Originally Posted by
MattTheHat
I don't think there's much in the way of serious climbing in the parts, at least not in my immediate area. I am actually trying to increase climbing feet on some rides. The only way I can really do that is by riding more miles, or finding a hill and riding up and down the various residential streets that are all on the hill. I'll be honest and say I don't care much for climbing. Well, to be honest, it's not the work involved, its the slower pace which gets a little boring, and my knees object a bit from time to time as well.
I got a trainer last month and have been doing some shorter climbs on Zwift. I'd like to do some of the longer ones, but I really don't enjoy being on the trainer more than about an hour. I can ride outside all day, but on the trainer not so much.
I'm hoping to drop 50 pounds this year. It will be interesting to see how that affects my view of climbing. At under 200 pounds, I think I would enjoy it much more.
Not sure how tall you are but at 6'1, 230 pounds, I did really well on the timed events as far as official time.
At first, yes the knees will get tender. The climbing is slower paced but once you get beyond the beginning segment of your training, you will feel like you are flying up the hills. As mentioned, I went from one mile killer hills to 7,000 ft training rides. Of course it's tough to keep the same fitness level for year after year but the few you have in between are incredible! Once you get to a certain level, you wonder why you ever thought that one miler was tough. It's just something that I think is an exceptional experience as far as cycling and especially being a Clyde.
In 2019, not having much riding, I still managed a few mountain climbs. I wonder why I even ride the flatter regions while I'm up there. I hadn't ridden much but one day was a 13 mile climb with 4,000 ft. It was tough, I was slower but it was still great.
Also, I do think climbing increases one's speed going back to the flats. One year I did a ton of climbing. Then I signed up for another organized ride in another state. (Cali here, ride was in AZ). I did a metric century 62 miles. I did 2/3 of the ride solo then ended up riding with one guy who insisted I ride with him after his partner dropped out with a damaged wheel. So we rode the final 1/3 together. Still a big guy, I ended up with a 62 mile ride at 20 MPH average speed. Gold medals to the first 100 riders in, that is why I was pushing myself ha ha!
But whatever you do, don't discount attacking the hills. You seem to have the go get 'em attitude in cycling and you would benefit greatly from the hills at this point!
