Tell me how to love hills...

[smutchin]

It’s hard to have quickness with stamina IMHO.

You only have to look at the physical difference between Usain Bolt and Mo Farah to see the evidence of that.

If you want to really push yourself, enter some LVRC events - just keeping up will be tough, but riding with stronger, fitter cyclists is a great way to improve yourself. http://www.lvrc.org.uk/

 

[MichaelW2]

Speed on the flats is about power vs aerodynamic drag. In the hills it is about power/weight. Powerful sprinters always have difficulties in the mountains, even (especially!) professionals.

At 5'4" you are smallish, so check your crank length and make sure it is appropriate to your leg length and riding style.

Use your gears. If you are finding yourself in lowest gear and still grinding hard, consider lowering your transmission ratios so you can spin the pedals at higher cadence. The power you put in (watts) determines how fast you go but lower gears will distribute the workload from your legs to your heart and lungs. If your legs hurt, gear down and spin up, if your lungs hurt, gear up and spin down. If both hurt, you are going as fast as you can and if nothing is hurting, you are just enjoying the ride at a slower pace.

There are two style of climbing. In the saddle on lower gears and out of the saddle on higher gears or when you slow down and need to pick up the pace. Mix and match as required.

You can look anywhere you want. Enjoy the scenery, pick a line along the road, head down (be careful), spot wildlife along the verge, keep an eye on the competition.

In my experience, riding on the flats is for useful base fitness but climbing fitness only comes from climbing. Even a small local hill can be useful if you need to train for big mountains.

 

[slow scot]

There is no crest on the hard part of the Lecht. You get to a turn and it opens up to reveal a steeper bit
I've done most of the famous Pyrenean cols and none of them demoralised me half as much as the Lecht. Presumably because French road engineers aren't sadists

You are so right. When the Tourmalet is mentioned at "col" parties, the Lecht just sneers into his dram.

 

[capricapers]

Speed on the flats is about power vs aerodynamic drag. In the hills it is about power/weight. Powerful sprinters always have difficulties in the mountains, even (especially!) professionals.

At 5'4" you are smallish, so check your crank length and make sure it is appropriate to your leg length and riding style.

Use your gears. If you are finding yourself in lowest gear and still grinding hard, consider lowering your transmission ratios so you can spin the pedals at higher cadence. The power you put in (watts) determines how fast you go but lower gears will distribute the workload from your legs to your heart and lungs. If your legs hurt, gear down and spin up, if your lungs hurt, gear up and spin down. If both hurt, you are going as fast as you can and if nothing is hurting, you are just enjoying the ride at a slower pace.

There are two style of climbing. In the saddle on lower gears and out of the saddle on higher gears or when you slow down and need to pick up the pace. Mix and match as required.

You can look anywhere you want. Enjoy the scenery, pick a line along the road, head down (be careful), spot wildlife along the verge, keep an eye on the competition.

In my experience, riding on the flats is for useful base fitness but climbing fitness only comes from climbing. Even a small local hill can be useful if you need to train for big mountains.

What a fantastic, knowledgeable and detailed answer! Thank you. It’s so useful and ‘scientific’, that I’m going to cut and paste it into my notes. Many thanks indeed.

 

[Bazzer]

What works for me is finding a rhythm. Find your cadence and try to stick with it.
Also for hills which are going to challenge you, rather than looking at it as big lump, break it down; aim for a grit bin on the side of the road, a particular lamp post, tree, etc. Once you reach that, take a sense of accomplishment in reaching it and then set the next target along the road and so on until you reach the crest.
Finally if it really is hard work, try to take your head elsewhere, so your brain is not concentrating on the hurt you are going through.

 

[DEFENDER01]

I use to hate hills and head winds.
Got an electric bike all is good now.
{ I had a knee replacement it was that or give up cycling.}

 

[smutchin]

The top arrives eventually. All you need is patience.

Yep, this pretty much sums it up for me. No hill goes on forever, even if they sometimes feel like it.

 

[nickAKA]

As long as you've got a good level of cycling/cardio fitness it's 90% in your head. I can only speak from my own perspective as a fellow hater of hills when I started out... in the first couple of months of "serious" riding I'd have to stop part way on any climb over 10 minutes long with my heart rate at 170+, but once I'd built up some fitness & stamina by putting in the hard miles, I was away.
It could be just your mindset that isn't right - it takes a special kind of masochism to really enjoy the physical effort of riding up a 10% gradient for 20 minutes, all the pleasure is in the satisfaction of making it to the top (personally speaking). Even better if you did it quicker than the last time you did it... but don't expect it not to hurt, ever, it always hurts if you're putting in the effort!

So, as stated many times already in the thread, get in the right gear for the hill you're facing. If it's a short steep effort that you can tackle in under a minute, carry as much speed in as you can safely & try to power up it as far as you can out of the saddle. If you have to sit down & spin the pedals for the last 100 yards so be it, you'll improve the more you do it. Have a rest at the top & get your breath back, carry on satisfied that you made it.

If it's a longer effort, get in the correct (low) gear and spin up. Start off in the absolute lowest gear if you must, if it's too easy flick up a gear or two. I distract myself by checking my heart rate as I go; if it's around 155 I know I can carry on at the pace I'm travelling at for a while, even if my legs are complaining... and that's where the mental side really comes in - ignore the pain, once you've proven to yourself you can do it it's all about fitness & stamina. Concentrate on breathing properly, don't strangle the handlebars, keep a nice, steady, even rhythm on the pedals. Stop at the top and have a drink, you've set a benchmark to aim at next time you do it.

And lastly don't fret about weight loss, if you're born to be a mountain goat you'll lose weight by climbing more hills...

 

[Edwardoka]

You are so right. When the Tourmalet is mentioned at "col" parties, the Lecht just sneers into his dram.

Tourmalet is a daunting, magnificent climb and quite tough but if you can ride a bike all day long you can get up it eventually without having to get off and push.

Sure it took me significantly more than 2 hours but there was a wee old man walking his wee ancient pug in Barèges and I wasn't going to miss the opportunity to pet it. And those cows won't get out of the road etc etc (those are my excuses and I'm sticking to them )

Col de Marie-Blanque defeated me on a separate trip. Starts off very innocuously but almost imperceptibly begins to ramp up. Last 4kms are quite cheeky, 11-14% IIRC. Could have done it on the road bike but not a loaded tourer.

 

[ColinJ]

I just put this in RidewithGPS, and the steepest part of the climb is a little over 15%. The next road along to the west, Savile Rd, tops out at 21%.

Church Lane is the only the bottom part of the climb, up to where Savile Rd joins it. The worst part of the climb is Rawtenstall Bank, above Glen View.

Church Lane, Glen View, Rawtenstall Bank together average 15% for 1 km, but there are significant changes in gradient in places so some parts are more like 20%. Rawtenstall Bank averages 18% for 300 metres but ramps up to that hairpin bend. It has a stretch of about 100 metres at 25% and if you tried to ride round the inside of the bend you'd discover that it was probably >= 35%! (I got cut up on that bend by a stupid driver the first time that I tried the climb and toppled off my bike, still clipped in.)

 

[MichaelW2]

This may be a stupid foible of mine, but I try not to rest at the top of big hills. I.

On mountains I prefer to put on some windproofing or even replace a sweaty jersey on any slightly cool long descent.

 

[capricapers]

As long as you've got a good level of cycling/cardio fitness it's 90% in your head. I can only speak from my own perspective as a fellow hater of hills when I started out... in the first couple of months of "serious" riding I'd have to stop part way on any climb over 10 minutes long with my heart rate at 170+, but once I'd built up some fitness & stamina by putting in the hard miles, I was away.
It could be just your mindset that isn't right - it takes a special kind of masochism to really enjoy the physical effort of riding up a 10% gradient for 20 minutes, all the pleasure is in the satisfaction of making it to the top (personally speaking). Even better if you did it quicker than the last time you did it... but don't expect it not to hurt, ever, it always hurts if you're putting in the effort!

So, as stated many times already in the thread, get in the right gear for the hill you're facing. If it's a short steep effort that you can tackle in under a minute, carry as much speed in as you can safely & try to power up it as far as you can out of the saddle. If you have to sit down & spin the pedals for the last 100 yards so be it, you'll improve the more you do it. Have a rest at the top & get your breath back, carry on satisfied that you made it.

If it's a longer effort, get in the correct (low) gear and spin up. Start off in the absolute lowest gear if you must, if it's too easy flick up a gear or two. I distract myself by checking my heart rate as I go; if it's around 155 I know I can carry on at the pace I'm travelling at for a while, even if my legs are complaining... and that's where the mental side really comes in - ignore the pain, once you've proven to yourself you can do it it's all about fitness & stamina. Concentrate on breathing properly, don't strangle the handlebars, keep a nice, steady, even rhythm on the pedals. Stop at the top and have a drink, you've set a benchmark to aim at next time you do it.

And lastly don't fret about weight loss, if you're born to be a mountain goat you'll lose weight by climbing more hills...

That’s one helluver good and thorough answer, Nick. Thank you. I am in the school of ‘that-looks-a-short-uphill-let’s-go-like-stink-from-this-downhill-and-use-my-existing-speed-to-conquer-all-of-or-part-of-the-hill-in-front-‘ but that only works SOMETIMES! Thank you.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

This may be a stupid foible of mine, but I try not to rest at the top of big hills. I try to ride on for a few km before stopping for a rest (unless there's a super duper view that must be enjoyed). My theory is that the relatively easier post-top riding is a better recovery than stopping dead after a big effort. I will be stopped for less time and thus be on my way again more efficiently.

I'm not claiming any scientific basis for that, I doubt it does any harm, and I think when doing audaxes and the like where the overall time can be important, it maybe saves on wasted stopped time.

I have the same foible and will only stop at top if I need to wait for a riding companion to catch up. I try and accelerate as I creat a hill and keep the momentum going.

 

[the stupid one]

I am no fan of hills - the local ones are easy to avoid, and I usually do. But there's a hill on my occasional commute that I cannot avoid, which defeated me the first time and really hurt me the second. Before my third attempt I was reminded of the advice to relax ones upper body - no death grip on the bars, no rigid arms or solid shoulders - and I found it really helped. Expend the energy where it's needed.

 

[Soltydog]

Lots of advice already given. Best thing is to try the tips & see what works for you but one thing for sure, the more you do them the easier they become/the quicker you become/you enjoy them more
I've been seeking out some serious hills this year, which has been a bit of a challenge, as living on the East yorkshire coast, there's no real hills for about 30 miles or more, so 90+% of my riding is on the flat. Yesterday I headed out onto the Wolds for some hills, did quite a hilly ride for this area & still only managed 2800ft of climbing in 79 miles.
I've got a decent amount of riding in this year which has contributed to a 2stone weight loss, & that combined with doing more hills than usual, I no longer fear & avoid them. Only found a couple this year which have beat me, both cobbled & my front wheel was lifting of the ground & rear was bouncing around the cobbles, was only a matter of time before I fell, so opted to walk but I'll give those climbs another go next year .

There was a link to a video in this weeks British cycling email to help build strength for climbing, not watched it yet myself, but heres the link, may be of use https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/k...tish Cycling V2&dm_i=480K,ETLQ,3CJRFV,1OKY6,1