Does it qualify as mashing if...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Last fall I was trying to crank up a long, steep, miserable hill. A girl came spinning past me. I don't think it was merely that she was stronger than me. I think she had increased her cadence early on and was able to maintain it longer. Perhaps a momentum thing.

She had a couple lower gears than you most likely.

[silver]

Wait! you both have triples? No wonder you two maade the hills look so easy!

[OakLeaf]

+1 on increasing cadence to at least 100-105 (or 10 rpm over your natural cadence if it's already that high) just as the incline starts.

That said, I'm not near as strong as I used to be, and even though I already have a triple, I'm seriously considering a 12-27 cassette when my 12-25 is due for replacement

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

...even though I already have a triple, I'm seriously considering a 12-27 cassette when my 12-25 is due for replacement

Mine is a 12-34. Spin Dry SpeedQueen.
Then again, I do some harder climbs than Mr. Silver's Boltinghouse Horror. I need all the help I can get.

[indysteel]

As Mr. Silver suggested, I do indeed love my triple. I used my middle ring for much of the Horsey, but it became very clear on Saturday that I needed my granny gear more and more as my quads got more and more fatigued. Same thing with Sunday. There were a few hills where I announced to Mr. Silver that I was going to spin up them in an effort to save my quads from further misery. Worked like a charm.

And then there are those hills that I need the granny gear for no matter how fresh my legs otherwise are.

[Flybye]

Shiraz and others tried to kill me on Friday with 20 miles of hills. I have a double and was cursing and mashing up till the summit. Then I was smiling and praising on the coast down. It was a 34 mile ride all told, but the climb was LONG - I survived with a big old smile at the end.

Mr. - as far as I am concerned, it is like running - even tho' you may be jogging at 4.crawl miles per hour, they still call you a runner. You, my friend, are indeed a masher.

As an aside, why in the world would we have a granny gear on a bike? I think that applies only to a car. Historians? I'd google the history of the term right now, but I need to get to work if I want a paycheck. Pretty sure that there aren't many grannys mashing their way up the summit .

[Geonz]

When I can grab a cadence and keep my stroke powerful full circle, I can get up hills well. If I lose that I end up shoving the pedals down as hard as I can and hoping I get to the top. Fortunately most of the hills I do are gradual.

[short cut sally]

I have a triple and all I can say is thank god for granny gear!!! I don't care if I mash, spin, mash some more, pray, contemplate vomiting, sweat or swear going up those hills..as long as I have enough in me to get up them, I consider that a good job!

[Mr. Bloom]

Wait! you both have triples? No wonder you two maade the hills look so easy!

Yea, but who has the Silver Madone????

I don't care if I mash, spin, mash some more, pray, contemplate vomiting, sweat or swear going up those hills..

I don't sweat, but this weekend, I did all the others. I didn't sing American Pie though...didn't want Silver or Indysteel to do more than contemplate vomiting...

Then again, I do some harder climbs than Mr. Silver's Boltinghouse Horror. I need all the help I can get.

Silver, we're going to visit Lisa! Lisa, I had no idea that your part of the world was like that!

You, my friend, are indeed a masher.

Yep, my name is Mr. Silver and I'm a masher. While I couldn't find the origin of "granny gear", BleekerSt_Girl was quick to point out last year that there is another origin to "masher" though

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Silver, we're going to visit Lisa! Lisa, I had no idea that your part of the world was like that!

Not too many flats around here. Lots of beautiful rolling hills everywhere, and some good hard climbs. Maybe that's 'one' of the reasons my average speed is so low....

[Crankin]

I've done plenty of mashing in my granniest of granny gears. Some of the places I ride are similar to the area around Lisa's home. I *try* to spin up in the beginning of a long or hard climb, but I could never be spinning at 100 rpm! My usual cadence is around 80-85 and I am sure I get down to 50 or 60 on some of the 15-20% climbs around here. I just did one of those on Sunday and on the hardest part, I was mashing and praying I would make it. Like Lisa, my average goes way down on those kind of rides and I don't care. When I saw your average, Mr. Silver, on a century with 8500 feet of climbing, I was astounded. I can make it up those climbs, but I am simply turning the pedals over and not thinking about anything except getting up the hill. Trying to go fast on steep grades just isn't going to happen for me. I can and have improved my climbing speed on shorter or less steep climbs, but at a certain point, I can't do more. I just don't have the strength.
At one point, I almost got a compact double. Shortly after that, I got my new bike and ended up changing out the 11-25 to an 11-27. I am really glad I have a triple...

[Mr. Bloom]

My usual cadence is around 80-85 and I am sure I get down to 50 or 60 on some of the 15-20% climbs around here.

My average cadence on the flats was 68 last year.

While my cadence counter isn't working right now, I still find that if I spin too much, my knees really, really hurt. By guess is that my average cadence on the flats is still at best in the low 80's

[kelownagirl]

My average cadence on the flats was 68 last year.

While my cadence counter isn't working right now, I still find that if I spin too much, my knees really, really hurt. By guess is that my average cadence on the flats is still at best in the low 80's

My knees hurt if my cadence is too low! My avg cadence is about between 85-90, and that's with hills, without hills it's around 95. Just call me Lance. (well, only as far as cadence goes, lol)

[bluebug32]

Not too many flats around here. Lots of beautiful rolling hills everywhere, and some good hard climbs. Maybe that's 'one' of the reasons my average speed is so low....

That's my excuse too! I hit a 20%+ grade the other day and briefly considered moving closer to my family in Indiana and Illinois.

I ride with a guy who insists that the only way to get stronger is to push up these monster hills in his big ring. He looks like he's about to topple over and is usually slumped over his bars by the top. I love spinning right past him...

[SouthernBelle]

I hate it when it looks like I'll have a good average speed and the hills mess it up.

Mr. S, do you need a new battery in your cadence thingie?