My first Hill Climb

[Phyllosc]

Next month I'm down to ride a hill climb event here in Suffolk (on Semer hill). Yes; for those who think East Anglia is flat we do have some hills! For my size and weight the only record I might set will be the slowest rider on the hill but it's the taking part that counts!

I've never ridden a hill clim time trail before and while this one is quite short I wonder if any of you might be able to offer any advice on training and preparation for such an event?

 

[Citius]

Practice riding hard. Practice riding hard up hills. Repeat.

 

[Shut Up Legs]

Yes. The best training for climbing hills is to climb some hills.

Now that I've stated the obvious, here's a few more:

1. Use a gear climbing the hill that keeps your cadence somewhere between 70 and 90 rpm (i.e. up to 1.5 pedal revolutions per second). This reduces the strain on your leg muscles and makes climbing long hills easier.
2. Don't pay too much attention to how steep the hill may be ahead of you, as it may be a bit demotivating. Of course, feel free to ignore this advice if you want to enjoy the scenery! The best thing about hill climbing is that the scenery is quite often better than on the flat.

 

[Hacienda71]

If you haven't already ride the hill before the event.

 

[50000tears]

Pacing is key. Don't attack the climb unless it is a very short one. Far better to ride within yourself for the first half and push on for the second half. Hit it hard too early and you risk dying a thousand deaths getting to the top as you heart rate will never recover.

 

[midlife]

Heres me on Spout Hill in the 70's, Hull Thursday Hill Climb event..........

Best tip is not to pose for the camera and concentrate on actually getting up the hill as fast as possible

Seriously, you need to practice on the hill itself.

Shaun

 

[Fubar]

Heres me on Spout Hill in the 70's, Hull Thursday Hill Climb event..........

Best tip is not to pose for the camera and concentrate on actually getting up the hill as fast as possible

Seriously, you need to practice on the hill itself.

Shaun

Great pic!

 

[Fubar]

Pacing is key. Don't attack the climb unless it is a very short one. Far better to ride within yourself for the first half and push on for the second half. Hit it hard too early and you risk dying a thousand deaths getting to the top as you heart rate will never recover.

^^^this^^^

Oh and expect to see the content of your stomach again at some point.

 

[midlife]

Don't put a marker by the side of the road (like a lolly stick) to tell you when to go into maximum attack mode so you reach the finish line at the same time you are about to vomit.

Some git will move it 20 yard back so you die and vomit 20 yards short......

Shaun

 

[totallyfixed]

We know this hill, in fact raced up it 2 years ago. Forget all the advice about pacing, this is the one hill climb that breaks the mould, the record is 43.4 secs so even if you are a fair bit slower than this you could do most of it in anaerobic mode. You have time to do a 2 week training block, basically and not to get too technical, you need to do high intensity intervals, in other words flat out sprints for as long as you can hold them, without knowing your HR, try resting/ light spinning for 2 or even 3 mins between each effort. Good luck, the hill isn't steep and is a fairly even gradient, it eases off before the finish. It is more suited to a sprinter rather than a pure hill climber.

 

[midlife]

43 Seconds................that's a short hill. More like an "interval" than a hill climb

Shaun

 

[totallyfixed]

Indeed,

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cwc8bTHbQg