what do YOU call a hill????

[CorsairMac]

Ok, I'm getting distinct impression that what people call a "hill" can vary greatly. I call a hill anything with like a 6% or higher grade. Around here, you usually hit ones that are anywhere from a mile to three miles in length and the grade varies on each particular hill anywhere from 6% to 10% on average. I only do between 6 mph and 8 mph up those two or three mile suckers, averaging like 7 mph (obvously )

On a smaller continuous grade (like 5% steady), I can comfortably ride 10-11 mph.

See? Hills are not my friends!!!

So, what's a hill to YOU?

ahhhhhhhhhh Gods Love ya Lynne! I climb every night on my commute home - about 495 feet for 6 miles with a gradient from 3%-8% and I average 10 mph on a good day. I was reading one of the other posts and thinkg 18mph on a hill? I'll NEVER do that!! We also have false flats around here - they Look like flats but then why is my speed dropping and why am I'm changing to a lower gear?? I was SOOOO excited yesterday when I had a 20 mph tailwind so my avg spd on my climb home was 12 mph!! wheeeeee
The highest gradient I've ever ridden was 14% and I was soooo sorry I knew that! lol

[BikingAt50]

Lance Armstrong says that a hill is nothing more than the road slopping upward. Early in his career, he said he only focued on about twenty feet of the road in front of him. That way he never had the psy effect of going up a hill. It was just the road in front of him. It works! On my last organized ride, there was a few places where the road slopped upward significantly. I lowered my head and focused on the road in front of me. Before I realized it, I was on level road again. If I look at a hill, I psy my self out - I defeat myself before I start. Hills are tough for me, but hopefully in time, I will take them with out a problem.....I hope

[SimpleCycle]

I don't really understand the % grade thing, and don't have any way of telling, so the only ones I know are ones that have signs when you are going down them that say "7% grade, next 12 miles". Those signs aren't my favorite, especially when I know I'll have to come BACK UP! I think 5-6% climbs are pretty intense. We have a mountain here (Mt. Lemmon) that is a 5-6% grade for 23 miles. You're a pretty good climber if you can hit mile marker 11. I've yet to try it and don't really ever want to.

As for what is a hill, I know it when I see it! Pretty much anything I shift down to my third chainring for qualifies. Although we also have 3-4% grades for 10+ miles, and I don't ride those in my lowest ring, but they are hills, and usually called climbs.

[runnergirl]

Wow, the biggest hill we have here is about 8% grade for 200 feet or so. The longest incline is about 1/2 mile long, maybe a 3% grade...

We are thinking of going to the "mountains" once a month for some climbing work, otherwise I'll be in trouble for the spring college season.

[bikerchick68]

I have no idea how to measure percentages either.... but I DO know that if it's steep at all, I granny gear it! I ride a double and have thought about switching to a compact but I seem to be able to climb anything I want... just reeeeeeally slowly! There's a 3 mile climb that is part of my training route that I climb at about 7mph...

when I did the Solvang Century there is a climb 85 miles in that is about 1 1/2 miles long and freaking steep... I was doing 3.7mph and was concerned that if I slowed any more I was gonna fall over and make an *** of myself... I would've laughed about it but I was too tired...

[Veronica]

I have no idea how to measure percentages

My HRM calculates altitude and distance. Using those two numbers it calculates the grade. You can do the same thing if you know the altitude you started at and the ending altitude - either from a map or a GPS.

For example I climbed a hill with Jo on Tuesday. It climbed 1280 feet in 3.3 miles. Convert the feet to miles or vice versa, but you need the units to be the same. I climbed .24 miles in 3.3 miles. Divide .24 by 3.3 and you get 7%.

For me a hill is fairly short in duration - under 5 minutes to get over it. A climb is any ascent that takes longer than that.


V.

[SimpleCycle]

when I did the Solvang Century there is a climb 85 miles in that is about 1 1/2 miles long and freaking steep... I was doing 3.7mph and was concerned that if I slowed any more I was gonna fall over and make an *** of myself... I would've laughed about it but I was too tired...

Yeah, that thought has occurred to me at points. : ) I also learned the hard way that it's not a good idea to stop on a very steep part of a hill. When I went to start again, I didn't have enough momentum/coordination/whatever to clip in on the first shot, and over I went at zero miles per hour.

Last week I went on a ride that was a 3% grade or so (I'm guessing) for the 30 miles out, and then the real climbing began. Or so I thought. Then I hit mile marker 1 of the canyon and it starts getting steeper, and think, oh, this must be it. 11 miles later, it becomes seriously steeper, and I slow to about 5 mph. One of my ride partners pulls off into a picnic area, and I say, shouldn't we keep going? He says, "Oh, I've never actually been to the top. Way too much work." Our other partner climbed to the top. This guy was born to climb, and had said he didn't think it would be too hard for me. (I'm still a newbie) On the way down, he says "I take back everything I ever said about Madera Canyon." He said he was pretty sure he was going to fall over for lack of momentum at points. I was really glad I turned around at the picnic area.

[CorsairMac]

Just as an aside: if you stop on a hill, ride partway Down the hill to get yourself clipped in then turn around and go back to your climb.

[Lynne]

LOL, I'm glad I started this thread! Some of the posts are pretty funny. Plus, it helps me understand everyone else's perspective.

BikerChick...one of the women I was riding with yesterday said the same thing...how slow can you go before you fall over? That's too funny!

And, I was able to gauge the incline because I temporarily had a computer that measured incline. Otherwise I'd have no idea either...It's a wonderful idea to check the mileage and speed, but honestly I'm just trying to keep my lungs in my chest and can't focus on the average speed and distance (and I won't reset my computer to get it because then I won't have the stats for the whole ride).

Oh! And I forgot, I learned on my 3rd ride on a bike (in December or so) about not starting on an incline. That was my second fall...yep, zero miles per hour with some construction workers behind me who could see the whole slow tip over. It was like I was a cow and someone had just pushed me over (hehe, just kidding-about the cow thing, anyway). My third and last fall (I swear, it's my last!!) was about 1 ft from the side of the car at the end of the ride-I was just too tired to stay upright and just flat fell over...that one was about 2 mph, as I recall

[RoadRaven]

My son says that he thinks you measure grade this way

The distance travelled in height/altitude every 100 metres... therefore, the hill just before I get home which climbs at about 11 metres per 100 metres is an 11% gradient.

It makes me feel like vomiting by the time I get to the top... but at least I can get to the top... now... at about 7km/hour (about 4 1/2 miles per hour)

Then a gentle 1km slope to get rid of the lactic acid before I reach my gate

[CR400]

Anything that I can't make it up without using my triple and only going 4mph. Or a hill I can't make it up. If I can maintain at least 8 to 9 mph without the triple I don't consider it a hill just a bigger rise where the road isn't quite flat.

[CorsairMac]

I was watching the TdF yesterday and I thought of this thread:
They were showing Stuart O'Gradys stats and he was climbing the last Cat 1 climb at 10 klicks (about 6.1 mph) over a 5-6% grade.
Ok..I Know he's a sprinter so mountains are just not his forte but for a brief moment in time there I was all excited that I could climb a 5-6% grade faster than a pro racer! LOL
Just thought I'd give everyone a little hill climbing boost there! Next time you're climbing look at your speed - you May just be climbing faster than a pro racer!

[Lynne]

I was watching the TdF yesterday and I thought of this thread:
They were showing Stuart O'Gradys stats and he was climbing the last Cat 1 climb at 10 klicks (about 6.1 mph) over a 5-6% grade.
Ok..I Know he's a sprinter so mountains are just not his forte but for a brief moment in time there I was all excited that I could climb a 5-6% grade faster than a pro racer! LOL
Just thought I'd give everyone a little hill climbing boost there! Next time you're climbing look at your speed - you May just be climbing faster than a pro racer!

OMG, too funny! I'm kicking Stuarte O'Grady's butt. Hmmm....now if I could just toss on 2 cat 3 climbs, a cat 2 climb and like 127 miles BEFORE the cat 1 climb and STILL do 6mph...whoo hoo!

[CorsairMac]

OMG, too funny! I'm kicking Stuarte O'Grady's butt. Hmmm....now if I could just toss on 2 cat 3 climbs, a cat 2 climb and like 127 miles BEFORE the cat 1 climb and STILL do 6mph...whoo hoo!

Minor details!

[SadieKate]

They were showing Stuart O'Gradys stats and he was climbing the last Cat 1 climb at 10 klicks (about 6.1 mph) over a 5-6% grade.
Ok..I Know he's a sprinter so mountains are just not his forte but for a brief moment in time there I was all excited that I could climb a 5-6% grade faster than a pro racer! LOL
Just thought I'd give everyone a little hill climbing boost there! Next time you're climbing look at your speed - you May just be climbing faster than a pro racer!

I haven't been able to watch until today, but I have to ask: How far had he already ridden? And how far had he towed a team mate up the hill? And, did he have to go back for water bottles and deliver to a team mate? Even sprinters have to do some work in the hills. And, how many consecutive days had he already ridden at this tempo?

Don't want to rain on your parade, but can you ride at this pace day after day (times 23? days)? Ok, for one brief little shining moment we can all ride faster than a pro. Just don't blink when it happens and make sure someone is there to be witness.