Jon A.

I went for a 14 mile ride on the Norwottuck Rail Trail (Amherst and Hadley, MA) this morning. The much flatter route made the whole experience much more enjoyable than my earlier hilly rides. Total elevation gain was 284 feet, very slight grades being a rail trail. I could have gone further but I had some time constraints. I will try to use the rail trail every weekend, time permitting. I’m very happy with the Cannondale Quick, it seems to live up to its name, even with a newbie/Clyde providing the power input. I used Strava with my iPhone on a delta stem mount. It worked fine but I’d like to get a dedicated computer for speed and cadence. I also think I’ll get bar ends and either cage pedals or clipless/platform combo pedals.

rutan74

So, you are in Western Mass? Lived in WMass (Springfield) for 28 years. If you are out west of Westfield, I feel your pain. I've ridden around in Feeding Hills, Southwick and Westfield but never ventured out farther than that but I know the terrain.

Here is your problem. It did not take 6 weeks to get out of shape and you cannot erase years of being overweight and out of shape in 6 weeks. Unfortunately, all of us want to get back into shape in 6 weeks so we will all look good come summer as we don our bathing suits, right? Sadly, there is no pill.

I remember starting back up riding and I "though" I was in fairly decent shape for a 56 year old. I ventured out on a Redbox return of just 7 miles. Yes, a few upticks included. Well, I had to stop 4 times on that 7 mile route and then called in the SAG wagon to come get me. A real slap in the face.

The key thing here is that it takes time. Sorry, but you are going to have to suffer. There is no magic bullet. You are going to suffer. If it were easy, say riding down at the beach, everyone would be doing it. It is not and especially in the rollers you are dealing with, it is going to hurt. This IS the battle though. Mind over matter. You CAN do it but you have to stick with it. It will come slowly but eventually it does get a bit easier.

Now, let me define easier. I was told early on, the rides will still be hard but the key is how you feel after the ride. In other words, how fast will you recover. When I first started back and thought I was going to die, my day was pretty well shot after we got done with our 20-25 mile ride. Fast forward to now, some 5 years later and that same ride I can ride faster and when I am done I can go out and do some stuff in the afternoon without feeling totally wiped out.

The climbs will never get to the point of being easy. If they become easy, then you need to shift into a higher gear and go faster. Remember, LeMond said, "It doesn't get any easier, you just go faster!" This is true. Although the climbs will still be hard, over time you will see that at the top of the climb and going back down, you will recover faster and that is the key. Also try and up shift once you crest the hill. If you can do that, then you are getting in better shape.

Remember though, it does take time. You would be VERY wise to get a HR monitor. You do NOT what to go into your redline while climbing. If you do, that is not only dangerous for older folks but it just means you are taking away energy you might need for the next hilly section. You can only stretch the rubber band so far and so many times before it eventually breaks which usually means you have popped and are wrecked for the remainder of your ride. That can be a total bummer and I know that feeling all to well.

Best thing is to stick with it. Go low on the ring. Spin. Get into a gear that you can turn easily at least for most of the climb, then unfortunately, you are stuck grinding it out. On longer climbs, one thing that helped me was not looking to far ahead. I usually focus my vision about 5 feet in front of my wheel and then just grind it out. Before you know it, you are up and over. If you look to far ahead, you mind will be saying how far you still have to go etc. So, it is a mind game. Try thinking of something else besides how you feel and that this hill sucks. My mother-in-law used to say, "this too shall pass" and if you keep telling yourself this, it will pass. Again, climbing is a mind game.

Keep with it. I can attest that it will get better over time if you keep riding. From my that first crappy ride, less than 2 years, I was able to complete the Assault on Mt Mitchell which is the hardest ride in the SE at 11,000 vertical gain over 100 miles. Also, it will prolong your fitness if you don't ride at least 3 times per week. There is no substitute for time in the saddle.

john

Jon A.

John,

Thanks for the pep-talk and advice... very helpful and encouraging! I agree with the "don't look too far ahead" advice on the hills, I found myself doing just that and it works. Hopefully half-hour hilly rides on weeknights after the kiddos go to bed (they're 3 and are in bed by 7:15) with a longer ride (14-20 miles for now) on the weekends will be enough (combined with better eating habits) to get me into shape. As it gets easier, I will increase the number of miles/week.

-Jon A.

tyrion

You might be able to simply replace your whole crankset for less than $50 to get lower gears. Google "suntour 42-32-22 crankset" and ask in the mechanics forum (or bike shop) if that's a straight swap with your existing crank. That 22 tooth chainring will give you very low gears.

And don't be afraid to just stop on a hill to take a break. After a while won't need to and you'll look back and chuckle that you had to take those breaks.

Fiend606

Try hard to make up the hills but don't over do it. You might need to bike those hills every other day or two depending on what your physical condition is and how long you will need to recover/heal/get stronger. Working too hard for your present physical condition(over weight/out of shape) is just as bad as not working out at all. People often over look or dismiss the importance of rest and recovery. The better shape you are in the less recovery time you'll need.

Jon A.

Don't worry, I am giving myself PLENTY of recovery time!! Between having a job that doesn't get me home until 6:00 or so, 3 year old twins, bad weather and visiting in-laws, I have only been able to get out on the bike 4 times in the past two weeks.... My wife is fond of pointing out the irony of me reading about losing weight through cycling on my iPad while I am sitting on the couch. I picked up a used trainer for $25 on Letgo. The new bike doesn't seem to fit (the skewer seems too wide) so I may have to get a slick tire for my old mountain bike. I remain determined, I just have to find the time.

ericy

If you are going to start using a trainer, you might want to look into Zwift (don't know if what you got is compatible, but that's the first thing to check). It makes it a lot more fun.

Fiend606

You can't out exercise a poor diet. As far as weight loss goes, diet is more important than exercise. Diet AND exercise will get you slim and healthy. I've lost just over 95 pounds since June 2017. I got a job that requires constant heavy lifting and decided if I was going to work that hard I'd make the best of it and get paid to lose weight and get back in shape. . I was 330 pounds when I started. I'm 6'3" tall. I'm down to a little under 235 now....I should lose a little over a 100 pounds by my 1 year anniversary on June 5th. I went on a high protein diet counting my macros(and calories but not too strictly) and eating nutrient dense(not calorie dense) foods. With high protein I feel full and satiated all the time as long as I'm meeting my protein macro goal for the day. This article really laid things out for me and the information and advice is solid: The Best Fat Loss Article on the Mother****in? Internet . Its a great starting point for losing weight.

Fiend606

You can't out exercise a poor diet. As far as weight loss goes, diet is more important than exercise. Diet AND exercise will get you slim and healthy. I've lost just over 95 pounds since June 2017. I got a job that requires constant heavy lifting and decided if I was going to work that hard I'd make the best of it and get paid to lose weight and get back in shape. . I was 330 pounds when I started. I'm 6'3" tall. I'm down to a little under 235 now....I should lose a little over a 100 pounds by my 1 year anniversary on June 5th. I went on a high protein diet counting my macros(and calories but not too strictly) and eating nutrient dense(not calorie dense) foods. With high protein I feel full and satiated all the time as long as I'm meeting my protein macro goal for the day. This article really laid things out for me and the information and advice is solid: The Best Fat Loss Article on the Mother****in? Internet . Its a great starting point for losing weight.

Allez3

tajar66

Hills are your friend... Repeat this to yourself 10 times before you leave, and the whole time you are climbing. It will suck at first but they will get easier over time.

nkfrench 

knitguy

In addition to what everyone said it's ok to stop, get off your bike for a few minutes, and start up again. I am also surrounded by hills and am currently in, "stop hating hills" mode. I am nearly out of the clyde category, but some of the hills I live near would be hard even if I weighted 150lbs. Essentially I'm just trying to make my outdoor rides that aren't endurance rides really hill focused which isn't difficult logistically. Sunday my ride was 5.5 miles long with 840 ft of elevation gain.

The real issue for me is reclipping in when the gradient is 14% is kind of a joke - it's doable, but a joke. That said, pushing my bike up that specific hill with road shoes is even more difficult because of the lack of traction. Note the only real reason why clipping in is doable for me is because it's a very quiet street and safe enough that I can get going horizontally before turning up the hill again. That said this is also a hill that is half a mile and goes with an elevation gain of 252 ft.

I'm not as short on time as you are, but I do most of my rides inside on a smart trainer. Part of that is because of time, part of it is because of the hills, and part of it is because I am healing from a knee surgery (and then a shoulder fracture) and for the first 12 plus weeks out of surgery I wan't allowed to ride outside. I spend most of my time on TrainerRoad but I also use Zwift and will probably be trying out Road Grand Tours this evening. I've only done the one hill ride this year (because of injury related restrictions) but I have spent well over 50 hours on the trainer this year - most of that time has been spent doing workouts on TrainerRoad.

So yea - in short, just keep riding up hills. Stop for a rest if you need to, push your bike if you need to, but just keep at it.

Clyde1820

I'd think your idea of getting an in-home "trainer" setup would be just the ticket. It'll ensure you're home more of the time, even during periods when you're exercising. The kids will get a good example of how to keep fit via doing healthy activities. You'll likely be able to get much more saddle time, with a "trainer" setup at home, instead of worrying about being away from home during workouts.

With the fitness up hills being an issue, a good part of that might well be simple leg strength. (Am in much the same boat, with old injuries on the legs that limit my power output.) Could easily get two or three sets of heavier kettle bells (or similar weights) and then doing 3-4 leg-oriented workouts weekly that involve squats, lunges and whatnot. I, too, have a fair-sized hill to get up during each ride, and leg strengthening exercises above and beyond the cycling have done wonders for the overall ability of my legs to tolerate the tougher portions of the climb.

ericy

There are some pretty substantial climbs available in the virtual world that you can do if you want to.