A little revelation

This is probably no news to anyone who has been riding for long, but I had a cool little change of focus today that seemed to make a difference in my spinning while climbing:

I haven't been out on the road in almost 2 months due to the weather, but today was 50-degrees, so I went out on one of my hilly loops on my mtb with semi-slick tires (winter road bike). As I was grunting my way up one hill, I really didn't want to have to shift into my granny gear, but wanted to continue to spin at a decent cadence where I was. I had been focusing on my feet on the pedals and making smooth circles, but I shifted my focus to my hips and lower abdomen, and what a difference it made! It was as if I had a whole other level of power that I hadn't been using. My feet felt lighter on the pedals, knees weren't straining, my cadence picked up, and the climb instantly became easier!

I won't be able to get out on the road again for awhile, but hopefully I can continue to work on this during my rides indoors on the trainer. I would really like to get to the point of riding a century this year :)

Linda

Thank you for the tip. I will definitely try this out. What feels like a small shift in approach can make a world of difference. And go git that century, woman! Trekhawk and I are going for it this year, you're in good (new rider) company.

Hey Wave! Can you explain a little more what was different? Did you focus on holding your abs tight, or what?

Quote:

---

Did you focus on holding your abs tight, or what?

---

I think I just became more aware of my lower abs and the connection to my hip joints. Then I became more aware of the top of the hamstrings in the back and let the spin start from those low abs and into the tops of my legs. I don't know that I conciously tightened my abs more, just shifted my awareness of where the power was coming from. I used to practice Aikido, and the focus of the movement and power was from the that same place. It was a subtle shift of awareness that seemed to help me get up that hill.

I have noticed this too... for a long time I was just pushing down, but as soon as I started to focus more on my legs and hips being part of the action my legs and feet were doing... wow! what a difference.

I find my rhythm much smoother and it is easier to focus on a steady climb, rather than trying to 'force' my way up the hill.

The more I ride, the more I feel / notice that each part of body is linked to other bits... I love the way I feel my body beginning to respond... and that I can recognise this increasing responsiveness...

Wavedancer,

Like you, changing my technique on hills has totally transformed my training - and I can now power up inclines that previously I would have really struggled on. Practice also helps - and there's no other way to master hills than to just keep climbing them. Repeatedly! Hills make you soooooooooo much fitter!

Like you, I discovered the lower body technique.
I realised that I was wasting so much energy, pushing with my upper body, using my shoulders to help move me forward, involuntarily swinging the handlebars a fraction, this way and that. It doesn't help - it upsets your balance, you can't keep your line (important, especially if you ever intend to ride in a pack) and it wastes so much effort.
I now keep from my hips upwards as neutral as possible (but relaxed - don't tense). My shoulders and upper body remain in a straight line, my biceps relaxed. My upper torso barely moves, and is just along for the ride. I visualise just my bottom half on the bike (a silly image, but works for me!). My abs are tensed - my butt is at the back of the seat - and my quads and calves and glutes are like pistons, making a smooth, circular motion with the pedals. In my mind, I become a machine - chugging up that hill! :rolleyes:

As RoadRaven says - slow and steady. I used to go at hills hammer and tongs, wanting them to be over - trying to charge up them, but losing momentum and steam halfway up. Now I just take my time - I don't worry about speed, just technique and form - and because I'm now powering much harder for longer (as opposed to short erratic bursts) I arrive at the top faster and recover much quicker. On really steep bits I'll get up out of the saddle and lean forwards slightly, but again - all the effort and energy is coming from my legs - my arms are parallel, steadying the handlebars.

I've now adopted an almost zen-like approach to hills, however steep! :cool:

* Never say you can't - I chant to myself "I don't stop on hills"! And now I don't (well, 99.9% of the time, unless my pedals won't physically turn anymore - but that's because I only have a double and some of the hills I play on are STEEP!). I always ask myself "Is it because I physically can't, or I won't/don't want to". The battle with hills is often psychological - and I know I'll hate myself if I just wimped out.

* Never look at the top; you'll feel your heart sink - just focus on a few metres in front of you and make that your goal - and then the next few metres, and the next, etc. etc.

I'm even starting to enjoy hills - and I never thought I'd hear myself coming out with such a sick statement as that one! :eek:

YES SNAPPY!!!!

I agree... never say never!

A great bit of advice I got from my sister in law (which I have mentioned here before) was to never walk up a hill. If you have to stop, just stop, rest for a few minutes, then get back on and continue (although you may need to go down for a fraction to get re-started)

The first time I did this on a hill I had never been able to bike up (about 11% gradient for 200 metres or so) I felt such a sense of achievement. That hill had not made me walk, I might have needed to rest, but I biked THE WHOLE WAY up!

My problem with stopping on hills is that if it's too steep and I'm going to slow, I'm going to go DOWN trying to clip out in time. It's happened to me before, trust me. ;) Any advice, Ladies?

It does really help me to relax my upper body, scoot back on my saddle and granny gear my way up a hill. There are definitely times when i have to mash because there ain't any other way the cranks are gonna turn. I find that when I'm on a hill and already tired, I can't stand up... my legs are all shaky and it scares me.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by slinkedog

My problem with stopping on hills is that if it's too steep and I'm going to slow, I'm going to go DOWN trying to clip out in time. It's happened to me before, trust me. ;) Any advice, Ladies?

---

Slinkedog - My (unhelpful!) advice is just DON'T stop! Not only are you in danger of toppling over as you try to unclip, but you'll also find it soooooooo much harder to get started again - especially in a very low granny gear - your wheels will spin away with you. I find it much, much easier to slow right down and ease off even more, than to stop, dismount, remount and start off pedalling again - and whenever I have stopped, my legs never feel like they had a rest anyhow - and certainly don't thank me for the break.

Snappy and Raven,
Thanks for the tips on riding those hills. I do love how there is so much to discover as I ride. I'm actually looking forward to working on hills again!

Linda

hey, that happens to me too, the falling down part on hills. I truly can't unclip once I have committed to climbing the hill...so, I just pedal as hard as I can, but sometimes the power runs out (I'm usually standing by this time) and the pedal refuses to move and... BOOM! I've tipped over to the side! I pray that this never happens on a busy street, as I'd be toast. :(

I am afraid that this makes me very uneasy when I have to tackle a new hill. My hands sweat, I pray feverishly, maybe swear a little too (under my breath, of course) and worry the entire time as it seems to happen without warning. I also worry that the chain will fall off if I shift gears mid climb. That happened once too. Just writing this makes my hands sweat! :o

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by wavedancer

I'm actually looking forward to working on hills again!

---

That's the spirit!

Luv'nAustin - I know it's easier said than done to say keep pedalling - especially if your pedals refuse to co-operate and just give up the ghost half-way round! Does your chain come off when you shift front chainrings? Do you ride a double or a triple - as I'm assuming you're riding a triple and it happens if you're changing from the middle to the granny (smallest ring) on the hill?
The hardest thing with hills is anticipation - selecting the right gear just before you need it (because if you decide too late, the bike doesn't like it). But it's very trial and error, because if you select a low gear too soon, you'll lose momentum and it can make things worse. You waste a lot of precious energy.
Practice helps a lot - to develop your technique and your confidence.
If there's a hill on a regular route you do where you've had problems before, try riding it again - but this time try changing to a lower gear just before the point when you previously fell off.

Quote:

---

I also worry that the chain will fall off if I shift gears mid climb

---

It sounds like maybe you're nervous to change down the gears as you go uphill because you're worried the chain may come off - but gears are your friend and use them all up if you have to, that's why you have them - there's no advantage of saving a gear when you're at risk of falling off. If you've changed chainrings in time - then moving down the gears at the back shouldn't cause mechanical problems - they're designed to allow you to change down as you go up the hill.
Pedalling as hard as you can all way up a hill can really tire you out - just try and take it steady (again, easier said than done, I know) and methodically work your way through the gears as you ascend. If you've reached the point where you've no gears left, you've taken it steady and you've completely run out of steam - then either it's a REALLY steep hill, or it's just a fitness thing.
And I'm NOT saying you're unfit! Far from it. But hill climbing recruits totally different muscles than, say, riding on the flat. That's why the only way to combat hills is to keep climbing them - you build up those muscles, which increases your power. But it takes a lot of practice - and like any sport, you have to do it - lots.
When I first moved to NZ I was totally overwhelmed by the hills out here - I hadn't climbed anything so steep and remember getting really upset on some of them because I just felt so demoralised and had to stop several times on each of them because my lungs hurt and my quads were on fire.
But 6 months down the line and I'm actually starting to enjoy them - the sense of achievement, that my body can now do what I want it to. And on a few of the races I've done, I've even overtaken lots of fit looking blokes going up some pretty steep climbs! Little old me, who 6 months earlier, was feeling sorry for herself at the side of the road.
Sorry for going on so much - but hills have definitely been my nemesis, but in a masochistic sort of way, they've been the making of me - and have built up my confidence after initially knocking it out of me.
Stick with it - I know you can do it!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by RoadRaven

YES SNAPPY!!!!


A great bit of advice I got from my sister in law (which I have mentioned here before) was to never walk up a hill. If you have to stop, just stop, rest for a few minutes, then get back on and continue (although you may need to go down for a fraction to get re-started)

The first time I did this on a hill I had never been able to bike up (about 11% gradient for 200 metres or so) I felt such a sense of achievement. That hill had not made me walk, I might have needed to rest, but I biked THE WHOLE WAY up!

---

I am truly truly bad on hills, but I keep trying. I used to climb off when I couldn't go on, and walk up the hill before starting again. One day when reading a cycling travel book (French Revolutions by Tim Moore - one of the funniest books on cycling ever) I saw a quote from an early 'Tour cyclist on just this subject. He said that if you stop, that is where you start from and you do NOT get off the bike. He said, "I am a cyclist. I do not walk." That is the quote that echoes in my head when I am even vaguely tempted. As for getting into a zone when climbing - one of my legs is named "good", and the other is "girl" - when the going gets hard, I call their names, once per revolution. Dear old things - they just keep going until they can't!:D

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by arnaew

As for getting into a zone when climbing - one of my legs is named "good", and the other is "girl" - when the going gets hard, I call their names, once per revolution. Dear old things - they just keep going until they can't!:D

---

That is SO funny! Trouble is, I think mine would wisecrack me back with two little words of their own!
BTW - have read French Revolutions too - and second your recommendation - hilariously funny and hard to put down!

Thanks for the encouragement SnappyPix! I ride with a double, but I think about getting a tripple! It really is just the super steep hills that get me, and come to think of it, why wait so late into the hill to switch into my front gear? On a long and gentle climb, I may never shift the front, but that is a different situation. Thanks again for your encouragement, can't wait to get back out there and give it a try!

Thanks for all the input! It really is very helpful! The concept of pedaling circles is hard... I think that might be what we're all talking about, maybe? The idea of using the full pedal stroke, i.e. the up stroke as well as the down stroke. I'm really good at this on the flats... not so good on hills!! :) I'm working on it, tho.

Thanks again!