Tell me how to love hills...

[capricapers]

Nice tarmac !

Looks like the hills in the GCN videos! Great going

 

[capricapers]

It also depends upon the surface you’re riding and the type of tyres you have. If you have little grip, it’s better to sit and spin as your body weight will help hold the back wheel to the ground. If you’ve got good grip then out of the saddle in a higher gear may be easier. Personal preference plays a big part too. My son hates riding out of the saddle.

Me too. I am with your son. I have slick kind of tyres and much prefer to stay seated for the climb.

 

[Grant Fondo]

Of course, most of you are probably not tackling this kind of thing regularly ...

View attachment 437648
View attachment 437649
I confess that I had just had to dismount when I took the first picture. I've got fitter since then and have managed to get all the way to the top on several occasions.

Thats a beast of a hairpin...wpuld be good in a Caterham!

 

[capricapers]

Just keep riding up them. I went from truly hating hills to actively seeking them out and as a result my technique and endurance improved vastly (and back to hating them again after I lost my fitness)
After a while you develop a feel for it, there's a rhythm that is very satisfying once you dial it in.

The problem with being the kind of person to push a big gear when going uphill is that it's not the kind of effort that you can keep repeating on a ride (the muscle fibres used in a big effort are different from those used when spinning, and they tire out *much* more quickly), and if you run out of gas before the top you're left struggling on a smaller gear anyway.

Unless it's a small climb that you know you can power over without losing speed, it's better to shift down early and spin a small gear at a pace you can maintain all the way through.

If you find yourself having run out of gears on a steep climb, alternate between pushing your bottom gear while sitting and shifting up a couple of gears and getting out of the saddle for a short burst. This will break up the monotony, and give some muscle fibres a chance to recover while you use others.

Finally, don't focus on how fast you are on climbs when compared to other people, there will always be people who are faster. It's rare that I find any who are slower than me but I will (usually) get up the hill.

This is BRILLIANT advice, very many thanks.

 

[steven1988]

It also depends upon the surface you’re riding and the type of tyres you have. If you have little grip, it’s better to sit and spin as your body weight will help hold the back wheel to the ground. If you’ve got good grip then out of the saddle in a higher gear may be easier. Personal preference plays a big part too. My son hates riding out of the saddle.

That sounds like good advice where did you get that from?

 

[ColinJ]

Nice tarmac !

I think it had been relaid the year before. That road no longer has many heavy vehicles on it. There was a near tragedy 20+ years ago when the brakes failed on a Calor Gas wagon coming down that 25% slope and heavy vehicles were prohibited after that. (Fortunately, the driver managed to drive off the road without hitting other vehicles or the houses down below.)

I’m sure going to try to lose those 8lb. It may seem like harsh advice but I think it’s good advice and I think it’s worth trying hard for. Thank you.

I could still do with losing 8-12 pounds. I used to try and ride up that hill when I was 5 stone overweight and it almost killed me!

It is Mytholm Steeps (up Church Lane, from Hebden Bridge).

The trouble with these really steep hills is that the back wheel will often slip if you get out of the saddle, but if you remain seated then the front wheel can lift ... It is a real balancing act, and especially tricky if the road is wet!

 

[LeetleGreyCells]

That sounds like good advice where did you get that from?

Well, there’s this chap I know... and I pay attention. Sometimes he even says something useful...

 

[Katherine]

Hi @capricapers. Great post !
I have a similar riding style. I love going fast on the straights and downhill but lose all momentum on the ups.
When I have done the occasional longer distance rides like the Manchester 100, I found that I was overtaking people on the straights that then over took me on the ups.

For me, riding uphill is how I earn the fun going downhill. So it's a big incentive for me.
I spin up in as low a gear as necessary to keep a good cadence and yes, it can be as low as 4-6mph but I never stop and as soon as it levels out or descends, I'm moving up through the gears. Going up and down hills I'm changing up and down through the gears all the time. When it's getting steeper, I change down before I lose too much momentum .
Some of my regular hills, I set myself personal challenges, like not dropping below a certain speed.

 

[steven1988]

Well, there’s this chap I know... and I pay attention. Sometimes he even says something useful...

Sounds like a very knowledgeable chap. You must put me in contact with him i could do with some knowledge like that

 

[ColinJ]

I just found this video taken from a wobbly rear-facing camera on an ascent of Mytholm Steeps. Either the rider was very fit, or riding an e-bike!

The first part of the climb is so brutal that the second half feels easy in comparison but you can see that it keeps going up for a considerable distance.

 

[Grant Fondo]

Whiteway in Dorset...what a lovely spot...anyone done it?

 

[ColinJ]

I've never been to Dorset, but it looks well worth a visit!

 

[Specialeyes]

Hills are only in your head until you run out of gears to change down into. I see an incredible amount of people bailing out and walking up hills (even Essex 'hills'!) with the chain only half-way across the cassette and plenty of gears left. They've looked up the road, got demoralised, thought 'I'm never going to make it up there' and listened to the nagging doubts.

I'll usually try and attack short climbs just to get them done.
On longer climbs try to find a rhythm early, based on a perceived effort level, and adjust gearing and riding position to maintain that effort level. If your body is suggesting a period out of the saddle, change up a couple of gears and stand for a little burst, just to recruit different muscles and mix it up a bit. change back down as you return to the saddle. Now I come to analyse it, it occurs to me that I look about a car's length ahead and sing Mr Brightside in my head on climbs just to maintain tempo! Whatever works

 

[capricapers]

Vary your pace on hills. Attack some to the point where you're struggling to breathe by the top; pootle up others. It's a kind of informal interval training. After a few weeks you should notice a difference.
Riding with others also helps.

Good advice, I think! Have never ridden with anyone else, except my husband. I always leave him behind - except on hills, where/when he catches me up, with a smug smile!

 

[capricapers]

Hills are only in your head until you run out of gears to change down into. I see an incredible amount of people bailing out and walking up hills (even Essex 'hills'!) with the chain only half-way across the cassette and plenty of gears left. They've looked up the road, got demoralised, thought 'I'm never going to make it up there' and listened to the nagging doubts.

I'll usually try and attack short climbs just to get them done.
On longer climbs try to find a rhythm early, based on a perceived effort level, and adjust gearing and riding position to maintain that effort level. If your body is suggesting a period out of the saddle, change up a couple of gears and stand for a little burst, just to recruit different muscles and mix it up a bit. change back down as you return to the saddle. Now I come to analyse it, it occurs to me that I look about a car's length ahead and sing Mr Brightside in my head on climbs just to maintain tempo! Whatever works

Haha! Brilliant! Thank you.