The steepest climb i've done it was slightly wet, and I was having to constantly shift my weight forwards and backwards alternately to stop the wheel slipping or lifting off. A tad sketchy.
Tell me how to love hills...
- Thread starter capricapers
- Start date
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The steepest climb i've done it was slightly wet, and I was having to constantly shift my weight forwards and backwards alternately to stop the wheel slipping or lifting off. A tad sketchy.
Just taken a look at that on streetview, if it's the left turn up the main road, then it looks pretty miserable.
Yeah looks like if you judge it badly then you're going to either fall off on that last little steep bit or slide off unceremoniously on the muddy wet bit at the bottom. Streetview has it covered in wet mud and leaves so I can well imagine it's quite treacherous, definitely not one to come across for the first time in the dark.
OP
OP
capricapers
Active Member
My threshold on the really steep stuff is "am I about to fall off?"
Haha! Mine too!
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
So ... have you started loving those pesky hills yet?
OP
OP
capricapers
Active Member
So ... have you started loving those pesky hills yet?
Amazingly - yes! Did a ride that I thought was nothing special on Monday and Strava told me I had climbed 2500ft and the thing is, I didn’t notice it at all! The only problems and wobbly bits occur when I see a long and high hill up in front of me and I think, ‘Sheesh! Not sure I can do that!’ But if I don’t look up at the crest of the hill, I am normally OK. And my speed (climbing up hills) is improving! Yay!
Supersuperleeds
Legendary Member
- Location
- Leicester
I love avoiding hills
BrumJim
Forum Stalwart (won't take the hint and leave...)
- Location
- Selly Oak, Birmingham
I was going to tell you to ride with fatter, less fit people, and then you will realize how fast you are up hills.
I am my own worst enemy going up gradients. I think I should be travelling a lot faster than I am, but when I ride with others, I realize that I am super-quick up those slopes. Remember most Stava KOM segments (well, the ones I bag) are done by people taking advantage of a storming tail wind, warmed-up legs, and a bit of recovery beforehand. I can't get even close to my PBs for my regular routes on a still day.
If you do Netball, then your legs will be nice and explosive with fast-twitch fibres, not really suitable for long-distance cycling requiring the slow-twitch stuff. I noted a bit difference in my ski-boots after I had been doing regular football games, compared with just cycling - leg muscles noticeably bigger. However it doesn't mean that you can't or shouldn't cycle with explosive legs; the fitness gained from sports will help you whatever you decide to concentrate on.
Well, that's the end of my useless advice that you know already. Enjoy cycling!
RegG
Über Member
- Location
- Nottingham
I have an aversion to hills but do try to include at least one on a ride..... I surprised myself the other day, went up a fairly steep albeit shortish hill (about 10% max) and, as in the past, ended up walking the steepest bit. When I looked at Strava later I had achieved a PR on that hill! 
Ming the Merciless
There is no mercy
- Location
- Inside my skull
Goto to Tenerife for a weeks tour. Then any hill in the UK is just a pimple. Riding up an incline for 2-3 hours, gives you a different perspective
How does the 2-3 hours compare to what you get in
Tenerife?
You get to tell people you've been to a training camp rather than telling them you drag your arse out of bed at 6 am and hit the same hill 15 times in the pissing rain before you start work .
I know what I'd rather be doing
Lavender Rose
Specialized Fan Girl
- Location
- Ashford, Kent
I have found a technique that works for my running and cycling. I usually try and break the hill into thirds.
Obviously, all hills vary in terms of gradient and length, but I seem to have found a good method below:
First third you go slow and steady, I often count 1,2,1,2 and match it with breathing.
2nd third - try to build up the pace, if you have regulated well in the first third, this should come easier.
Final third - build pace further, remembering to keep counting all the way through.
Having built up the pace, I have found it easier to then go over the crest of the hill and keep going.
In essence, its all about the approach, mentally and physically to hills. There are so many factors including personal fitness levels, gradient and length of the hill. However, I can guarantee the way you battle the first sector of the hill generally depicts how the rest of it will go!
Some hills I have such a negative attitude towards, but recently I have tried to ditch it and just think of my above method....the result? I have got up the hills, no stopping half way or at the top...!
YOU CAN DO IT!
Obviously, all hills vary in terms of gradient and length, but I seem to have found a good method below:
First third you go slow and steady, I often count 1,2,1,2 and match it with breathing.
2nd third - try to build up the pace, if you have regulated well in the first third, this should come easier.
Final third - build pace further, remembering to keep counting all the way through.
Having built up the pace, I have found it easier to then go over the crest of the hill and keep going.
In essence, its all about the approach, mentally and physically to hills. There are so many factors including personal fitness levels, gradient and length of the hill. However, I can guarantee the way you battle the first sector of the hill generally depicts how the rest of it will go!
Some hills I have such a negative attitude towards, but recently I have tried to ditch it and just think of my above method....the result? I have got up the hills, no stopping half way or at the top...!
YOU CAN DO IT!
