Hills again.

[cabby]

steep hills that take less than 5mins or so are hard and I dont mind the pain. however those long slight inclines that go on for miles just kill me and my average speed drops big time.Got to Hollytown this morn at 10miles easy then onto Salsburgh abt 4miles, nothing steep just a slight climb but I was shattered. Any tips for those long slow climbs.

 

[rollinstok]

Short, steep hills can be attacked
Long, steady climbs... I think you already know to be in a gear that lets you spin without grinding away
I get a tune in my head and pedal along to it

 

[coffeejo]

I get a tune in my head and pedal along to it

In the spirit of Dory from Finding Nemo, I "just keep going, just keep going, just keep going, just keep..."

 

[festival]

There is so much to consider, from your general cycling fitness to your technique on the bike etc etc .
But to start with build you strength doing intervals on shorter steeper hills by staying in the saddle and use a gear that is one gear more than you would usually use, almost to exhaustion at the top.
You will not be able to spin without grinding away until you train your legs to be able to pedal fast. Try pedaling fast rather than pushing big gears on the flat you will train the muscles to spin faster and of course ride,ride,ride.

 

[Garz]

I would only say to get better at them is not only to keep practising them, but you do need a gear that is appropriate to sit and spin. The fitter you are the higher the gear you can use to feel comfortable.

 

[black'n'yellow]

Don't kid youself that there's a quick fix - because there isn't. You need fitness, which takes time. Going faster uphill requires a higher effort, which requires you to have a higher tolerance of that effort. Cadence and position are essentially just technicalities.

Meanwhile, just accept that your average speed will drop on a climb - everybody's does...

 

[Peteaud]

I prefer to just hoof it up to the top by standing up and going at a steady rythm.

Long inclines are a killer tho.

 

[Part time cyclist]

On the long slow climbs I find a gear that I can stay seated in and just grind away, don't be afraid to use your gears, and don't give up the good work.

 

[CopperCyclist]

But you sometimes get the amazing feeling on those long inclines... you know, when the incline gets less steep, but this is either imperceptible to the eye, or you just haven't noticed, and it suddenly feels like you are freewheeling up hill... they are worth it for that.

 

[Muddyfox]

I hate the short steep ones but i dont seem to mind the long gradual climbs .. but living in Devon hills are something i dont have much choice in

 

[Nebulous]

But you sometimes get the amazing feeling on those long inclines... you know, when the incline gets less steep, but this is either imperceptible to the eye, or you just haven't noticed, and it suddenly feels like you are freewheeling up hill... they are worth it for that.

Sure there wasn't a tailwind?

I usually do round trips, but very occasionally point to point. I remember doing a 40 mile or so trip to join my family camping with a decent tailwind. At one point I was up out of the saddle doing about 25 miles per hour on quite a steep slope.

I've also had the opposite effect, a place that seemed reasonably flat. I slowed down to take a drink from my water bottle without changing down gears and couldn't get my legs going again. I thought they were broken. It was only about the third time I did the same trip that I realised it had about a 4-5 degree slope upwards.

 

[DaveW]

As a newbie I'm just starting out but on the last couple of rides I started dropping into a higher gear and standing up in the pedals to try to power up hills and must admit I like this technique, although I can't sustain it for too long. I have found its taken the fear out of hills.