hill repeats?

[maillotpois]

I also wonder another thing (see quote above). Last fall I couldn't stand more than a stroke or two in spin class. Now I can stand however long and hard the instructor says, but I still can't stand on a real bike on a real hill out on the road. I _used_ to do it all the time back when I was a kid with a 1-speed Schwinn. I've tried up-shifting to have more resistance and thereby more controll. But I still can't seem to do it. Any tips for that, besides just keep trying?

I was just coaching a woman with the same issue. She wasn't really aware of it, but she was basically bottoming out at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Be sure you are pedalling a circle when you stand. Be sure you are supporting your upper body very steadily and even pulling up a bit with the arms. (Augh - It is so hard to describe these things in words and not showing.)

Practice on the flats first - not just hills. Get the technique down on the flat roads and get comfortable with it then try it on hills.

[DirtDiva]

I'm curious: is it harder to stand and pedal on a road bike than a mtb?

[Veronica]

I don't think it's harder. I'm not likely to stand much on either - usually only on short, as in 100 meters or less rises.

V.

[Nanci]

I used to hate standing on either- road or MTB, because I wasn't strong enough and I sucked at it. But I kept at it, standing as much as I could stand on the flats, starting out seated on hills, then standing, then sitting again if I had to, finally standing for entire small hills, or the last parts of medium hills. After a while, (and encouraged to improve my standing strength due to undercarriage pain on LONG rides) it got easier, and easier. Now I feel like I can stand on a hill if I need to, for as long as I need to (except in mountains- wtill working towards that!)

Nanci

[DirtDiva]

Cheers. It's something I just do for a bit without thinking - can be tiring, but never thought about it being tricky. I wasn't sure if it was that mtbs were easier to stand on, or if it was more to do with not having had more than a few months without a bike to ride since I got my first real bike for my 4th birthday and not having had a chance to forget how it's done.

[maillotpois]

I find standing on super long climbs is a tremendous help. It works different muscles and gives you a real break - also good on the undercarriage as Nanci points out. It gives your upper body a nice break, too, working idfferent muscles there as well. You wouldn't think that was important, but for a super long ride it really is.

One thing I really worked on last year for death ride training was the right kind of standing for long climbs. I had always stood to power over small rises without shifting, etc., so the standing involved a power increase and speeding up. Well, for a longer ride, you need the standing where your speed doesn't increase at all. That's a great trick to work on and it really comes in handy for all day/all night riding with long sustained climbs.

I think standing on a MTB (on dirt) is tough because of the traction issues. But I tend to think everything on a MTB is tougher because I hardly ever ride them anymore.

[SadieKate]

We can fix that. We try to have an annual ride up Mt Tam every year. About 24 miles of dirt roads and fabulous views. One-third of our Bay Area Trifecta.

This year, Miss Kim will be going if I have to drive to her house and haul her kicking and screaming out to the Bike Bus.

[maillotpois]

Well, I will try to join you guys. I hate my MTB (first generation Gary Fisher dual suspension), so will probably steal DH's. It's a bit big, but works okay. I used to MTB all the time, then had a couple of endos from which I never mentally recovered, then got a road bike and thought "Wow this is so much faster and more fun!" and never went back. I think my last MTB ride was around New Years 2002 on Bolinas ridge, in the rain, slipping and falling into cow poo. Gee, it sounds so great I wonder why I never do it??

[RoadRaven]

The hill I use is a steady incline - probably medium gradient (though I dont know what "percent")

It is 600 metres long and I do reps on it - I have built up to ten. Once I get to 12-13, I am going to move onto a longer hill (about 1 1/2km) of a similar gradient.

Hills are not my strength and it takes a big mental effort to do these.