how do i improve my hills?

[Slimzoe]

and yes, i am short lol.

 

[ColinJ]

actually the opposite my user name is tongue in cheek lol, i am losing at the moment as i know losing weight is a factor in the hills!

It is a huge factor! I have lost about 50 pounds over the last 18 months and it has made riding much easier on the big hills round here.

The thing is - as you lose weight, you should be getting fitter at the same time so you will be getting twice the benefit in terms of that power-to-weight ratio.

I know several very fit short women who are great at riding uphill. Once you get your weight down and get some quality miles in on your bike I am sure you will enjoy the hills a lot more.

 

[NealM]

Some people may be better at riding up hills than others, but the degree degree of competence/ability most people could achieve is way beyond what they are likely to achieve if they adopt an attitude like yours. The reality is people like you are not willing to hurt for it, that is why you can't get any better! That is fine if you don't want to hurt for it, but to suggest others can't improve based on some silly theory spawned from your unwillingness to endure pain is rather absurd.

Well said . . I'm currently trying to improve my hill climbing ability . . I've found a short course near where I work that allows me to get out in my lunch hour . . and there are a couple of 10% hills along the route (I know this probably isn't very steep for some people here !! ) . . For the first couple of weeks I had to walk the last part of the hills (and heart rate was at 190 BPM). . But now I can at least ride all the way up . . . So improvement is always possible ..

 

[totallyfixed]

The idea that you can only slowly get better at climbing hills is quite frankly, nonsense. It is in fact possible for just about anyone to improve dramatically in a relative short period of time.

 

[Hacienda71]

Not a scientific view but I find riding hills can be a mental battle as well as a physical one. This can be magnified if you are riding in a group when someone flying past you with relative ease can reduce your confidence. If you have ridden the hill before you can plan how to ride it, you know it's idosyncrasies where it ramps up where to get out of the saddle and attack the short sharp incline before sitting back down again and tapping out a rhythm etc. Ultimately though as said the most important factors are weight power and fitness.

 

[Rob3rt]

The idea that you can only slowly get better at climbing hills is quite frankly, nonsense. It is in fact possible for just about anyone to improve dramatically in a relative short period of time.

Agree, especially shorter hills <~8 mins in duration. Power at VO2 max is much more easy to come and go than power at threshold IME. I improved my 3-5 minute power by approx 20% during last years HC season (which is a matter of weeks long) and I wasn't coming at it from a particularly low baseline either.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

It is a huge factor! I have lost about 50 pounds over the last 18 months and it has made riding much easier on the big hills round here.

The thing is - as you lose weight, you should be getting fitter at the same time so you will be getting twice the benefit in terms of that power-to-weight ratio.

I know several very fit short women who are great at riding uphill. Once you get your weight down and get some quality miles in on your bike I am sure you will enjoy the hills a lot more.

working hard to get a few more lbs off before end of march...
and hopefully some hill training in Scotland the week before should help considerably...

 

[Libby]

Hi, I can't say that I am particularly good at hills either and as I am no skinny minny I doubt if I ever will be, but as my main focus is time trials I try not to let it bother me too much. I am now in my 3rd year of cycling though and have noticed that I am much better than I was. I don't live far from you (near Bedworth) so know that there is a definite lack of proper hills within easy reach but the Atherstone one or Hartshill are both pretty good for practicing on.

I don't know if you go out with a club but I have found club rides have helped me as they do force me to go up hills quicker than I would on my own!

 

[young Ed]

just think about he big drop on the other side!
and think how big your thighs are getting
Cheers Ed

 

[Slimzoe]

Hi, I can't say that I am particularly good at hills either and as I am no skinny minny I doubt if I ever will be, but as my main focus is time trials I try not to let it bother me too much. I am now in my 3rd year of cycling though and have noticed that I am much better than I was. I don't live far from you (near Bedworth) so know that there is a definite lack of proper hills within easy reach but the Atherstone one or Hartshill are both pretty good for practicing on.

I don't know if you go out with a club but I have found club rides have helped me as they do force me to go up hills quicker than I would on my own!

libby who do you ride with? i go out on a sunday but its not a club as such, we ride for fun and its helped me come on in confidence no end but always on the look out for other rides lol. i was going to ride with the warwickshire ladies but as we only have 1 car a lot of the time i cant get to the starts. the atherstone one is my nemesis, i fell off going up it and, i think mentally thats why i struggle so much, straight away im thinking aww pants another hill! my blokey is fab, when we go out together he acts as my coach as he is a strong rider (been doing for less time than me but hes a natural rider) but i want to be able to ride up hills with him not 10 miles behind lol.

 

[Slimzoe]

just think about he big drop on the other side!
and think how big your thighs are getting
Cheers Ed

haha love it, the drop is the best bit (now ive got used to speed lol) im pretty proud of my muscles, i also dance and you can tell my legs are different to the other girls.

 

[young Ed]

haha love it, the drop is the best bit (now ive got used to speed lol) im pretty proud of my muscles, i also dance and you can tell my legs are different to the other girls.

flying down one of the local drops at 31.something chasing the 30 mph speed limit signs half way down is great fun
i love trying to speed on a bike!
Cheers Ed

 

[albion]

If going slow are you plodding in too high a gear?

I now usually overdo it on the granny gears to protect the dodgy knees and hip, but hills is where I now catch the fast overtaking cyclists.

 

[50000tears]

If anyone wants to become strong at hill climbing the the only real options are to lose weight, unless already close to optimum, and to be prepared to suffer. As Robert indelicately put, there is no excuse for not getting better, which only happens if you are not prepared to put the effort on.

I am a beginner and have identified hill climbing as an area I need a lot of improvement on. So I cycle to my longest local hills and do as many hill repeats as I can manage.

 

[shortone]

Don't be fooled peeps, Slimzoe is better than she makes out. OH here, at work as usual.
Yes an improvement in the hills would be an advantage but all other aspects of her riding are spot on and coming along nicely.
She can quite happily cruse at 18+ on the flat without over stretching herself.
Technique with gear selection and controlling cadence are one of the areas we are working on.
Oh and the biggest hurdle is self confidence Zoe does not believe she is as good as she is. Do you Hunni?
So far we have two good rides planned this year. nightrider 100k in June and 100 miler from Nuneaton to Skeggness. We are also considering the Shakespeare ride in Aug either 100k or 100 miles, but the 100 miler looks like a very hilly second half.