How to improve my climbing ?

[Ridgeway]

95kg here (but 186cm) and do pretty well on the hills compared to many of the people I ride with.
Haven't a clue about heart rate or training, I just live at the edge of somewhere hilly (The Pennines) and simply love to push on and beat the people I benchmark against. Been riding them hills since my early teens which probably helps? Mentally there are no steep hills or big hills, just hills. I think a big part is state of mind?

I know the area well, used to live near Hyde and crossed the Woodhead and Snake many times in my teens, you're right about hills around there

Yeah state of mind must be a real factor in just keeping going, especially at higher effort levels.

 

[Ridgeway]

Climbing hills is not about the actual time it takes but the relative comfort you can do it. I trained on a turbo trainer, doing base training (Zone'2) increasing the duration towards 3 hours non stop high cadence pedalling.

I then took this good aerobic fitness and with relative comfort cycle up Mt. Teide. The climbs are ave 6% for 12-16 miles long.

Sure climbing hills will make you strong, but there are many ways to achieve the fitness to do it. You dont need hills

That's a long climb, 2000m or so, bet anything is a breeze after that can't imagine the descent

 

[ColinJ]

95kg here (but 186cm) and do pretty well on the hills compared to many of the people I ride with.

Blimey, that's a shock - you are the same height as me but weigh 6 kg more, and I have put about 10 kg on over the past 5 years. I am currently a bit flabby but you didn't appear to be last time I saw you. You must have a much more muscular build than me!

That's a long climb, 2000m or so, bet anything is a breeze after that can't imagine the descent

A mate who used to live there and who did it once every couple of weeks said it is a lot of fun, but can be very chilly! (Lots of sweating on the way up and lots of windchill on the way down.)

 

[CXRAndy]

That's a long climb, 2000m or so, bet anything is a breeze after that can't imagine the descent

Enjoy


View: https://youtu.be/ol4d5sMABNQ

 

[ColinJ]

And then the rider realised that he had left his iPhone on a roadside boulder at the summit...

That is only, what, about HALF of the descent?

My mate used to live down by the airport not far above sea level.

 

[CXRAndy]

And then the rider realised that he had left his iPhone on a roadside boulder at the summit...

That is only, what, about HALF of the descent?

My mate used to live down by the airport not far above sea level.

Yes that is half way down to Vilaflor. The rest of the descent whilst fast, isn't as picturesque
We stayed in Los Cristianos on the south side. I used a company called Tenerife Bike training for the supported rides.

 

[Ridgeway]

Enjoy


View: https://youtu.be/ol4d5sMABNQ

Wow amazing video and super descent

Loved the passes on the Skoda and then on the Corsa balls of steel comes to mind.

On any of the long climbs i've done in the Alps i love that feeling of getting the climb done early in the morning and then on the descent seeing the poor bar stewards that have it all to come as you're whizzing past them

Looks like an amazing mountain to climb and descend, super smooth road surfaces and i only noticed a couple of fallen rocks, far better than some i've been on.

Thanks for sharing