I want to get faster

[aquamoose32]

I want to get faster. Beat the old men up the mountain. Any advice or share you training schedule regime?

[Bike Chick]

Best advice I can give you is to train hard. Find some hills and really push yourself past your comfort zone. You will get stronger and the speed will come. So will your confidence. Good luck.

[marni]

I hate to sound like a broken record but the only way to learn to ride up a hill fast is to ride up a hill fast, and in between do lots and lots of high resistance and or high speed intervals on the flat.

If you have a gym locally, do some leg presses and gradually increase the weight you are pressing. I have found that the machines where I push the weights away from me, not where I push my body away seem to work the best for me but experiment with the resistance machines. Don't forget a bit of hip stability in the form of abductors and aductor muscles ( pushing your legs apart, and pushing your legs together. Also consider some front and side planks for core strength.

But mostly just ride the hills and enjoy yourself. If you do enough hill intervals you will get stronger and faster.

have fun.

marni

[aquamoose32]

Alrighty. I'm going to try it. I'll let you know if I get any faster!

[daisylubob]

Ride w/ others who are faster than you, it will push you.

[redrhodie]

Do a search for "interval training" in the search function. That seems to be the main thing people do to get faster.

[marni]

ya for getting the fit however it fits!

[Gowest]

hill repeats, intervals, proper rest (sleep and rest off the bike) and if you have it to lose - drop excess weight - it increases your speed b/c you have less work to do to get up that hill! (I know - much easier said than done)

Also - bicycling mag often has good articles on this subject.

[aquamoose32]

hill repeats, intervals, proper rest (sleep and rest off the bike) and if you have it to lose - drop excess weight - it increases your speed b/c you have less work to do to get up that hill! (I know - much easier said than done)

Also - bicycling mag often has good articles on this subject.

Thanks alls. Actually I got so sick of my routine 40 mile ride everyday I started taking my old Bianchi and racing up the mountain. I got really strong really fast and my arms were sore of all things. Now I starting pulling my bob trailer loaded up the mountain everyday. Not getting stuck in routine I think was the key.

But you know, I actually gain weight when I cycle hard. It is very annoying. I know it is muscle, but still. I guess there is a fine line in the lighter you are the faster you go, and the more muscle you have and the more power and faster you can push. You can't be skin and bones and fly up a mountain... Its a fine line I'm and learning.

[Ritamarie]

I love this kind of talk!!

I'm at my best when I follow this formula... one hill ride a week (100+ ft/mile for about 25-30 miles), one fast ride a week (with guys who will challenge me over moderately hilly terrain - this is my "I know it's gonna hurt" ride) and at least one long social ride a week (65-100 miles at a social pace). Total minimum mileage of 150 miles/week, but at 200 I really feel good.

Do enough hills and they will lose their power over you. As Marni said also, if you want to ride up hills fast, you have to ride up hills fast... you might not sustain it for long at first, but you have to push past your comfort zone. (This is where the fast ride comes in. I need to be racing someone up a hill to find the motivation ride fast up a hill!)

Dropping the extra weight helps. Good climbers are generally lightweights. But take care to lose fat and not muscle. Get adequate protein and rest. Amend that: get lots of protein and rest! Take care of your body to get the best out of it.

BREATHE. I am amazed as I ride past people up hills how shallowly they are breathing. Breathe deeply. Breathe slowly. Concentrate on the your breathing. Breathe in rhythm with your pedal stroke - so many pedal strokes per breath. Think of the oxygen going in your nose/mouth, down to your stomach then down to your legs. The oxygen is fuel for your legs. This makes a huge difference in your ability to keep the pace all the way to the top.

Keep your cadence up. Downshift if you need to but keep the cadence the same as it was on your approach. After a while you will find that you can push a bigger gear and still keep the cadence.

Rita (still on crutches so armchair riding this evening.)

[tulip]

Like daisylubob said, ride with people who are faster than you are. You will get faster. It's very hard to get faster when you ride alone.

[bluebug32]

These are all some great tips. I would also add that if your head is in the climb, your legs will follow. You have to believe 100% that you can rock that climb. It's such a mental thing. I psych myself up and go.