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Thread: Hills

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    34

    Hills

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    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!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2009
    Location
    Orlando, FL
    Posts
    162
    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!
    ~ Annie ~

    Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling. ~James E. Starrs
    My fitness blog

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Marin County CA
    Posts
    5,936
    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.
    Sarah

    When it's easy, ride hard; when it's hard, ride easy.


    2011 Volagi Liscio
    2010 Pegoretti Love #3 "Manovelo"
    2011 Mercian Vincitore Special
    2003 Eddy Merckx Team SC - stolen
    2001 Colnago Ovalmaster Stars and Stripes

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2009
    Posts
    34
    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.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Marin County CA
    Posts
    5,936
    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.
    Sarah

    When it's easy, ride hard; when it's hard, ride easy.


    2011 Volagi Liscio
    2010 Pegoretti Love #3 "Manovelo"
    2011 Mercian Vincitore Special
    2003 Eddy Merckx Team SC - stolen
    2001 Colnago Ovalmaster Stars and Stripes

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    South Carolina
    Posts
    176
    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!
    "Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet - only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired and success achieved" - Helen Keller

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    northern Virginia
    Posts
    5,897
    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!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Posts
    10
    Sorry if I don't have good advice. My advice is kinda stupid: "Try your best."

  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2008
    Location
    northern Virginia
    Posts
    5,897
    Quote Originally Posted by mrjoe View Post
    Sorry if I don't have good advice. My advice is kinda stupid: "Try your best."
    That's always good advice!

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Perth, Western Australia
    Posts
    5,316

    hills

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

    You can dooo it.

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Renton, Wa
    Posts
    432
    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
    Last edited by XMcShiftersonX; 04-27-2010 at 03:24 PM.
    "Namaste, B*tches!"

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    Everett, WA
    Posts
    191
    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!

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    1,057
    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.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Location
    Renton, Wa
    Posts
    432
    Quote Originally Posted by Thorn View Post
    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.
    "Namaste, B*tches!"

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    foothills of the Ozarks aka Tornado Alley
    Posts
    4,193

 

 

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