Hitting a wall on hills.

[ny biker]

I'm happy if I can keep it above 4 mph on hills. Sometimes joggers pass me. It makes me laugh.

[tulip]

On the downhill before your uphill, PEDAL! Put it in the big ring and pedal. Do not coast down the hills. It's a waste.

As you approach the uphill, keep pedaling. Change gears as needed, a few cogs, then into the smaller chainring, and then more cogs if needed. You can either stand up to get over the top or simply pedal at a comfortable cadence. That depends on you and your hill.

Once over the hill, do not coast. Put it in the big ring and get ready for the next one. This way, you will be able to sling yourself halfway up the hill by pedaling down the previous hill.

[indysteel]

On the downhill before your uphill, PEDAL! Put it in the big ring and pedal. Do not coast down the hills. It's a waste.

As you approach the uphill, keep pedaling. Change gears as needed, a few cogs, then into the smaller chainring, and then more cogs if needed. You can either stand up to get over the top or simply pedal at a comfortable cadence. That depends on you and your hill.

Once over the hill, do not coast. Put it in the big ring and get ready for the next one. This way, you will be able to sling yourself halfway up the hill by pedaling down the previous hill.

I practice this technique on rollers, but some of the worst hills in Southern Indiana are like monoliths. You'll be travelling on an otherwise flat road and suddenly hit what seems like a wall. It's hard to know how to approach them. I wonder if Owlie is encountering the same thing in Cincinnati.

[Owlie]

I'm actually in Cleveland (at least, most of the time), which is pretty flat. The hills here aren't terribly steep, but they're long. I just double-checked the elevation profile, and it looks like the incline changes right around where I hit that wall.

The hills in my neighborhood back home are pretty steep. Those don't give me a problem--I just keep pedaling. I manage 7-9 mph on those and don't feel like I've been hit by a steamroller. (Okay, I need to catch my breath a bit at the top, but still!) There's a bit of a roller there, which helps, but not much. (Indy, we have some of those monolith hills. I just don't ride on them!)

On my ride tomorrow I'll try out my granny gear, and try to remember that I just have to get up the hill.

[LivetoRide]

Since I stopped watching my computer, my riding and climbing got better. Don't worry about your speed and when riding with others, don't make yourself climb at exactly the same speed they do; do what feels right to you.

While climbing I'm always thinking about being relaxed on the tops of my bars and breathing "correctly". I used to put it in the big ring and pedal down hills when doing rollers but my climbing has overall improved since I stopped (knee problems made it not worth it). Down shift when needed and as much as you need.

There's some downright nasty climbs here in Indiana. I can do long, more gradual climbs but those 20-24% monsters just due me in!

[marni]

Today's life lesson about hills.

an old man is out riding slowly and peacefully up a long steep hill. He was not going fast but simply climbing at a regular steady pace. Pretty soon along comes a dude in team bibs and jersey, fancy racing bike, time trial type helmet etc. He blows past the old man yelling out "Hey old man, want to race?"

The old man just ignores him and keeps peddling peacefully up the hill.

Pretty soon along comes another guy, pushing his speed and trying hard. He calls out " come on man, you can go faster than that" as he blows past.

The old man just smiles and waves at him, wishing him a good day.

Pretty soon along comes a third guy, who takes a minute or two to ride next the to old man, asking him if he is feeling ok and does he need help to get up the hill.

The old man waves him on and keeps on peddling peacefully up the hill.

Pretty soon, a last fast rider rides up to the old man, pulls out to pass and says " aren't you eager to get up the hill? Why don't you see if you can go any faster."

The old man just smiles and says " ah the top of the hill will still be there whenever I get there."

[shootingstar]

Well today, we did a gentle long hill which...bewildered us, because we were panting unnecessarily.

Dearie reminded me that Calgary was at a higher elevation than Vancouver...1,000 ft. higher for whole city.

It was just so strange....since I knew the grade was no more than 8% which is normally easy for me.

So the lesson is, a new city /area might be overall at a higher elevation than old place. So first day or so, you might notice certain effort on certain hill climbs.