Hill Speed

[MojoGrrl]

Depending on the hill, I've noticed I go anywhere from 4 to 10 mph, sometimes as low as 3. It sucks when you're trying to chug up a hill at 4 mph though and people go speeding past you...had that experience this past weekend on my century ride, but I had to remind myself that a lot of those guys were racers and were in much different condition than I. I mean, the Tour de France racers were going up some of those hills at 25 mph - no way are we going to be doing that anytime soon! Like everyone else said, as long as you get get up the hill you're good!

[Katie0817]

Thanks for all the good replies and awesome info! This does help a lot. It makes me feel great to be able to get to the top of the hill but I am so slow, lol. I can see I am improving but it hurts my averages a lot that I cannot stand to power up a hill like most people. I have had knee issues in the past and everytime I try and stand up on the bike, it shoots pain through my knees instantly. So I have to stay in the saddle and slolwly make my way up. I am aggravated with myself that I cannot stand to power up them. I have always enjoyed mountain biking more but the steep short hills always got me because of this. Now I am concentrating on the road instead.

[KatzPajamas]

I too have been working on the hills recentyl. I have lots of coaching from my hubby tho. I got up some pretty steep long hills and haven't had to stop yet. He calls it "walking" up the hill with the "granny gear". Longest hill has been about 1/2 mile but not sure what the grade is. Can go up at 8-10mph which just amazes me. I know it is the gear thing not me. Oh, the best part is going down. Most of my hills are short and steep on the back side. I freak out at about 27mph so at that point I really crank down on the brake levers. It is exhilarating to say the least!

[kajero]

If I don't have to walk up then I say !!!YAY!!! Who cares about the speed!

[emily_in_nc]

If I don't have to walk up then I say !!!YAY!!! Who cares about the speed!

This is me! I was going 5 mph on a tough hill today in one of my easiest granny gears. But I made it.

[north woods gal]

The only person I impress when I make it up a tough hill at my age is me. Experience is the best teacher, though. Knowing how to judge a hill and use your gears and so on is a big plus.

[Crankin]

I pride myself on being to get up any hill. I don't care how slow I go. I did a 10 mile climb in Spain, at about 3-5 mph.
Only 2 hills have defeated me in the 15 years I have been cycling. Both were in the Berkshires, involving roads I had no idea of, in terms of how long and how steep. When I think of it, one was a ride recommended by our innkeeper and the other was one one a friend got from Ride With GPS, but he didn't really pay attention to the grades. Both had long, long climbs with 15-20% grades for parts. The first one, my DH dropped me and when I saw my friend walking, mentally I was done. We got to the top, got on our bikes, to find there was another long and steep climb, with another summit. I did that part. For me it's a lot psychological. If DH stays with me and talks me through it, I do a lot better. At times, I can do the self talk (I did this on another road in the Berkshires that was just painful). I am not sure how I would do in the west, where climbs are long and not quite as steep. Most of what I do are short and steep.

[rebeccaC]

Did anyone mention what I read here when I first started? "Smile on the hills". I have tried to do this and it helps- the explanation was that it helps you relax. Maybe it's a placebo effect, but I think it helps me.

actually smiling can exercise and relax facial muscles too ....thinking it's also the thoughts that make the smile that can help in relaxing.

Having positive mental strategies, getting into a cadence and breathing flow, focusing on efficiency and being able to instinctually make the right shifts makes climbing easier for me. I like the challenge of a hard non-stop climb, especially ones with good mind/body/mechanical connections.
I can see stress and discomfort causing more problems from our view of them. I know how my body works well enough that I can redefine discomfort as my muscles working hard and a necessary aspect of exploring my potential. Things like concentrating on just the next mile and form and pace can divert my attention from a negative and get me focused on efficiency and positivity rather than stress and anxiety. Some rides can be psychologically harder than others. Having thought out mental strategies before a hard ride allows me to use them when first needed and take charge of what could be a negative and tell it that it won’t deter me.

……but then i also don't have a problem with stopping to stretch and drink some water if I just feel like it.

[Crankin]

AZ, we might take you up on that for a couple of days. We are thinking of a late winter/early spring (March, early March) trip to Phx, more specifically Cave Creek, for some riding and hiking, some visiting in Tempe, and then down to Tucson. I will keep you informed.

[azfiddle]

Crankin- that would be great!
I have two weeks off mid-March- March 11-24 to be specific - if your travel plans could work with that I would be "free" to ride etc. Keep me posted. You can send a message here or on facebook and I'll send you email / phone.

I hope it happens. We'll smile on the hills together!

[Crankin]

Hopefully, it will be under 90 degrees in mid March! Last time, we hiked in Cave Creek County Park around the 8-10th of March. It was in the upper 70s to low 80s, which isn't really hot, but we were coming from 30-50 degrees at home. It was still nice and cool at night, so that helped.
I have bad memories of my younger son's birthday parties in mid April. Always over 100 degrees. One year we had a gymnastics breakfast party in the backyard. The people came and set up the equipment at 7:30 AM, kids did the fun stuff from 8-9:00, and then we had them come inside for pancakes, cake, and presents in the AC, after that.

[north woods gal]

Had a similar thread going awhile back, but it's always a good topic to discuss.

On another thread, I mentioned that I do stand in the pedals, sometimes, even though I wasn't sure if it was considered the "correct" thing to do on a road bike. I was happy to hear that it was accepted practice. There is a knack to it and you do have to practice it a bit to gain strength, but if it hurts your knees, do NOT do it. It can put a huge amount of stress on the joint. (I mostly lock my knees and pedal with my thighs and hips.) Most of the time, I just work the gears and spin up hills, anyway. I mostly stand when I'm at the crest or taking on a small hill and don't want to mess with working the gears.


I don't worry about speed, either. Even when I'm down to 4 mph or so, it's still a lot faster than walking. (I am a slow walker.)

[marni]

Thanks for all the good replies and awesome info! This does help a lot. It makes me feel great to be able to get to the top of the hill but I am so slow, lol. I can see I am improving but it hurts my averages a lot that I cannot stand to power up a hill like most people. I have had knee issues in the past and everytime I try and stand up on the bike, it shoots pain through my knees instantly. So I have to stay in the saddle and slolwly make my way up. I am aggravated with myself that I cannot stand to power up them. I have always enjoyed mountain biking more but the steep short hills always got me because of this. Now I am concentrating on the road instead.

Like you I have knee issues and tend to granny gear until I fall over through lack of momentum and then walk up. A couple of suggestions I would suggest are: since you have to remain seated, sit up straight and breath deeply, you are in an ideal position to do so. Work on developing some quad strength. This means more than squats in endless repetition, this means jump lunges, step ups, leg presses with weight , lunge walks and exercises to strengthen the hamstrings as well. I don't know if you ride with clips, but if you do, start focusing on pulling up with your feet rather than stomping down, also work on developing a circular pedal motion with no jerks.

These things will not only help you on hills, but in general on the bike for good form and smooth riding.

Incidentally the strongest hill climber I know is a slender 65 year old lady who used to be a ballet dancer who rides completely upright and as smooth as glass, with a cadence of 80-85 that never varies no matter what the terrain is. She just changes gears to accommodate, but she is a joy to watch, absolutely nothing moves but her legs in continuous smooth circles.

There is hope for all of us yet.

[Crankin]

I don't stand, either, for the same reasons. It slows mw down and it hurts. It took me years to be able to even get up out of the saddle. I *do* stand to stretch on long rides and I will stand on little, little rises. But on the long, steep type of climbs I did this week on my tour, I couldn't stand if I had to. My strategy (as well as my DH, who can climb and stand like crazy) is to choose a slow speed, stick to it, and keep a perfectly even, continuous cadence. That strategy has got me up the most difficult climbs, up to 22%. Personally, I don't care how fast I go up hills; I want to go up, not walk, and this works. While I can climb faster than a lot of people I ride with, I have to pace myself on long climbs.

[KatzPajamas]

Crankin~Perfect strategy! Did 31 miles today including several hills. Two were incredibly steep, one with a switchback. Eventually got to the granny gear and just focused on keeping the steady cadence. OMG! Still can't believe that I did it! Didn't ever feel the need to stand up either. I had to dig deep and did feel like puking as I got closer to the top. I have to admit, I had the hubby behind me cheering me on, which helped alot too.