I'm not a fast climber, but I like hills. I'd rather climb than battle headwinds -- at least there's a goal ahead, and often some interesting scenery.
Originally Posted by
Biker395
I guess rather than just wax poetic about climbing, I should offer some advice ... here it is.
1. Low gears first: Get some low gears so you can spin up most hills. They'll give you confidence to tackle them. I personally like gears as low as 27 inches, but go even lower if you prefer. I use a triple and on long climbs, shift into the inner ring and leave it there, doing all my shifting on the rear cassette from that point.
2. Learn how to stand: Click up 2-3 gears and stand on the pedals once in a while. This allows you to breathe better, and rests the muscles that you use when you're sitting and spinning. Your cadence should be fairly slow ... and your motion should be like a stair stepper. Don't stomp on the pedals. Let your weight do the work. If done properly, you'll eventually be able to stand long periods without tiring of it.
3. Pedaling technique: It is very easy to find yourself pedaling against yourself when you're tired. Concentrate on pedaling in circles, and watch your speed go up 1-2 MPH for no extra effort.
4. Take your time: It's not a race. Go up at a pace you are comfortable with. If others are faster, let 'em go. If it is an especially long climb, settle into a comfortable speed. You are going to go slower, so enjoy the stuff that you don't see when breezing by at 20 MPH.
5. Keep your weight down: It is all about power/weight. Losing 10 pounds or so does make a difference. Do enough climbing and the weight will take care of itself.
Yes. Confidence. I've seen riders give up really early on a notorious hill, even before it started getting steep at all.
I have 300 foot hills, from easy to very steep. So I have experience with climbing. The really big climbs, like 1500 feet, 3000 feet, etc, worried me. I did training by doing hard, steady efforts for 30 minutes to an hour, and watching what heart rate I could sustain. Actually, the long climbs weren't bad at all. I stayed at a heart rate I could sustain.
I now have gears to be able to stay seated up to about 10-12% grades. But even at easier grades, occasional standing is a good break. I shift down two or three harder cogs, otherwise I'll quickly run out of breath.
Climbs are often scenic. Look around!
Originally Posted by
caloso
It's possible to train for climbing on flat land: long intervals near threshold (2x20' @ 95% FTP), into the wind, sitting up with hands on the tops or hoods, big gear. Gets you used to the grind.
Oh, yeah. And what Biker395 said: lose weight. I'm going to guess that means cutting out pizza, dogs, Italian beef, Old Style, etc.
A heart rate monitor was very useful to keep my effort within a sustainable range. I had a few roads that had no stops for many miles, great for steady effort training.
Originally Posted by
CreakingCrank
That's good to know as I prepare for a hilly tour in September. I was wondering if stairs would help significantly. I have hills where I live but its so hot here its difficult to get to them, up them, down them and back home before the sun cooks me. I work on the fifth floor ... obvious what I need to do.
Just do some hills to get used to climbing. But for training, you can ride on the flats, at a hard, steady effort for the range of time that your hills will need. And once a week, including some short, all-out intervals will help a lot, too