hill repeats?

[li10up]

Great tips everyone! I love to stand on the hills, it makes them much easier for me. In fact, sometimes it makes me feel as if I'm cheating!

I'm just up the road from you in Waco. Do you ever ride up here?

[SadieKate]

There is this stupid little hill on one of our routes. I hated it as a newbie and I've always wondered why it is such an annoyance. It is in full sun but it is short. Had my new computer on yesterday (Cliclo 434) and discovered that the hill just gets steeper and steeper, topping out at 9%. Now, I don't feel so bad about the cuss words I used to yell at it.

[RoadRaven]

LOL Sadie, I cuss too... about 1km from my gate is a very steep hill... its great leaving cause its downhill... but returning home is always tough - its only about 500metres long but its 11%gradient!!! Yup, I def cuss too...

[latelatebloomer]

What a good thread for me to read this morning. It is time for me to get some hill smarts. I had to stop mid-way on the first hill on our club ride last night, and it completely deflated my attitude for a while. The good part of the ride was that a large and powerful mtb biker rode with me and coached me before the hills. One problem was that the ride leader had previously told us to avoid the granny gear. The mtnbiker said, you paid for it, use it for now.

So it's hill repeats for me so I can stay on my bike! I'm also finding that I need to get to the club ride early and do some warm-up riding. Hitting that first hill before my lungs and muscles are opened up is the other killer.

For a moment there, last night, I saw some people walking in a park and thought, "walking! What a great sport!"

[maillotpois]

What a good thread for me to read this morning. It is time for me to get some hill smarts. I had to stop mid-way on the first hill on our club ride last night, and it completely deflated my attitude for a while. The good part of the ride was that a large and powerful mtb biker rode with me and coached me before the hills. One problem was that the ride leader had previously told us to avoid the granny gear. The mtnbiker said, you paid for it, use it for now.

So it's hill repeats for me so I can stay on my bike! I'm also finding that I need to get to the club ride early and do some warm-up riding. Hitting that first hill before my lungs and muscles are opened up is the other killer.

For a moment there, last night, I saw some people walking in a park and thought, "walking! What a great sport!"

OMG - the club leader told you to avoid the granny gear??? That's insane! That's what its there for - to spare your knees and make it possible for you to ride up a hill without stopping. Sure, as you get stronger you'll probably use it less. But why not use it now and get yourself some confidence that you can get up the hills. What kind of a club leader dictates what gear you can use??

Reminds me of my daughter. She was so mad Sunday that she had to stop in the steep part of a hill. She wanted to be able to ride the whole way up and was just furious thatshe couldn't. She finally got over it and eased up on herself a bit. I know she'll be able to ride the whole way without stopping soon - and you will too.

[jobob]

A pox on that ride leader !!

I get up tons of hills in my (great)granny gear that I otherwise could not manage. Sure, I'm probably slower than I would be if I didn't use it - on some hills I'm sure I could walk the darn things faster - but so what?

It's such a huge confidence builder to be able to get up the hill in the first place.

I get so irritated sometimes with this "real cyclists don't use a granny gear" mentality.

I'm just a mere mortal who wants to save her knees and ride 'til she's 90.

[RoadRaven]

Triple chain rings (ie, granny gears) are meant to save knees/enable climbing to happen up hills...

However, you will never go up a hill fast in a granny gear.

Part of my training includes hill repeats, going up in a gear I can just get on top of without standing. This is to increase my anaerobic fitness.

I stop as soon as I think I might possibly be feeling a hint of maybe a twinge in either knee.

Perhaps this is what the club leader was talking about. If he believes your goal is to be able to climb hills, not just get up them (in racing terms), then I completely understand why he said not to use granny gears (and this is why I refuse to have a triple chain ring on my bike).

But you know your legs and your goals. If you want to climb hills fast, you either have to learn to spin in your triple as fast as you can in a the small chain ring... or, you could try what I am doing which is the hill repeats, slowly trying to push a bigger gear - but remaining constantly aware of what your knees are telling you. it will take time - you muscles have to grow and strengthen to support the demands, but slowly and surely it will work.

Good luck, and remember, although it is useful to hear advice (like club leader) always try and get a second opinion (like helpful mtn biker) and always always listen to your body and take your main cues from it.

Good luck

[SadieKate]

What a good thread for me to read this morning. It is time for me to get some hill smarts. I had to stop mid-way on the first hill on our club ride last night, and it completely deflated my attitude for a while. The good part of the ride was that a large and powerful mtb biker rode with me and coached me before the hills. One problem was that the ride leader had previously told us to avoid the granny gear. The mtnbiker said, you paid for it, use it for now.

There are times mtnbiking that staying in the middle gear maintains momentum and gives you the traction necessary for short steep or technical stuff; a granny makes you spin too fast and you loose the critical speed.

HOWEVER, you must have the power to use that gear and knees that won't be damaged by it. An ex-pro mtb racer friend of mine who coached on the side, said "They wouldn't have invented gears if they weren't meant to be used." Try to do what the more skilled riders do and you'll clean some stuff you wouldn't have on your own, but take care of your knees first.

[maillotpois]

There is this stupid little hill on one of our routes. I hated it as a newbie and I've always wondered why it is such an annoyance. It is in full sun but it is short. Had my new computer on yesterday (Cliclo 434) and discovered that the hill just gets steeper and steeper, topping out at 9%. Now, I don't feel so bad about the cuss words I used to yell at it.

Were they monosyllabic cuss words? Usually as the hill gets steeper that's what I'm reduced to.

So your new computer was in and is working?? Like it?? Sometimes I don't want to know what the % is. Sometimes it is good.

[SadieKate]

So your new computer was in and is working?? Like it?? Sometimes I don't want to know what the % is. Sometimes it is good.

Yep, it is working. Had to drill out the magnet hole for a bladed spoke but let Joe do that as I wasn't sure if the computer was even working. I've had such bad computer kharma. It was actually kind of fun to see the numbers as I rode on the hills. I like the validation of my pain.

I try to keep the cuss words under my breath and I'm usually succesful on inanimate hills. Other times with animate objects . . .