Starting to work on hills seriously - need beginner advice!

[HappyAnika]

When riding rollers, its best to stay in a high gear and carry as much speed into the bottom of the hill as you can. Start gearing down as you slow down while going up to keep from mashing. When you get to the top, change back into the big ring and repeat.

On long hills, keep it easy from the start, you want to conserve energy to make sure you make it to the top.

Dr. Liz, the first time I tried standing to climb, I almost fell over. I felt like I had no control over the bike. To get better, I would practice short bursts of standing on flats just to get used to the feel of the bike moving from side to side. Once I felt comfortable with this, I tried it on hills again, remembering to switch to a harder gear just before standing. Just keep practicing. Its like learning to reach for your water bottle, you have to create new neural pathways in your brain, and once they are there the motion becomes second nature.

All that said, I'm no climbing expert. I can do the long gradual canyon/hill rides which for me is all mental, but we have some seriously steep hills around here which I am working on conquering. I did my first high elevation ride last weekend with 2400 ft. of climbing over 25 miles with a max elevation of 9140 ft. (1540 ft. on the way "up", and 860 ft. on the way "down", lots of ups and downs). I had to stop a lot, but I didn't beat myself up over it, my goals were just to finish and have fun, and I did that. 5100 ft. in 19 miles, ouch!

[Bklynmom]

This brings up an important question - do you stand or sit on hills? So far I sit on the long climbs.

The other day on rolling hills, I noticed that if I was using momentum and just needed to go another 20 feet up, it was easier to stand and kind of drag the bike up the last few feet. Can't keep this up long! The first time I stood on my new bike I nearly crashed because of the flexion in the fork. I still get wiggly when standing, but it's much better.

There is a weird thing with the bike - you suddenly discover a strategy that works when you least expect it.

Anika - you sure are tenacious on those hills - that is an amazing climb - inspires me for sure .

I find that there is a certain angle of hill that just stops me dead - it's pretty steep, but I can only go 10 -20 feet then I practically fall over.

[HappyAnika]

I was referring to Starfish's climb of 5100 ft. in 19 miles! I just did the measely 2400 ft.

Standing uses up a lot of energy and is generally used just as you described, coming over the crest of a hill when you have just a short distance left. Also, it can be used on really, really long climbs, just to change things up a bit. You're more efficient when sitting. (I learned this all through other threads here, do a search for hill climbing and you'll find more answers to similar questions). As I become more comfortable with my bike handling, I also find myself standing to get through intersections more quickly when there's lots of traffic.

[Starfish]

I was referring to Starfish's climb of 5100 ft. in 19 miles! I just did the measely 2400 ft.

You know, it was actually an easier day for me, with less soreness, than my ride the week before, which only had 3400 feet over 50 miles. For me, the difference is the grade. I am slow, but I can keep on trucking if the grade stays under 10-11%. But, throw in some 13-15%, let alone what I read others doing up to 19-20%, and I get toasted very fast. (I'm starting more intensity training to try to help with this.)

Your ride, up to 9,000+ feet, sounds hard to me, with that altitude.

Sitting/Standing: I sit, unless cresting short hills or needing to give my bum a break. But, I have been weak at standing. I'm doing some spinning classes now that I think are going to help with that...building some muscles up for standing without the dangers of falling over on steep climbs, to start.

[RoadRaven]

Sitting is generally more efficient...

Standing is usually reserved for a short burst of power to get you up over the crest without losing anymore power...

[shawnada]

Hey karen, I too am from Boise and new to this board. I will be tackling the Bogus Basin ride this summer also. We should hook up and try it together. That was my thought exactly, ride to top and have someone bring me back down.

[Kano]

Hey karen, I too am from Boise and new to this board. I will be tackling the Bogus Basin ride this summer also. We should hook up and try it together. That was my thought exactly, ride to top and have someone bring me back down.

Cool Shawnada! I've told DH that we will likely need camping equipment when I do Bogus -- it's going to take me a LONG time to climb that hill! I'm new, carry way too much me up the hills, and it's a slow process -- but I also tend to be a stubborn old gal...

There's actually a "ride" up that hill in summer -- maybe in september? -- and I think there were prizes and such. We started riding last summer, and being just at the "any way I can climb it" stage NOW, we didn't go last year (probly not this year either) cuz there was a time limit. Right now, I'd consider the time limit to be about a week...

Karen in Boise, who makes slugs look fast on the hills!