hills... my dreaded weakness

[Bike Chick]

Relax! Smile! Breath! Spin! You can't climb efficiently when you have a death grip on the handlebars and are leaning forward. Try to keep your weight off your front wheel and more on the back. Breath easy and make yourself relax your arms, neck and shoulders. Don't sit in the saddle like you have a hanger in your jersey. The tension in your upper body takes power away from your legs. Just keep at it and you will get stronger.

I agree with Chicagogal in that it's half technique and half mental. I used to have anxiety attacks when I saw an upcoming hill but soon realized that it's never as bad once you get into it as it appeared when you were approaching it. I wouldn't look at the hill, just the road right in front of me so I wouldn't get overwhelmed at the task of climbing.

Remember there is a reward at the top---the downhill!

[BluOrchid2]

I wouldn't look at the hill, just the road right in front of me so I wouldn't get overwhelmed at the task of climbing.

That is exactly what I do, too. It really does help. I do it when jogging, too. Hills are even harder when I'm running.

[nikkoblu2]

Ditto. Besides all the real-biker-stuff like shifting & spinning, I think hills are 60% headgame. I count. I look at the ground in front of me and count to 20 - then I look up. Then I reassess if I need to shift again and start counting. After all this counting, shifting, and looking...I'm up the hill before I know it. It's just something to distract me from saying, "OMG...I'm dying getting up this hill". It works great for me!

[MomOnBike]

Agreed to all the above.

I've also heard that core work can help, it can't hurt in any case. If nothing else, it will help the mental struggle. "All those crunches are helping me up this hill. Yep, here I am at the top, and looking great!" It's worth a try.

[Becky]

Staying seated while climbing will keep your heart rate lower, which is a good thing, especially for longer climbs. Sit and spin...find a good rhythm.

The CWC is an awesome ride, and you'll have a blast! Bring a camera too....very pretty country.

[trista]

Staying seated while climbing will keep your heart rate lower, which is a good thing, especially for longer climbs. Sit and spin...find a good rhythm.

+1 for this advice.

[Crankin]

Catrin, you will find that as you get stronger, the weaving thing will occur at much lower speeds, or even go away. I can easily climb at 5.5 for a very long time, and that's just what I did in Spain (well, I estimate this, since I had no computer). I have seen my computer at 3.5 at certain points on really steep climbs, but that would be just for a little bit, to rest.
I do think its safer to walk, though, if you think cars are around and you are weaving. A couple of weeks ago I was coming home from a ride with a friend. We were in her neighborhood, just chatting and going very slowly. A younger woman ('20s?) passed us on the left, on an older bike with a standard double, at the beginning of a little hill. She looked a little proud of herself for passing us old ladies, and then I noticed she was completely on the wrong side of the road, weaving horrifically. I told my friend (a newer rider) to watch, and I accelerated up the hill, spinning, and passed the younger person. She was totally red in the face and stopped in the middle of the road. She either didn't know how to shift, or she should have walked.

[featuretile]

The most important thing I learned about hill climbing is: if you are going downhill and you see a steep hill coming up in front of you, don't slow down or stop pedaling. Get as much momentum as you can to glide half way up the hill and keep pedaling until you have to shift down. Then get into your lowest gear as quickly as possible and spin for the remainder of the hill. Don't wait until you have lost all momentum to shift down.

This doesn't work on really long hills when all momentum is gone. Then you need to find the sweet spot between leg muscles hurting (high gear - pushing) or breathing too hard (low gear fast spin). Then keep at it as long as you can.

If you start weaving, it is not a sin to walk your bike for a short while. If it even slightly levels out or the grade gets less intense, then get back on the bike.

Using these techniques, I have gradually improved my hill climbing. I can get up hills that I used to walk. And we have really big hills here. The small hills are easy now.