hill repeats?

[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.