As a new cyclist I'd just like to say...
02-24-11, 10:34 AM
#76
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02-24-11, 10:38 AM
#77
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You just need a slight attitude adjustment. Hills are what road cycling is all about! It's perhaps the safest way to get a great workout (slower speed = less injury risk), the scenic value goes up dramatically with climbs, and on the hills, you separate the wheat from the chaff (drafting riders).
Learn to love the hills - even if you have to take 'em slow. They will get better, and as you learn to pace on them, they will become the source of your best cycling.
Learn to love the hills - even if you have to take 'em slow. They will get better, and as you learn to pace on them, they will become the source of your best cycling.
02-24-11, 10:45 AM
#78
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The secret is enjoying the suckage.
It's kinda like cultivating an appreciation for IPA (which seems really bitter at first) or classical music (which seems really boring at first.) After you've done it long enough, pretty soon you can't live without it.
"Familiarity is a magician who is cruel to beauty and kind to ugliness."
It's kinda like cultivating an appreciation for IPA (which seems really bitter at first) or classical music (which seems really boring at first.) After you've done it long enough, pretty soon you can't live without it.
"Familiarity is a magician who is cruel to beauty and kind to ugliness."
02-24-11, 11:23 AM
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The secret is enjoying the suckage.
It's kinda like cultivating an appreciation for IPA (which seems really bitter at first) or classical music (which seems really boring at first.) After you've done it long enough, pretty soon you can't live without it.
"Familiarity is a magician who is cruel to beauty and kind to ugliness."
It's kinda like cultivating an appreciation for IPA (which seems really bitter at first) or classical music (which seems really boring at first.) After you've done it long enough, pretty soon you can't live without it.
"Familiarity is a magician who is cruel to beauty and kind to ugliness."
02-24-11, 11:26 AM
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02-24-11, 11:49 AM
#83
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The secret is enjoying the suckage.
It's kinda like cultivating an appreciation for IPA (which seems really bitter at first) or classical music (which seems really boring at first.) After you've done it long enough, pretty soon you can't live without it.
"Familiarity is a magician who is cruel to beauty and kind to ugliness."
It's kinda like cultivating an appreciation for IPA (which seems really bitter at first) or classical music (which seems really boring at first.) After you've done it long enough, pretty soon you can't live without it.
"Familiarity is a magician who is cruel to beauty and kind to ugliness."
02-24-11, 11:59 AM
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02-24-11, 12:12 PM
#85
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I like hills just fine, they don't even hurt much. But the mountains around here can hurt a bit.
02-24-11, 02:57 PM
#87
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They become easier after exactly 3 years.
Really though, it's about 3 years for me. These days a 9% grade feels like the old 6% grade.
Really though, it's about 3 years for me. These days a 9% grade feels like the old 6% grade.
02-24-11, 02:58 PM
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I've changed my attitude about it a bit though...It's no longer an annoyance most days, it's a training opportunity. But it's still an annoyance about once a week when I'm not in a good mood.
02-24-11, 03:15 PM
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Nice Bay Area videos! Has anyone tried climbing and made a video on Silver Creek Valley Road in the South Bay starting from Blossom Hill Rd? Just wonder how long of a short climb and grade that road is. I've said to myself that I will try to tackle that uphill with my 29 pounder MTB by Spring! Yeah, MTB... I don't see myself getting a road bike anywhere in the near future. <_< Got the bonus, but not enough. And I have to think about a 15 year Anniversary gift to the wife... so there goes my road bike.
02-24-11, 06:27 PM
#91
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The secret is enjoying the suckage.
It's kinda like cultivating an appreciation for IPA (which seems really bitter at first) or classical music (which seems really boring at first.) After you've done it long enough, pretty soon you can't live without it.
"Familiarity is a magician who is cruel to beauty and kind to ugliness."
It's kinda like cultivating an appreciation for IPA (which seems really bitter at first) or classical music (which seems really boring at first.) After you've done it long enough, pretty soon you can't live without it.
"Familiarity is a magician who is cruel to beauty and kind to ugliness."
02-24-11, 07:23 PM
#93
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[QUOTE=gregf83;12275890]The Google will tell you...[/QUOTE
Ouida- A largely forgotten novelist.
Ouida- A largely forgotten novelist.
02-24-11, 08:43 PM
#95
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I have a strong desire to tell the OP to HTFU. But then, I hate headwind so much, which is the same sort of obstacle.
The saying is (hills = tough, wind = mean) because wind take so much more mental strength, imo. I once gave up 4 hours into a ride to meet my GF in another city because the headwind was 20MPH with gusts. I like to think that I might have made if If I hadn't gotten lost and ended up on a sketchy road. That was the nail in the coffin for that trip.
The saying is (hills = tough, wind = mean) because wind take so much more mental strength, imo. I once gave up 4 hours into a ride to meet my GF in another city because the headwind was 20MPH with gusts. I like to think that I might have made if If I hadn't gotten lost and ended up on a sketchy road. That was the nail in the coffin for that trip.
02-24-11, 08:44 PM
#96
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Wouldn't say I have a love affair with hills but I like them. Nothing like going out and riding (or running) hill repeats. Hills build lungs, legs, and confidence. Once you can ride a hill you will feel you can take on anything.
02-24-11, 09:34 PM
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I sense from your post address that you might be a Marine. I was stationed 4 years with the Marines at Camp Lejeune, NC. I had a full Col. come in with a hernia. This guy looked like a piece of beef jerky in uniform, fatless, wiry, dark tan. During the exam I noticed a 5 inch by 2 inch area over his sacrum that was MIssing the skin, raw, bleeding, oozing serum.
"Sir" I asked. "What's going on here"
"Sit-ups"
" How many sit-ups sir"
"2000 a day""Well you may want to take a break here and let it heal a bit"
"**** that, Let's just get it done"
A different tribe for sure.
"Sir" I asked. "What's going on here"
"Sit-ups"
" How many sit-ups sir"
"2000 a day""Well you may want to take a break here and let it heal a bit"
"**** that, Let's just get it done"
A different tribe for sure.
Pushups, now that would be pretty bad ass.
02-25-11, 10:17 PM
#98
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So I started out a bit earlier in the route and was able to attempt most of the hill (i had to stop on the second part due round shapeness) and yes, I did mutter HTFU in its entirety part way up. The best part? I was able to appreciate the view on my ride a lot more. Attached are some picture from my ride, and the wind I faced on the way back 
02-25-11, 11:46 PM
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I like hills. You can get a workout in safely because of the low speeds (you can just go hard and not worry about crosswalks) and you can stand up whenever you like without worrying about aerodynamics. I hate headwinds because standing up doesn't help you at all.
02-26-11, 08:26 AM
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I would just like the chance to try some longer climbs without having to drive quite a distance. W. Central Ohio is flat and most of the roads are straight but I still like to ride...it's all in your perspective I guess. The longest hill I can ride to is only a half a mile long and according to my Garmin 500 only reaches 4% so not much of a hill. You can still feel it though when you're not used to them or out of shape.
Now wind, we get plenty of that with not much to break it. It is a good way to train though or to just slow down, spin and say I'll get there when I get there.....enjoy the ride.
Now wind, we get plenty of that with not much to break it. It is a good way to train though or to just slow down, spin and say I'll get there when I get there.....enjoy the ride.