Killer Hill need advice

[Hill Wimp]

If you don't look up - how will you be able to see where you are going?

You can still look at the road in front of you without looking up.

 

[Rob3rt]

You can still look at the road in front of you without looking up.

You should be looking the same distance up the road as you would in any other situation.

 

[ufkacbln]

Sometimes it just happens .... don't let it become a mental barrier.

It could be that your fluid or food intake was less than it could have been, you had a headwind for part of the ride, you hadn't slept well the previous night....

Lots of factors that mean something you would normally overcome becomes difficult.

I used to have a hill on the way to work, but if I had been called in two or three times and climbed it during the night then in the morning it was a get off and walk!

 

[Broughtonblue]

I have a mate who rides semi pro, when I asked him how he tackles some hills, his reply was....
'I don't recognise hills!'
Oh to be that fit!

 

[Dusty Bin]

You can still look at the road in front of you without looking up.

If you don't look further than your front wheel, you won't know what you are facing. And if you don't know what you are facing, how will you be able to moderate your effort?

 

[Hill Wimp]

If you don't look further than your front wheel, you won't know what you are facing. And if you don't know what you are facing, how will you be able to moderate your effort?

I put my head down,find my pace and push on till it's over. It's not a bloody army I'm facing .

 

[derrick]

Go find some more hills, as said before,

 

[Ben M]

Was it fitness that made you run out, or physical strength in your legs? In the current age of compact chainsets, 39/25 isn't especially low. Do you think that if you had a lower gear, you'd have been able to get up it by spinning more?

 

[Dusty Bin]

Was it fitness that made you run out, or physical strength in your legs? In the current age of compact chainsets, 39/25 isn't especially low. Do you think that if you had a lower gear, you'd have been able to get up it by spinning more?

Physical strength would not have been the issue, otherwise he would not have made it past his front door. You don't need to be 'physically strong' to ride up a hill - but you do need a good aerobic base.

 

[Moodyman]

You should be looking the same distance up the road as you would in any other situation.

Not everybody is of racing pedigree like you Robert, so some of us adopt different strategies to get up hills

 

[CopperCyclist]

Go slower. Many people seem to try too hard up hills - I think the brain tries to maintain the speed you were doing on the flat! My wife struggled with hills and hated then to the point that she didn't want to cycle if there was one in the way. I went out with her and told her "keep up with me". I then deliberately cycled in my lowest gear as slowly as I could without falling off.

The hill that she had been 'unable' to climb before she got up without even breathing hard - albeit very slowly! It made her realise that she could pretty much get up anything, it's just about getting the effort balance right!

PS I'm not advocating crawling up every hill by the way, just pointing out that you'll probably find if you go take the same hill in the above manner you'd get up it. It's then about working out how much effort is the correct amount to lessen your time climbing without physically wearing you out that you have to stop!

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Not everybody is of racing pedigree like you Robert, so some of us adopt different strategies to get up hills

Racing has nothing to do with it

 

[Dusty Bin]

Not everybody is of racing pedigree like you Robert, so some of us adopt different strategies to get up hills

Including 'not looking where you are going' it would seem. Why would you not want to look at the road ahead?

 

[BSRU]

No specific training needed, just ride.
I recently, 100km into a ride, encountered a 1km hill with a 10% average that had a peak gradient of 16%(for several hundred metres) and managed it fine.
I am basically a commuter cyclist(50 to 80km a day) who sometimes goes out for rides(40 to 50km or so) at the weekend(during the summer).
I do not do any training, intervals or whatever I just ride for enjoyment.

 

[Rob3rt]

Not everybody is of racing pedigree like you Robert, so some of us adopt different strategies to get up hills

What has racing got to do with it? You are riding on the open road, therefore you need to look where you are going. It's got absolutely nothing to do with performance.

Also my "racing pedigree" is that of a prolific also-ran, lmao!