It's official; I suck at climbing

[indysteel]

Yesterday's group ride was rather hilly (for Indiana) and included a rather steep hill about 25 miles into the ride that killed me. Embarrassingly, I had to get off the bike and walk about half of it because my legs just gave out. I started cycling this summer and, because central Indiana is relatively flat, I don't encounter much in the way of hills. That said, there are several "big" rides each year, including the Hilly Hundred--that include some tough climbing and I'd like to improve this part of my riding. Hills should be fun, but as it is now, they scare me.

My weaknesses on climbing seem to be two-fold. My breath gets very "wheezy" when I'm pushing too hard or when I have to get out of the saddle. I try to spin at a faster RPM, but that can be taxing too. Also, my legs get really tired from repeated climbs. I don't know if it's a leg strength thing or a lactic-acid thing.

Help me get in touch with my inner goat. Clearly, I need to seek out hills in my training regimine. What can I do in the off season to train? I have a meeting with a trainer (and competive cyclist) tomorrow at the Y to develop a weight-training program that is geared towards cycling (both to strengthen was is taxed during cycling and what tends to get neglected/inbalanced). I know I need to work on my glutes big-time. Do any of you have any specific suggestions in advance of my training session that I can discuss with him?

I'm also taking two spinning classes each week so that should help too. Any spinning-specific pointers or advice?

Thanks.

Kate

[mimitabby]

Oh please don't be too embarrassed at getting off to walk up a hill.
I do this sometimes too. It isn't worth it to me to burst a carotid artery just so I can stay on the bike going up a hill. Sometimes I get off because i am going so slow that i am afraid of falling over!
and SOMETIMES i get off and walk because I don't want to get overheated.
There are lots of reasons. maybe you can train on hills that are just a little hard for you and when they become easier, tackle a bigger hill?

[Bad JuJu]

I haven't yet gotten off my bike and walked up a hill, but notice that I say "yet"--anything is possible. I sukc at climbing too. I guess it's not so much of a problem because Florida is flatter than many other areas, though not completely flat--we have our share of wall-like hills here, just not so many of them, and no actual mountains that I know of.

So far (again, I emphasize, "so far") I've been successful at gearing way down and spinning up hills, but I am SUH-LOOOOWWWW, and both my bikes have triples, and the touring bike has what I can only describe as a tree-climbing gear.

So I guess it's worth looking at how low your lowest gears are and whether you could do much to go lower, if you need to.

Hill Slugs Are People, Too

[love2bike]

Indysteel,

I too need to work on hills. I had some problems on a hilly day 2 of the Gateway MS 150 this past September. Lots of people were walking up hills, including me.....there's no shame in it! But, I came back determined to do better next year. I'm into my 3rd week of spinning classes and hope this helps. I would be very interested in what weight training exercises your trainer gives you to help with cycling. Let us know what she/he says.

Patty

[Offthegrid]

I'm horrible at hills, which is not surprising considering my weight. I did an MS ride a couple of years ago (before I took a year off) and was actually going up a hill so slowly at one point that I thought I would fall over. If it makes you feel better, I saw some cyclists -- skinny dudes with a biking cap and everything -- walking up one of the very bad hills.

On the plus side, I don't even have to pedal on the downhill and I fly by people.

[Nanci]

I'm positive I suck more at hills than you! (Just search for my ride report called "Unto These Hills" if you want proof...)

When I'm in serious hills, like mountains, I've found that A. the more just plain riding time and distance I have put in, the more endurance I have for hill climbing, and B. it's ok to stop for a minute, catch your breath, then continue on riding if you don't want to give in and walk. It takes a _very_ short time to recover. If you have a hard time starting up again, if the hill is steep- plan ahead- watch for a driveway or something to stop in that will let you start off horizontally or even slightly down hill.

It gets better with time-

I have a HORRIBLE time in the morning when the humidity is high- it's hard for me to breathe.

Something else that helps, and it's hard to do, is ride your own hill- don't pay attention to how fast everyone else can go. If you try to keep up at a pace harder than you can handle, you won't last as long as if you'd stuck to a slow but comfortable pace.

Something else that helps is only look at the foot or so of ground in front of your wheel. That way you can't see how much further it is, and can't see the incline! This works great for me.

Oh- I have a triple, and before Six Gap, my mechanic put on a better hill-climbing cassette for me. I think it helped some.

Good luck...

Nanci

[mimitabby]

When I'm in serious hills, like mountains, I've found that A. the more just plain riding time and distance I have put in, the more endurance I have for hill climbing, and B. it's ok to stop for a minute, catch your breath, then continue on riding if you don't want to give in and walk. It takes a _very_ short time to recover. If you have a hard time starting up again, if the hill is steep- plan ahead- watch for a driveway or something to stop in that will let you start off horizontally or even slightly down hill.


Something else that helps, and it's hard to do, is ride your own hill- don't pay attention to how fast everyone else can go. If you try to keep up at a pace harder than you can handle, you won't last as long as if you'd stuck to a slow but comfortable pace.

Something else that helps is only look at the foot or so of ground in front of your wheel. That way you can't see how much further it is, and can't see the incline! This works great for me.

Oh- I have a triple, and before Six Gap, my mechanic put on a better hill-climbing cassette for me. I think it helped some.

Good luck...

Nanci

what she said. PERFECTLY SENSIBLE, wise counsel!

[ACG]

I suck at hillls too. I am not embarassed at all to shift into the granny gear and just pedal really, really slow. I have had recent breathing issues which I can relate to allergies.

The only way to get better at hills is to ride hills. I'm not sure about spinning class techniques. However when I ride my bike on a trainer I often switch to a harder gear in increments of 5 minutes, which is sort of a simulated hill.

Good luck

[Cassandra_Cain]

Hills can be difficult and really, you do what you have to do to get up there - if walking is it, so be it, absolutely no worries.

Still, a lot of times among riders and in clubs I keep hearing about some people being good climbers as if it were some mysterious or innate ability. Really it just comes down to fitness, persistance, and, simply numbers (p-w ratio).

I hadn't ridden in the mountains in a few weeks, where I'd been doing a lot or work indoors on the trainer and sprint training on the road. Then went out and easily set a PB on the biggest mountain in town. That just reflects an increase in fitness, nothing else.

Pace yourself properly, get (if you don't already have) the right gearing, and stick with it. There's no hill you can't climb with lots of work and determination.

[indysteel]

First off, is that a new picture of your dog Bad Ju Ju? I love it!

Second, thanks for the advice. I do have a triple with a 12-25 cassette so I think my gearing is appropriate for climbing. When some of you talk of "mountains," I feel really guilty because all we have in Indiana are hills. Admittedly, some of them are rather steep, e.g., 17-20% grade, but they're all relatively short. Because they're so steep, it's hard to restart if I stop to catch my breatch because you need so much momentum to get moving again.

I try hard to remember that I am a newbie and that I should keep my expectations in check. What's frustrating for me is that many of my friends who ride have been doing so for a long time and take it for granted that it takes time and training to climb well. One friend in particular has done the Triple Bypass twice and climbed Mt. Mitchell. She talked me into the Hilly Hundred and, in so doing, kept dismissing my climbing fears/issues. (I would note that she herself completed the Hilly w/o using her little ring--using instead her 42-teeth middle ring). I appreciated her encouragment, but I think it helps somtimes when people acknowledge that these skills don't just develop overnight, nor are they just a product of innate ability.

Anyway, I'll report back after my meeting with my trainer. Hopefully, if I do a bit of everything in the coming year--weights, actual climbing, spinning, interval training--I'll get better at climbing (and a lot of other things too). Here's hoping!

[Bikingmomof3]

Help me get in touch with my inner goat.

Kate

I loved this! I have absolutely no tips. I have not been able to ride for so long I think I forgot how. Not to mention, I live in a flat section of Ohio.

Keep practicing, you will master them.

[Meaux]

Oh thank God it's not just me. I am terrible at hills. I was so bad that I stopped half way up, and then tried to start again, causing me to fall over and bruise myself horribly. I hate hills right now.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Well Meaux, I think that trying to get going from a standstill halfway up a steep hill is about the hardest thing one can try to do. Don't feel bad!

A couple of times I've tried to get going up a steep hill that started up at a right angle right off a highway, couldn't get any head start rolling or momentum going at all, and just ground to a halt after three or four wobbly pedal strokes and walked up! Somehow I survived! I'm better at getting started up a hill from a standstill than I was a couple months ago though.

[liberty]

I am SOOOO happy we are on the subject of stopping on a hill and starting again! Nanci- thanks for recommending the "pull off in a driveway, or start at a horizontal angle" to get momentum. I have been mulling and mulling over this issue, as I know sooner or later I will be stuck with some monster hill or a stop sign on a hill... Do you turn around and go downhill for a second and swing back around?

Any other recommendations on how to start from a dead stop on a hill?

And if you are clipped in, and the hill is HORRIBLE, HOW do you unclip before you loose all momentum and fall over? Figure you fall over from loss of momentum or from not being able to unclip in time (or a combo of the two).

[alforfun]

I am just glad to see I am not the only one wheezing up hills. I thought it was just that I started this road bike thing at a -cough- later age, and perhaps was suffering from emphysema or some other such lung disease. I too, have walked up some, but persistance is all, and I have improved. Which is good, since there aint no place to ride here in the Hudson Valley without going up a hill