Starting to work on hills seriously - need beginner advice!

[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!