Hill training in the flatlands...

Hi Ladies

Well I'm doing my 4th RAGBRAI (www.ragbrai.com) this year, and it turns out the route is the 4th hilliest. My first one was really hilly, but apparently this one is going to be a bit worse in terms of total feet of climb. Yes, believe it or not you can get climb in Iowa :D Actually parts of it have some decent grades. Last year on the last day we had a 7% grade on 1 hill.

I live in Chicago, and know only a handful of areas that I can get in some "hills." I do have the "uphill grind" spinervals DVD, but I'd like to get in some training outside as well. Do any of you who live in flat areas have any tricks to be prepared for hills? Or, if you live in the general area (I hear WI has some good hills) do you have any places that you'd recommend to get in some good training?

Thanks for any tips!

Carry rocks around with you! :D

V.

Hey Betagirl... My husband is from Indiana and lived in Chicago for a few years. Down by Purdue (West Lafayette, IN) there's lots of hills. (He was on Purdue's cycling team in college and also raced at the velodrome in Northbrook when he was trying to make the Olympic team in '96.) Pretty much anywhere around the Wabash river is pretty hilly. I think Purdue is about 1.5 hours south east of you. I'll ask hubby if he knows any hilly spots around your area to try. He's at the park with the kids right now, but I'll hopefully have an answer for you later!! :)

Betagirl,

Come over to Dubuqe, IA and ride with me!! We are RIGHT on the Mississippi and have some of the best hills Iowa can offer. River valleys and ridges. Up and down is all there is here, pretty much no flats. Don't have loooooong climbs like the mountain ladies, but we definitely have hills. I've done Ride the Rockies a couple times, and had no problems at all, thanks to riding the "Mississippi Mountains." I'll be on RAGBRAI, too, but not the whole ride. Leaving Dubuque the day RAGBRAI starts, on my bike with a BOB trailer to haul my stuff, heading west to meet RAGBRAI, then joining the ride for the last 1/2, probably in Waukee, but not sure. I'm not in a club, and not on a team, just going with a couple of friends. How about you? Are you with a group?

annie

Hey Annie

I know the hills along the mississippi all too well. Especially the last day of the ride last year. Man that was hilly. I may take you up on that offer!

I do ride with a team - Megawatts. It's mostly men, though my friend and I have managed to infiltrate and get another woman or 2 every year. It's a good group, laid back. We're pretty easy to spot with our jerseys, and well there are only 2 chicks on the team :D

Having just done what I could of the Cinderella Classic in 30mph headwinds, I'd say you can use wind as a hill model any day it's blowing, which is most days in Chicago. Do headwind repeats, headwind intervalls, headwind endurance ... It'll train your hill muscles and your hill psyche. And when you're done for the day you can turn around and have a tailwind home ... unless the wind turns too. Check the Cindy ride reports down there in the California section, you'll see what I mean.

ride into the wind... again and again and again... and maybe some rocks wouldn't hurt ;)

Need some advice from anyone in Iowa, are these hills really as bad as they are talking about on the message board?
I'm from Memphis and it's pretty flat around here. I do go outside the Memphis area, Bolten, and other cities but just wanted to hear from the ladies how the hills were on the RAGBRAI this year. Sometimes the guy exaggerate!
Annie-I see you're going again, why in the world did I think I could find someone in a pool of 10,000 plus no cell service to speak of!

Geana
(27 days until RAGBRAI XXXIV)