Hill question ???

[kimz]

ah yes give them fags up they not good for you but im sure you know that with out me

i dont smoke thank goodness ! although i do drink twice a week

oh yes i for got one q ive been battling this for about a year but only 6 months on this bike which on a good day i have managed to get 3/4 of the way up but thats on a really good day and was so anoyed i had to stop cos was nearly there

 

[Barbelier]

I feel your pain!

There is a very steep longish hill in the village where I live and I always come to it at the end of a ride. Been training for a LEJOG for a couple of months and so far it beats me everytime. I don't run out of legs or breath because I take it slow and steady, just run out of gears, standing up on the pedals and the bike has ground to a halt! However, like the advice several have given I aim each time to get a bit further and so far its working and I'm 75% of the way up it! I'll beat the sod some day soon.

Another nasty hill I hadn't been able to beat comes immediately after I turn back onto the road after a slow bumpy track, allowing no chance to pick up any momentum. Last time I went up it there was a rather attractive young lady parked watching me and so I just had to make it!! Well chuffed, but collapsed in a pathetic heap as soon as she was out of sight.

 

[accountantpete]

Not a scientific person but am a smoker so get the same problem -

Possible solutions

1) push a harder gear at a slower turn of the pedals.

2)try just using one leg to push down at a time (for say 10 turns) and then use the other. This gives one leg a chance to recover and helps reduce the oxygen needed.



Long term -the solution is to build up the muscles and lung capacity by riding hard up lesser hills and getting a tasty lightweight road bike with skinny wheels!

 

[Rob3rt]

Eat right before you go out, and work on your cardio fitness?

I hear that you can tell your at cardio work rate(without resorting to HRM etc) when you can still speak short sentences but not talk and talk and talk. But not to point you can only get one or 2 words out without gasping. Run and cycle in this zone for a few hours a week and you will get better.


And eatting right before and after your ride will help out.

 

[kimz]

glad i'm not the only one having hill probs

ok never thought of the one leg at a time thing might have a go ,
food is my biggest problem as i leave the house for work in the morning at 7 i cant eat first thing so have to wait till about 11am when i get in then maybe have a bowl of cereal and a cup of tea before dashing to check on horses ..... the hill is on my way home so it could be that there is not enough fuel in the tank

i get home about 2 and a half hours later and might have a baked potato before going back to work at 4.30/5pm home at 8pm then as long as im not too tired will have a quick micro meal veggie meal maybe quorn cottage pie or something sometimes im so tired i have another bowl of cereal and yes i know this is not good for me and my food intake has to change i get weeks i eat really well and then i get fed up and pick at things but.....food is another story

 

[Kestevan]

Mark the point where you have to stop - mentally, rather than with chalk

Tomorrow, make sure you dont stop till you pass the mark, even if it's only by a bike length. Don't worry about getting all the way up, just focus on passing the mark.

Repeat every day, before long you'll be at the top of the hill. I can guarantee that once you have done it once, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about, and sail up easier and easier.

Then go find a steeper/longer hill and start all over again

 

[Rob3rt]

glad i'm not the only one having hill probs

ok never thought of the one leg at a time thing might have a go ,
food is my biggest problem as i leave the house for work in the morning at 7 i cant eat first thing so have to wait till about 11am when i get in then maybe have a bowl of cereal and a cup of tea before dashing to check on horses ..... the hill is on my way home so it could be that there is not enough fuel in the tank

i get home about 2 and a half hours later and might have a baked potato before going back to work at 4.30/5pm home at 8pm then as long as im not too tired will have a quick micro meal veggie meal maybe quorn cottage pie or something sometimes im so tired i have another bowl of cereal and yes i know this is not good for me and my food intake has to change i get weeks i eat really well and then i get fed up and pick at things but.....food is another story

Porrige and a bannana! Nutella on toast is a good one too, for me anyway

 

[kimz]

Then go find a steeper/longer hill and start all over again Noooooooooooooooooooooo

yes love porridge and banana's making me hungry now

 

[BrumJim]

Watch the big climbs on the Tour de France to get hill-climbing trips.

There is a hill near me where I have chalked my name on the tarmac, along with a Union Flag and "Allez" in increasingly large letters as you go up the hill. Then I get a car with cycles on the top to drive just behind me, as the driver yells obscenities at me (quite easy to find in this locality). Next I pay a group of people to stand in front and yell as I head towards them. Also give them a picnic to enjoy whilst they are waiting for me. At the top put a white line and the name of a company that you might like to buy something off. This will mark the finish of the climb.

Hope that helps.

 

[kimz]

Watch the big climbs on the Tour de France to get hill-climbing trips.

There is a hill near me where I have chalked my name on the tarmac, along with a Union Flag and "Allez" in increasingly large letters as you go up the hill. Then I get a car with cycles on the top to drive just behind me, as the driver yells obscenities at me (quite easy to find in this locality). Next I pay a group of people to stand in front and yell as I head towards them. Also give them a picnic to enjoy whilst they are waiting for me. At the top put a white line and the name of a company that you might like to buy something off. This will mark the finish of the climb.

Hope that helps.

Love it

 

[on the road]

Just to be clear, when I say keep some kind of momentum going I mean keep the pedals turning even if it's extremely slow.

 

[Rip Van]

It's unlikely that you'll get further every time you try it. Go for doing more than you're used to on some days and less on others, for a few weeks, then, after an easy day or two, really give it some sh*t and see how far you get.
Look at speed/ endurance training manuals and adapt the advice to your situation. Performance wise, expect something like two steps forward, one step back. Really hard effort balanced with enough easy training, rest and decent sleep should help you succeed.
Take all the advice you've received in this forum and use the bits that suit you.

 

[Downward]

This time of the year it will be a struggle with the cold. Come March/April when it's warmer I reckon by then you'll be getting up in 1 go. The cold does take it out of you.

 

[Bill Gates]

You don't mention what sort of pedals or shoes you have. Are they platform pedals without toe clips? If so then then it might be worth investing in toe clips to secure your feet or better clipless pedals and cycling shoes with cleats that secure the feet on the pedals.

With your feet securely attached to the pedals you can start to apply some climbing techniques that will help you. Someone mentioned pushing hard with just one leg x 10 and then the other. I've not heard of that one before and I wouldn't recommend it to be honest although each to their own.

Good climbers get into a rhythmn. Choose a gear you can get on top of' i.e. relatively fast cadence more than 60 rpm. You lose energy fighting the bike in too big a gear; it is more efficient to keep the body relatively still. Count in your head 1-2-3. On the count of 1 push down hard on one leg and then counts 2 & 3 focus on applying a circular force on the pedals so that as one leg is pushing down the other is clawing up as though you are scraping something off the bottom of your shoe.

The next count of 1 will be the alternative leg pushing down hard. Fix your gaze about 15-20 feet ahead and put your bum twoards the back of the saddle and keep your arms on the tops of the bars towards the centre, either side of the stem. Your body is then postioned in a such a way so that your legs have something to push against. Every now and again get out of the saddle. This will use different muscle groups and give some relief to the other muscles.

You've now got into a steady rhythmn and before you know it you're at the top.

 

[Chrisc]

i bike it on a budget dont have heart monitors or mileage counter etc although would like one to see how far i do cycle in a day in total i dont drive so ride it every where apart from the 12 miles round trip i am a home carer and my average biking from person to person is prob about half a mile in between each other so no idea if this helps my fitness levels or not

I use this site to check distances. Just click on a start point then add stops along your route to see the total distance. If you click elevation data it'll also tell you how much climbing and descending you did and how steep the gradient is.

http://www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php