Getting uphill?

[Breella]

Ok so I give. What is the secret to getting up an incline? I'm tired of walking my bike up hills.

[zoom-zoom]

While I'm not a fan of Spinervals workouts (I much prefer The Sufferfest videos), Coach Troy explains hill techniques well here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9WaU-bZdic&feature=plcp).

I tend to do a bit of both higher cadence steady pedaling while seated and lower-cadence standing, depending upon the hill.

[maillotpois]

Gear down early and find a pace you can sustain. Don't try to charge up the hill. Relax. Breathe. Smile.

[freednerd]

While I know this may sound silly, are you using a mountain bike? Is it a single speed bike? I am only asking because I commuted a few times on my old (and cheap) mountain bike to work which is a 5 mile trip. I am in Georgia and the hills are pretty intensive. I walked up pretty much every hill there was and it took me almost as long to bike as to walk! I bought a (very cheap) road bike and now rarely ever get off my bike. Hills- while I still feel them- are 100 times easier and certainly doable now.

[Breella]

It's a relatively cheap but has 7 speeds.

[emily_in_nc]

It's a relatively cheap but has 7 speeds.

If it's a cheap bike and only has 7 speeds, chances are it's very heavy. Still, unless the hills are very steep, you should be able to get up them in the easiest gear as you get more fit. There's no substitute for putting in the training time to get more fit (cardio and muscles), but heavy bikes do make it much more difficult to get up a hill.

Lighter bikes with more gears make riding up a hill easier than walking.

[Bethany1]

Don't give up. It gets easier. I promise. A lot of it is gaining they physical strength to get up. As you get stronger, it gets easier. I've walked up hills tons of times and still do. Even if your bike is on the heavy side, you'll get up there. One of my bikes is pretty heavy, but he gets up there eventually.

Don't "mash" the pedals. It's easy to start pedaling really hard with all your strength in desperation to get up faster only to bottom out a few yards later.

Use your lower gears. Even if the lowest gear isn't low enough, you'll get better as you go.

I've found that instead of walking, I stop and wait to catch my breath. Once I've stopped dying for oxygen, I can keep going a little further up the hill. Walking a bike just seems to make me feel even more irritable but if I have to, I do.

Relax. The harder you push on the handlebars or "mash" the pedals or tense up, you are using energy that can go to going up the hill. Even if you only going 2 miles an hour, you're still getting there.

Sometimes it helps to focus on a point up the hill, like a sign and keep going until you get there.

Hope that helps some. Just keep going and don't beat yourself up.

[Moongidget]

Whew. Another noob here. Bethany, I needed that encouragement. I live in Boulder County and for the life of me can't get up Olde Stage. Everyone passes me and I'm the only one walking. But I keep trying. Baby steps, I guess.

[jobob]

It took me months to make it up my Nemesis Hill* for the first time. Months. :o

*Nemesis is what I call a short but steep hill in Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont, CA. You can see the hill as you drive across the Dumbarton Bridge heading east, it's north of the bridge landing on the East Bay side. It used to be a Nike Missile site but nowadays it only has cell phone towers at the top ... so they say. ;)


Gear down early and find a pace you can sustain. Don't try to charge up the hill. Relax. Breathe. Smile.

This.

[Moongidget]

Someone suggested to me since I was strong on the flats, and I like sorta pushing hard on the flats, that my 'best' strategy to gain whatever piece it is that I'm missing for climbing, was to lower the gears on the flats and just spin. I tried it and to me, it seemed stupid. More energy expended to go slower. Kinda took the fun out. Do any of you gals think spinning on the flats will help me climb?

I don't mean on the flat section of a climb, the suggestion was to always spin on an easier gear than where I'd normally be.

[TigerMom]

I am pretty new to biking (only since Dec 2011).

I started with my hybrid which is 1.5 times heavier than my road bike. It was very hard to get up hills, esp. since I did not understand well how to use the gears/shifting.

Personally, I would recommend flat roads and tiny "hills" until you are comfortable with shifting. Once you are comfortable biking, pick hills that have side streets so that you can "rest" by biking on flat roads in between and before going up more of the hill again. People also say to pedal with your heel forward when going uphill which does seem to help me.

I went from walking my bikes uphill like you, to being able to do the same hill 4 times (currently my record) in just 3 months.

If you still love biking after that, then a light road bike might be in your future too!:D

_______________
2012 Specialized Amira Elite, upgraded carbon handle bars, Jett saddle 143mm

2011 Specialized Ariel Sport,suspension post,Serfas Rx Women's Microfiber saddle
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Unread Today, 09:45 AM

[TigerMom]

Someone suggested to me since I was strong on the flats, and I like sorta pushing hard on the flats, that my 'best' strategy to gain whatever piece it is that I'm missing for climbing, was to lower the gears on the flats and just spin. I tried it and to me, it seemed stupid. More energy expended to go slower. Kinda took the fun out. Do any of you gals think spinning on the flats will help me climb?

I don't mean on the flat section of a climb, the suggestion was to always spin on an easier gear than where I'd normally be.

From my readings on uphill bike ridings...some people are more pedal mashers and other people are more pedal spinners. You sound like you are more of a pedal masher since you feel that you are spinning fast while losing energy and "losing fun". So, I think you should pick the style that you enjoy more and do better at. However, be forewarned, this statement is from a newbie.
_______________
2012 Specialized Amira Elite, upgraded carbon handle bars, Jett saddle 143mm

2011 Specialized Ariel Sport,suspension post,Serfas Rx Women's Microfiber saddle

[jobob]

Do any of you gals think spinning on the flats will help me climb?

Climbing will help you climb. Over time you'll find what works best for you (spinning vs mashing).

I'm a spinner -- I'm much happier climbing in low gears at a relatively high cadence (much to the chagrin of a coach of mine many moons ago; not maillotpois, btw). My DH, on the other hand, is a masher -- he would much prefer to go up the same climb in a higher (harder) gear, at a somewhat lower cadence.

This is what works for us, and over time you'll figure out what works for you. But you won't know until you get some climbing under your belt. Just do it! :cool:

[ny biker]

Climbing will help you climb. Over time you'll find what works best for you (spinning vs mashing).

I, personally, am much happier climbing in low gears at a relatively high cadence, much to the chagrin of a coach of mine from many moons ago. My DH, on the other hand, would much prefer to go up the same climb in a higher (harder) gear, going up the hill at a somewhat lower cadence.

This is what works for us, and over time you'll figure out what works for you. But you won't know until you get some climbing under your belt. Just do it! :cool:

This sums it up nicely.

I tend to climb in low gears at a low cadence, because I've found this is the best way to avoid an asthma attack. When my speedometer goes below 3 mph, I laugh.

Though I don't get faster on climbs, I do get better at them in the sense that they are less difficult, for my lungs and my legs, and I no longer dread them. (Except maybe this one nearly-vertical hill that I sometimes include in my weekly hill training ride. That one still kinda freaks me out. But I can still ride up it.)

But in general, if you want to get better at climbing, you need to climb; if you want to be a better sprinter, you need to sprint; if you want to be a better descender, you need to descend; etc.

[ZenBiker]

Thanks for asking this Breella, because I have the same question. I'm pretty fit, can do long rides at a respectable pace, but am terrible at hills and have become very self conscious about it. Hills have become intimidating and are limiting my progression as a cyclist. So I appreciate reading all the advice - some is new to me, and some reinforces what I've heard and should already know. I'll just get out there and ride 'em til it gets easier!

[Moongidget]

Got it. So spinning on the flats won't necessarily help my climb. It'll just frustrate me. I'm going to keep trying baby nemesis hill and work my way to it's counterpart, front side devil nemesis hill!

Thanks all!

[leah]

Another thing that helps me with hills is to take long slow breaths, in through my nose and out my mouth. That also seems to help me to remember to relax my upper body.

[Breella]

I'm glad that my question has helped so many and that there is so much positive advice!

Yesterday I rode to my new job for the first time, It's a nice 4 mile trek that takes me through the nature trail I like to ride (except it's an area I never rode till yesterday) and while I wasn't able to get up the gigantic hill, I tried but my asthma was not letting me have it, I did make it up a smaller hill without getting off!

[emily_in_nc]

Yesterday I rode to my new job for the first time, It's a nice 4 mile trek that takes me through the nature trail I like to ride (except it's an area I never rode till yesterday) and while I wasn't able to get up the gigantic hill, I tried but my asthma was not letting me have it, I did make it up a smaller hill without getting off!

Do you use an inhaler and/or control meds for your asthma? If not, no wonder you are having problems with the hills. Please make sure your asthma is well-controlled -- it is best for your health and will make cycling so much more pleasant!

[Breella]

I have a daily medicine as well as a rescue inhaler for problem times.

[ny biker]

I've learned (the hard way) that the best way to control the asthma and minimize the chance of an attack is to ride at a low cadence. On flat roads I will ride at 90+ rpm, but on steep hills I'll drop to 50 rpm or lower if necessary. And always in an easy gear.

Training also helps a lot. Right now there are some steep hills around here that I know will make me wheeze, but as my condition improves through the spring and summer I'll be able to ride up them without needing an inhaler.

If I know a hill will cause me problems, I'll use the albuterol (one puff) before I tackle it, because it's harder to do at the top after the symptoms have kicked in -- it's hard to hold your breath for 10 seconds when your heartrate is high.

Another important thing -- stay calm if you start to experience asthma symptoms. Panic just makes things worse. And keep your inhaler someplace that's easy and quick to access if you need it.