went on my first club ride!

[bikerchick68]

good for you! the fact that you went on a group ride is great... it will make you stronger and you'll no doubt learn lots of skills from other riders too! When I was new I asked a TON of questions to experienced riders... I found that the cycling community is in general VERY helpful... everyone WANTED to help me learn...

and yep, repeats are excellent for training... climb, climb, climb... and you WILL be stronger... and maybe you were the last one up the hill... but you got up there! way to go...

[Prairiedog]

Megan...I ride hills constantly. I live in a rural area and as soon as I leave my driveway, which is a hill itself, I am either going uphill to the right or downhill to the left. Plus, I ride predominately on gravel roads which is much more difficult especially after a heavy rain and you really bog down into the road.

I am so used to having to work that hard that I am just much better conditioned than even people who ride more than I do in a week.

The only way to get faster/stronger on hills is to get out and ride on some...alot. When my kids were small I used a trailer for them behind my bike and they added 75 pounds to what I was pumping uphill. Now that they ride their own bikes I will still load the trailer up with weights and take it for a ride so I don't get too soft! My husband can not keep up with me if he rides my routes and I credit that to the extra conditioning I got pulling my kids in that trailer. Notice that I always pulled the kids, not him! Sissy.

[latelatebloomer]

Megan, I'm right there with you! Three club rides to my name and the hill slug every time. Is there a more experienced rider willing to stick beside you and coach you on hill technique as you go? That's really helping me - seems that eating hills is part legs, part lungs, and part strategy.

Keep it going, and congrats!

[im4smiley]

One of the things I was told, besides practice practice practice, was to keep my heals down, push my butt back on the saddle and hold the top of the handlebar, oh and easier gear, so you spin up instead of mashing up the hill. I have been trying it and it seems to help me. My problem is I just want to get up the hill and so I start out too fast and then I think I am going to die before I get to the top. Hey also part mental...You can do it!!!

[RoadRaven]

Hey there Smiley

You hit the nail on the head with the hill-climbing

You absolutely must settle in to a rythym on a hill that suits you, and not get sucked into trying to keep up with others who pass you. It is too easy to blow your heart rate going too fast up a hill, and when that happens you probably exceed your lactate threshold, and then its gonna be ten minutes recovering once you are over the top to disperse the lactate...

But if you chug on at your pace, you will have some sting in your legs at the top and hopefully be able to close the gap between yourself and those in front.

It is definately a head game and the more I play, the more I realise that. You have to get a plan in your head, know what feels right for yourself and know when you can push your limits and always endeavour to not get sucked into others attacks unless you know you can deal with it... and when you choose not to rush after them (like up a hill) keep telling yourself its ok, cause you are going to get up the hill in tact and able to keep riding with zing in your muscles once over the top.

[Bike Goddess]

In addition to keeping your heels down, and shifting your weight to the back of your seat, pretend you are scraping mud when you reach the bottom of each stroke. This will empower your hamstrings and give your quads a little rest. This technique can be used all the time. You will become a stronger cyclist for it!

This piece of advice comes from various sources, the latest one was from www.roadbikerider.com. These guys have all kinds of tips and tricks for training. I've been reading their newsletters (once a week) for a couple of years now. Very useful. Signing up is free although you can also subscribe to the premium site which for a fee gives you more info.