hill of death

[SimpleCycle]

I'm riding a 109 mile charity ride in 3 weeks. At about mile 50, there is this short but incredibly steep section that just destroys me. The route is hilly by my standards, but it is this one hill that I'm just terrified of.

I'm pretty sure I have to stand up to climb it (at least I have in both trial runs), but I'm worried about standing up in a group riding situation. I don't have great bike handling skills, and I'm worried about my bike shifting backwards or me weaving from side to side with all those other riders around me.

Does anyone have any sage short steep hill wisdom they can share with me? I'm not afraid of the long climbs, but this one hill just stinks.

[traveller_62]

hey simplecycle,

it sounds like you'll have plenty of time before you get to this stinker of a hill to communicate with the folks in your pack that you will need some "space" to tackle the climb.

if it is a tight pack you may want to drop off the end of for the climb rather than get stuck in the middle.

for short steep climbs i focus a lot on pulling back on my pedal stroke and also try muttering a motivational phrase of some kind to keep my breathing steady.

good luck!

traveller

[aka_kim]

At El Tour a few years ago the friend I was riding with fell over on that hill, so you won't necessarily be the only one weaving or having a problem. But traveller_62 has good advice - try to give yourself a little space, downshift early, relax, and think positive.

Have fun!

[Pedal Wench]

When in a group, I always shout out, "STANDING" a few strokes before I stand up. Gives them time to back off my wheel. I ride sometimes with a guy who stands up on the slightest of inclinces, and he really throws the bike back a bit when he does - I know to give him plenty of room.

A bit of advice an experienced rider gave me on one of my earliest centuries: stand up whenever and as often as possible. Those little breaks and changes of position will help out your legs and bottom over the course of a long ride. I've used his advice often!

[CorsairMac]

also: steal a tip from the pros - when you do go to sit back down instead of moving your butt back to the sit - move the bike up to your butt. pushes you just that little further up the hill and you don't lose any forward momentum when sitting.

[SimpleCycle]

At El Tour a few years ago the friend I was riding with fell over on that hill, so you won't necessarily be the only one weaving or having a problem. But traveller_62 has good advice - try to give yourself a little space, downshift early, relax, and think positive.

Have fun!

LOL. Yes, I'm sure it's the same hill. I haven't fallen over yet. Sometime in the next two weeks I'm going to do another practice run up that particular hill, just to make sure.

You're right that I should have plenty of time to let people know I need some space. I'm unsure about how many people will actually be at said hill at the same time as me. The ride has something like 3000 riders, and I should be in the middle somewhere.