standing also requires some timing & balance, so if you haven't tried it before, try it out on a flat or low grade hill until you feel comfortable with it. As you're pedaling in a comfortable gear, shift up 2-3 gears and stand. I prefer to keep my hands on the hoods for this; I feel like I have better balance with the wider grip, but YMMV.

Regardless of whether you are sitting or standing, try keeping your HR down by pedaling a little slower and dropping to a lower gear if there's too much resistance, until you run out of gears. And if you push til you've got nothing left and still can't make it, remember to unclip before all forward motion stops and you fall over (yes, I'm speaking from experience here.) :)

The nicest thing about riding the hills is that they make you strong, and fast. Don't let them make you nervous - they're good for you! Let us know how this upcoming ride goes, and good luck!

[Thorn]

All great advice. One thing I noticed more in my DH was the problem of deciding you can't do it before you start. That is, when we first started riding he would see a hill and pre-decide he'd have to walk. The hill had him beat before his front wheel even detected the incline. If you don't conquer the panic feeling you get when you see that wall...err..I mean hill in front of you, the panic will win and you'll suffer because of it. The panic zaps your energy.

So...when you see the hill, sigh deeply (really, it is good for you), gear down as low as you need to (don't be one of those people who saves a gear "just in case"--use it!), relax and just focus on spinning the cranks. If/When you get the point where you're in your lowest gear and the spin is gone, then just focus on keeping a rhythm through the grinding. Stay relaxed, breathe, and as someone said, smile--each pedal stroke is one more step to conquering that hill.

Oh, and try to keep going. When you get tired and think about walking, instead, think about relaxing. Ungrit those teeth, relax the upper body and let the legs just do the work. You might be surprised that you have more there then you think.

[XMcShiftersonX]

All great advice. One thing I noticed more in my DH was the problem of deciding you can't do it before you start. That is, when we first started riding he would see a hill and pre-decide he'd have to walk. The hill had him beat before his front wheel even detected the incline. If you don't conquer the panic feeling you get when you see that wall...err..I mean hill in front of you, the panic will win and you'll suffer because of it. The panic zaps your energy.

Very true! And the more hills I've done I've realized that hills often look scarier/harder than they actually are when you're on them.

[sundial]

5 Ways to Become a Better Climber (http://www.active.com/cycling/Articles/5_Ways_to_Become_a_Better_Climber.htm?act=EMC-Active&Vehicle=Cycling&Date=04_08_09&Edition=1&Sections=Articles&Creative=5_Ways_to_Become_a_Better_Climber&TextName=More&ArtText=Txt&Placement=1&Dy=Thu)

[hoffsquared]

It took me nine months to conquer a hill with an 100 ft elevation increase over .1 mile (17% grade - 20% at it's steepest) on my commute home. I would have to get off the bike at the steepest point. I actually thought I would never ever be able to ride up this hill.

Did it just two weeks ago several times in one week. And twice last week. Not something I can do every day and don't try every day.

I stay in the saddle as long as possible at the lowest gear and switch into lowest early. Then try to get at least 20 rotations in. If feeling good, a few more. If it even feels a bit easier on a rotation --- then success.

So keep plugging away.

[ekcjwc]

I think each of you have hit on part of my problem in climbing. Just a little more background on me. I do clip in. I exercise at least five days a week with one/two days of strength training. As part of my exercise program, I try to run at least one day a week. I think part of my problem is that I dread the hill when I see it coming. Another problem is that I try to hit the hill too hard and too fast. I should slow done and keep my heart heart down. Maybe I should learn to just slow done and push through it and REMAIN CALM!

[ny biker]

I used to hate hills. I got upset when I would see one in front of me. Then I did a metric on the eastern shore of Maryland -- pancake flat and boring as all get-out. I realized that at least the hills give you some variety.

Now I actually like them. I'm still really slow going up, but who cares.

So yeah, just smile and enjoy the downhill when it comes.

[BluOrchid2]

One of my most grueling rides last summer was a loop around a local lake - pretty much all hills, one after another. The good thing is that they were ONE AFTER ANOTHER...which meant using momentum from the previous downhill to make it about halfway up the next hill without having to exert too much power. By the time I realized what a big hill I was climbing, I was 2/3 of the way up it and just told myself to get it done.

[bcipam]

As a larger gal, I used to hate hills. All my skninny little buddies used to fly up them and I was left chugging. Well that hasn't changed but my attitude has. I now love hills. There is something about conquering a hill that is appealing. Long ago a friend gave me some good advice. While mountain biking I used to attack the hills and I would peter out towards the top even having to stop. He asked "why are you doing that to yourself? Why don't you "rest" up the hill instead?". "What", I asked.

Turns out instead of attacking a long hill, he just resigns to the ride, puts the bike in granny or a low gear and spins up comfortably. I put his advice to the test and now I understand. I can use hills to rest!!! There is generally a gear for even the steepest hills, that allows one to spin. I get into a even cadence and think good thoughts about the scenary etc. In no times, the top is there.

I started forcing myself to do hillier and hiller routes. Now the flat stuff is really boring. I still power up short hills, like overpasses, but use granny for any grade that is long. One thing to remember - this is your climb, no one elses. So what if I am last up? At least I got up there. Always do your own thing and never be forced to do someone elses pace. I generally make up the difference by speeding downhill.