Hill climbing/training advice, please!

[bcipam]

I do a hill training class each Tuesday night. You can pick out the old timers, like myself and my buddies and the newbies, strong but inexperienced riders.

The oldsters know to get down into granny and set up a regular steady cadence. I basically can ride up a tough 14% 1 mile hill, slow, but in control and not out of breath. The newbies try to power it up and quickly run out of stream. We play Tortoise and hare all the way up. The big difference is when we crest, I'm feeling good and can power on and the newbie is still out of stream and having to stop and catch their breathe.

If the hill is short, then I have no problem powering up and but if there is any distance, then I learned, through my mountain bike training, to use hills to rest, use the proper gearing, keep a steady stroke, keep breathing under control, feel good after.


My mountain bike friends taught me to go into a low gear and then once you catch a steady rhythm, gear up. Better than trying a hard gear and than having to go down.

PS: Last Tuesday's class I did 17.9 miles and 1835' of climbing.

[ccnyc]

Bklynmom:

I'm from NYC and know that hill on 9W. You must find your rhythm, settle into it and chug up that hill. Forget about trying to keep up with others, especially if you're new to hills. The gearing advice posted here is great.

Other hill ideas near NYC:
Harlem Hill in Central Park (at the North End) is great for doing hill repeats. I usually do 6 or 7 in a row and get a really good workout by challenging myself with a higher gear/faster pace. The hill repeat loop is a little over one mile long while the hill itself is 0.32 long with an 84' rise and a 4.4% grade. Doesn't sound like much, but doing them in succession is a great workout.

You could go over the GWB, and not too far from the bridge, do a hill repeat circuit on the famous Walnut (0.55, 190', 6.5%) and Churchill (0.69, 240', 6.6%) hills.

River Road (under the GWB) is great for hill training but only the northern end (Alpine Hill 1.07, 400', 7.1%) is open now due to a landslide blocking the road. You can access it via 9W, Alpine Police Station entrance.

Check out this regional hill grade document: http://www.nycc.org/re_regional_grades.html

The upside is that any of the above hill suggestions have wonderful downhills. Lots of fun.

Let me know if you would like any further details or suggestions. I'd be happy to share my knowledge of local hills.

Carol

[Bklynmom]

Thanks to all for this great advice. I am going back to the Hill Sunday and will concentrate on gearing, and setteling in to my rhythm

Carol- the NYC advice is a huge help. Tomorrow, weather permitting, I am going to Central Park and do hill repeat exactly as you describe .

I am going to do the Montauk Century on May 20th, then concentrate for the Month of June on hills - and thanks to you I now know where to start! I am preparing for a charity ride of 111 miles with big hills at the start, in early August. I feel like I have a handle on distance (we'll find out for real on the Montauk) and now it's time to move on to challenging typography.

[rij73]

Good question... I'm getting pretty decent at the hill in Prospect Park too, but am worrying about anything steeper. I have a triple, but am considering a 26t chainring to replace the 30t chainring to give myself a couple of even easier gears than I have already. There just really aren't any steep enough hills in Brooklyn to practice on! What about using a trainer? How can you simulate a hill on a trainer? Must be a decent way...

[spokewench]

What happened to my post? I thought I posted this morning to this question?

[Bklynmom]

What happened to my post? I thought I posted this morning to this question?

I posted a similar question in the tricks section, and I think you replied to that - thanks for your advice. Since there is iffy weather today in Brooklyn, I am going to try your technique for making the Prospect Park hill harder by gearing up for a min. or two, taking a 1 min. break and gearing up again.

I am also trying to push my speed on the two rolling hill sections of the Park, but maybe that's for a different day's workout. I am at a point where I have a hard time telling when I am overdoing it.

[Starfish]

What about using a trainer? How can you simulate a hill on a trainer? Must be a decent way...

If you elevate your front wheel 6 inches or so, it does engage the climbing muscles in your back, etc. You can use your gearing on the trainer to do muscle tension workouts, to simulate hill repeats, to work on out of saddle stuff, etc.

[Bklynmom]

Good question... I'm getting pretty decent at the hill in Prospect Park too, but am worrying about anything steeper..

When do you ride? I am a freelance photographer, so I ride any time between dropping off my son at school and pick up time at 3 PM. I have a white Specialized Dolce Elite with purple trim, so if you see me say hi!

I would like to go to Central Park, but some days my time is limited, or like today the weather is too iffy -- don't want to get hit by lightening on the west side bike path on the way to the Central Park! I need to find a way to get a better workout in Prospect Park. I live in Carroll gardens about a 10 minute
uphill ride from Prospect Park.

[rij73]

I'm a piano teacher, so it differs every day, but I'll keep an eye out for you! I ride a dark blue flat-bar road bike with IBEX on it.