Yay - made the hill!

[jobob]

Yes, like everyone says, just keep at it. Doesn't matter how slow you go, if you stay upright it's all good.

A few years ago I had a nemesis hill that took me months to finally climb all the way up.

And this past weekend I finally conquered my nemesis route - after a few months of trying.

[DebTX]

It helps so much to hear the advice and experience of those doing it longer than me. Good to know that we all have our nemesis hills and I love the idea that "if I get up the hill and am still upright, it's a good day!" BleekerSt - sounds like we have the same athletic background (none) and it reassures me to hear about your progress!

This morning I rode solo for the first time (I always ride with my husband, who rides at 14-15 MPH). But he had a dentist appt this morning, and I wanted to ride, so I did 20 miles on my own. It felt awesome to just ride at my own pace, with no stress that he was "waiting up ahead for me." I wasn't trying to hustle, but ended up clocking 10.5 MPH.

More important than that it just felt good to be out there, just me and my bike.

[rij73]

This morning I rode solo for the first time (I always ride with my husband, who rides at 14-15 MPH). But he had a dentist appt this morning, and I wanted to ride, so I did 20 miles on my own. It felt awesome to just ride at my own pace, with no stress that he was "waiting up ahead for me." I wasn't trying to hustle, but ended up clocking 10.5 MPH.

More important than that it just felt good to be out there, just me and my bike.

Wow! Please read my thread at http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=26087 I had the same experience this weekend!

[Jiffer]

Good for you, Deb! The hills and I have had some issues as well. I think MOST cyclists have issues with hills, or at least did when they started. Dh LOVES hills, which just kills me.

However, in the past year the hills and I hate each other a little less. And, in fact, in the last month, even less. The first time I realized my hatred for hills was lessening, I was doing an organized ride near the beginning of the year, which turned out to have a TON of climbing in it. I certainly didn't like it, but I found myself just "going with it". Just bear down and do it. I think I had a mental change during that ride. The hill isn't going away. Everyone else is doing it. I don't like it, but hating the hill and having an attitude about it aren't going to help. I have basically learned that hills are a part of life, at least in my neck of the woods, so I have stopped searching for flat routes (for the most part) and make myself mix in those hills. Sometimes I make hill work the purpose of the ride and, a year ago, this just was unheard of. Yesterday I rode 2,744 feet during a 37 mile ride, the first half almost all uphill. The last four miles were killer .... but I DID IT! And I CHOSE to do it! For the 3rd time this year even! And I feel so good that I did it! And I'm stronger for it.

Here are some things I have learned that have helped me, other than an attitude adjustment. I used to get out of the saddle and push myself for the beginning of the hill to get some momentum. I quickly learned all that did was cause my heart rate to soar, my lungs to explode and my legs to burn way too much. Once I sat back down, I was out of breath and miserable and still had to get up the rest of the hill. Would have been better to just stay down and be consistent with my pedaling and breathing.

Now, if I am on a "rolling hill", coming down from a previous hill and about to go up another, then I sometimes get out of my saddle and work it to keep my momentum and get up the next hill, especially if that next hill isn't too long. This works from the flat too, as long as the hill isn't too long. If I have a mile to go, there's no point pushing myself hard for a hundred yards unless there's relief just ahead.

However, I have also learned the value of standing and pushing "slowly" in a harder gear temporarily, which uses different muscles. The key is to listen to your body. I don't push myself to the limit so that I don't have anything left to get up the hill once I sit down. Dh and I do this on the tandem a lot. If we're on a hill and trudging along, one of us might say, "Wanna stand for minute?" ... and we'll do it together to rest the "hoo ha" and relieve the muscles our your legs that are only used when we're sitting. I'm usually the one that says, "Okay! Sit!" But I try to make myself go further and further to build my cardiovascular and endurance and those particular muscles. Luckily, on the tandem, I have dh to help me continue to the top of those hills! So, the purpose of standing in those instances, isn't necessarily to go faster, though sometimes you do, but it's to rest your "sitting down" muscles and your hoo ha (butt, crotch, whatever!) ... depending on what your body needs at the time.

Lately, a tip I got at my professional bike fit has helped me HUGELY on hills. I had always known I was supposed to be pushing through the entire rotation of the pedal stroke. Pushing down, pulling up and pushing across the top. I basically thought I was doing this, sometimes better than others. Yet I do admit I focused more on the down and the up and not so much on the pushing forward part. My bike fit guy told me that this is even more important than pushing down and pulling up. When your foot comes up, it should push forward across the top of the pedal. He said it would give me so much more power and ... it certainly did! I mostly notice the improvement on those nasty hills, which is AWESOME!!! The first time I knew this technique was really helping me was when I was on a ride with a friend. We were together on the flat, turned to go uphill. She immediately passed me, which was typical, and she got a ways ahead of me. I started really concentrating on that pedal stroke and, low and behold, I started getting closer and closer to her and then, YES ... I PASSED HER!!!!!! OMG, this was a wonderful day!!! I can't tell you how beyond thrilled I was and I'm happy to say this occurence has happened several times since then! (The passing of the friend on the hill ... and even other people sometimes. )

So, stick with it, keep absorbing all the info you can and apply it as best you can. You'll continue to improve and will love the feeling. Don't get discouraged if it takes longer than you would like. Just enjoy yourself along the way.