Will this hill ever get easier?

[Becky]

Wasn't it Greg Lemond who said, "It never gets easier, you just get faster?" It's so true!

As for the effortless part, that's someone's darn good poker face

[Loraura]

I don't remember WHEN it got easier, but the hills on my way home are definately easier now than they were a year ago.

I used to actually fear steep hills, thinking I would fall. Not any more. I'll try just about any hill once. I've even had to slolom up some hills they are so steep. It's always a win for me if I can stay on the bike moving in the desired direction!


I'm also overweight and not in great shape. But I'm less overweight and in better shape than a year ago!

I do know that when I started commuting part time on a fixie I got MUCH stronger, in a short amount of time, and the geared bike seemed so easy after that.

My mantra up steep hills is "it's just temporary pain".

BTW, 300 feet of climbing in a mile is not a breezy easy climb for me, for sure.

[OakLeaf]

BTW, 300 feet of climbing in a mile is not a breezy easy climb for me, for sure.

+300!!!!!

[tctrek]

Looeez -- I feel your pain. I'm a slug on hills, too, but I know I am getting better. I'm still not good on them, but I'm better than a few months ago and I know I'll be better yet next year. Don't let 'dem hills mess with your mind!

You know you can do them so now you are just moving towards doing them a little faster or with a little less effort. There's some tips and tricks to getting up hills. Stay relaxed, sit a little more upright so you can breathe better. Don't tense up which will increase your heart rate and make your breathing harder. Pull in big breaths through your nose and blow them out hard through your mouth. Slow down your cadence, put your hands on the top bar with a relaxed grip and focus on smooth pedaling rather than mashing on the pedals. Try not to look up to the top of the hill.. find a target like 20 feet in front of you and focus on getting to it. Then find another target a little further away. Congratulate yourself as you reach each small target. Maybe think of a mantra that you can say over and over -- "I eat hills" or "I'm the best"

[Shara]

Oh I feel your pain. My ride to university is pretty much all up hill. Up and down and up and up and up and down and then up up up. lol The hills are getting easier but it's been two months! And by easier I mean I can do them but they still wind me and I get to school exhausted. At least your hills are on the way home! he he. I agree with the poster above that the hills won't seem easy until you do more challenging hills. <sigh>

[LilBolt]

Try a little experiment and time yourself periodically on that hill. Maybe you just are the type of person who pushes herself really hard...and that level of effort may feel the same, but perhaps you really are getting faster! Don't forget to relax as much as possible and sit up to let your chest expand as you breath. Putting energy into squeezing your shoulders & hands might be stealing the energy you need to breath and pedal. I completely transformed myself as a hill climber this year, and I attribute my hilly commute as the primary catalyst. I even treated myself to the "She Loves Hills" TE jersey. Keep it up.

[Bike Chick]

I had anxiety attacks before I even got to a hill when I started riding but it took several hundred miles under my belt to learn to relax and just climb. I now enjoy hills but I had to learn to accept the challenge. Remember that most of it is mental. Just relax, breathe easy and SMILE You automatically release tension when you smile. As your mileage increases so will your fitness and your confidence. Next year you will climb that hill and chuckle about how difficult it used to be. You can do it.