Noob hillclimbing embarrassment
05-12-18, 09:06 AM
#51
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Well... I recently went out with a small group of friends and decided to ride most of the main climb chatting with a couple of women friends who are slower than me. I would up doing 5 miles at 6.5% with an ave HR of 128 and max HR of 138. For me a HR of 135 is the top of zone 2. So it can be done, you just have to be chill about it in the context of it not being too hot out, having decent fitness and having enough gears.
But I’m not really sure this is the way to get better at climbing. You do actually want to push yourself, not chit chat and socialize.
For the OP, here’s my take. I’m a relatively new cyclist (riding 5 years now), a woman (so my absolute power is not great), could weigh 10-20 pounds less (so my power to weight ratio is not great), I’m affected by altitude starting at 5000 ft and I don’t have great heat tolerance. All disadvantages in climbing. But I have good endurance, a really good innate sense of pacing, and a good ability to work for long periods of time at my threshold power (that’s what I specifically lly train, as a time trialist.
When I first started climbing, I needed to gain confidence and to know what I was capable of. Then I needed to work on speed and working hard up those hills.
Initally, my best strategy was to just pace myself. Go out easy, stop when necessary, make it to the top. This means really going out easy, pacing yourself, because you can always ramp up the effort later.
Now I have enough experience and fitness that I can go out hard from the beginning and try to hold out at that hard pace for as long as possible. Unless it’s really hot out, I know I’m going to make it to the top. Worst case scenario is that I limp it home to the top. This is how you get better, by really pushing yourself. But it’s unrealistic to expect to be able to do that as a newby. For me it took a couple of years.
So my advice would be to focus now on going out easy. I would keep an eye on HR but not use it as an absolute. Go by how you feel, intentionally ride easy for the first 2/3 at least. Tell yourself you can ramp up the effort at the top if you’re feeling sparky. Or just make it to the top if you’re not. Focus on learning how it feels and learning what you can do right now.
Once you get to the point where you know for a fact that you can get up a grade of x% and y distance with z effort, then start to push yourself. At first push yourself at the top, in say the last third of less of the climb. Once you know that you can slay yourself and still make it to the top, you can try going out hard from the bottom and see how long you can hold that. When you blow up just creep up to the top and have a rest.
Lose weight if you need to. Use all your gears. Keep your cadence as high as you can but I don’t personally sweat cadence much. In the low heart rate example I gave above, my age cadence was 62. I’ll climb with a cadence in the 40s on steep stuff or in the 70s or 80s on less steep stuff. I’m just going with what feels comfortable and relaxing that day. If there’s shade and you can be in it, be in it. Don’t obsess about heart rate. Stand at least occasionally on a long climb (some people stand a lot, learn if you’re one of those people and if you are, stand a lot). Do what feels hard right now but doable, and keep pushing your limits out, little by little. Be patient, it takes time.
05-12-18, 09:19 AM
#52
Has a magic bike
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I am fortunate to work with a great coach who loves bikes too. He “gets it” that riding your bike should never become a bleak thing. He’ll push me hard but also knows I have to still want to ride. So he’s figured out what I like and makes sure that he successfully manages my happiness on the bikes too. There’s always enjoyable stuff thrown into my schedule.
My take is that we all ride bikes to improve our well being. Some people are really happy with improvement, that’s a driver for them and they will be happier with working hard on the bike. Ditto for competitive people. But some people like the sunshine, the fresh air, being outside, hanging with friends or just noodling around. Those people will be happier just riding however they feel like, and that’s what they should do. Most of us are a little of both, and we should do both hard work and purely enjoyable rides in various proportions.
05-12-18, 09:47 AM
#53
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I would disregard the HR monitoring for climbing, and in general, for that matter, for someone is is a relative beginner at this. Go with what your body is feeling.
It doesn't matter if the HR shows 130 but your gassed, or if it shows 150 but you're feeling good. If you're feeling and feel like you can push it more, then push it a bit more. If you're languishing, then back off.
Why let a machine dictate how you respond to your environment? Let your own body decide….
It doesn't matter if the HR shows 130 but your gassed, or if it shows 150 but you're feeling good. If you're feeling and feel like you can push it more, then push it a bit more. If you're languishing, then back off.
Why let a machine dictate how you respond to your environment? Let your own body decide….
IMO it depends what your goals are. If you want to get faster and stronger, you’ve got to work hard. If you just want to enjoy yourself, then do what you feel like…
My take is that we all ride bikes to improve our well being. Some people are really happy with improvement, that’s a driver for them and they will be happier with working hard on the bike. Ditto for competitive people.
But some people like the sunshine, the fresh air, being outside, hanging with friends or just noodling around. Those people will be happier just riding however they feel like, and that’s what they should do.
Most of us are a little of both, and we should do both hard work and purely enjoyable rides in various proportions.
My take is that we all ride bikes to improve our well being. Some people are really happy with improvement, that’s a driver for them and they will be happier with working hard on the bike. Ditto for competitive people.
But some people like the sunshine, the fresh air, being outside, hanging with friends or just noodling around. Those people will be happier just riding however they feel like, and that’s what they should do.
Most of us are a little of both, and we should do both hard work and purely enjoyable rides in various proportions.
Riding versus Training
So on my ride this morning, I formulated for myself my “Time-restricted, Personally Ambitious, but Non-competitive Cyclist Training Routine.”…
So on my ride this morning, I formulated for myself my “Time-restricted, Personally Ambitious, but Non-competitive Cyclist Training Routine.”…
I’m a 40+ year cyclist and I ride mainly for fitness. During nearly all of my 40 cycling years, my training has been by mileage.
This year though, I decided to go for speed (intensity), and I use the semi-quantitative, standardized, but personally relavant system of (Borg’s) Relative Perceived Exertion (RPE), with my own particular adaptation….
I use cadence to chose gears to maintain my desired exertion.
This year though, I decided to go for speed (intensity), and I use the semi-quantitative, standardized, but personally relavant system of (Borg’s) Relative Perceived Exertion (RPE), with my own particular adaptation….
I use cadence to chose gears to maintain my desired exertion.
Last edited by Jim from Boston; 05-12-18 at 11:13 AM.
05-12-18, 01:20 PM
#54
Newbie
Thread Starter
Thank you very much to everyone who took time to reply and give me their thoughts. I really appreciate it.
It's helped me refine my thinking a lot. So here's my current best statement: my issue is conserving energy when I've got it. I tend to ride at my limit all the time (this on the flats too). I'm never really at a point where I could go faster, but just don't want to. I'm very in-the-moment, and this is where a long hill slays me. I need to ride for the whole hill, not the immediate piece I'm on. This is why I was hoping to use cadence and heart rate, as a way of giving myself an immediate target to attain that is sub-optimal for the immediate task, so that I do better at the overall task. My ultimate goal is to ride a century, so I really need a way to pace myself so that I have energy left at the end.
Cheers,
- Mark
It's helped me refine my thinking a lot. So here's my current best statement: my issue is conserving energy when I've got it. I tend to ride at my limit all the time (this on the flats too). I'm never really at a point where I could go faster, but just don't want to. I'm very in-the-moment, and this is where a long hill slays me. I need to ride for the whole hill, not the immediate piece I'm on. This is why I was hoping to use cadence and heart rate, as a way of giving myself an immediate target to attain that is sub-optimal for the immediate task, so that I do better at the overall task. My ultimate goal is to ride a century, so I really need a way to pace myself so that I have energy left at the end.
Cheers,
- Mark
05-14-18, 09:35 AM
#55
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So here's my current best statement: my issue is conserving energy when I've got it. I tend to ride at my limit all the time (this on the flats too). I'm never really at a point where I could go faster, but just don't want to. I'm very in-the-moment, and this is where a long hill slays me.
05-14-18, 10:58 AM
#56
don't try this at home.
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Thank you very much to everyone who took time to reply and give me their thoughts. I really appreciate it.
It's helped me refine my thinking a lot. So here's my current best statement: my issue is conserving energy when I've got it. I tend to ride at my limit all the time (this on the flats too). I'm never really at a point where I could go faster, but just don't want to. I'm very in-the-moment, and this is where a long hill slays me. I need to ride for the whole hill, not the immediate piece I'm on. This is why I was hoping to use cadence and heart rate, as a way of giving myself an immediate target to attain that is sub-optimal for the immediate task, so that I do better at the overall task. My ultimate goal is to ride a century, so I really need a way to pace myself so that I have energy left at the end.
Cheers,
- Mark
It's helped me refine my thinking a lot. So here's my current best statement: my issue is conserving energy when I've got it. I tend to ride at my limit all the time (this on the flats too). I'm never really at a point where I could go faster, but just don't want to. I'm very in-the-moment, and this is where a long hill slays me. I need to ride for the whole hill, not the immediate piece I'm on. This is why I was hoping to use cadence and heart rate, as a way of giving myself an immediate target to attain that is sub-optimal for the immediate task, so that I do better at the overall task. My ultimate goal is to ride a century, so I really need a way to pace myself so that I have energy left at the end.
Cheers,
- Mark
You can decide on a likely heart rate for long efforts. Then try to keep at that heart rate on a flat ride, and see if you have to ease the pace after a while, or if it's a good number to use for your climbs. Try to keep pedaling, since that's what you do when climbing. No coasting.
Steeper climbs
It's unlikely you'll have low enough gears for a high cadence on steep climbs. Instead, pay attention to your pedal effort: are you pushing very hard on each pedal stroke, or using a reasonably light force? I can sit on 10% grades with my 34 front - 32 rear low gear, at cadences of maybe 40-50 rpm, and easy pedal pressure. My speeds at those moderate efforts are in the low to mid 3 mph range. (Or shift up 2 cogs harder, stand up, and power up the hill -- burning a match or two.)
I like to go to my lowest gear even on moderate climbs, so I can spin at flat road cadences.
Do hard efforts on some rides
Short, steep climbs are great for an all-out effort.
See how hard you can go on somewhat longer climbs, too. I find that I do a much harder effort when I'm trying to stay with stronger climbers. I'll often back off partway up the hill if I'm solo.
Last edited by rm -rf; 05-14-18 at 11:16 AM.
05-14-18, 11:11 AM
#57
don't try this at home.
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Century pacing
On a couple of recent long rides, I've held back on the first third of the ride, pacing a little easier than normal, and really avoiding "burning a match" on climbing. Then somewhere between easy and a more normal pace in the middle third. The final 10-15 miles was pretty good, I had reserves left.
You'll have to ride harder than your sustainable heart rate at times. Just back off as soon as it's feasible.
It's funny, after riding what seems like "a long time" and "pretty far into the ride distance", I look at the odometer and it reads "19 miles" or "23 miles", and I realize I still have 81 or 75 miles to go! Yikes, what have I gotten into! But around 40-60 miles in, I'm still cruising along, everything is good, and the ride seems doable.
Event rides
It's extremely easy to go too fast to hang with faster riders. That's not good by the end of the ride. I let them ride off. I'll find other riders going my pace.
On a couple of recent long rides, I've held back on the first third of the ride, pacing a little easier than normal, and really avoiding "burning a match" on climbing. Then somewhere between easy and a more normal pace in the middle third. The final 10-15 miles was pretty good, I had reserves left.
You'll have to ride harder than your sustainable heart rate at times. Just back off as soon as it's feasible.
It's funny, after riding what seems like "a long time" and "pretty far into the ride distance", I look at the odometer and it reads "19 miles" or "23 miles", and I realize I still have 81 or 75 miles to go! Yikes, what have I gotten into! But around 40-60 miles in, I'm still cruising along, everything is good, and the ride seems doable.
Event rides
It's extremely easy to go too fast to hang with faster riders. That's not good by the end of the ride. I let them ride off. I'll find other riders going my pace.
Last edited by rm -rf; 05-14-18 at 11:14 AM.
05-14-18, 11:54 AM
#58
Senior Member
Hi,
So I'm a 59-year-old returning to cycling after many years off, overweight and underfit. I also live in a very hilly area, so I need to get comfortable with hills.
I think my biggest problem is being too ambitious and setting unrealistic goals. I need to learn to pace myself, and not just attack a hill as hard as I can. That works for short steep hills but I get killed by relatively mild, but long, drags because I push too hard, too soon. My heart rate gets up over 150 very quickly, and whilst Strava thinks that's marvelous I can't sustain it for the time needed to get over the hill.
So my plan is to practice keeping a cadence of 85-90, and using as light a gear as I need to keep my heart rate under 135. The goal is to stay in the mythical Zone 2 for as long as I can. Does that sound good to y'all? Any advice on getting better at long slow drags is greatly appreciated. {BTW, planning on shedding weight too, but that's gonna take some time.**
- Pasta
So I'm a 59-year-old returning to cycling after many years off, overweight and underfit. I also live in a very hilly area, so I need to get comfortable with hills.
I think my biggest problem is being too ambitious and setting unrealistic goals. I need to learn to pace myself, and not just attack a hill as hard as I can. That works for short steep hills but I get killed by relatively mild, but long, drags because I push too hard, too soon. My heart rate gets up over 150 very quickly, and whilst Strava thinks that's marvelous I can't sustain it for the time needed to get over the hill.
So my plan is to practice keeping a cadence of 85-90, and using as light a gear as I need to keep my heart rate under 135. The goal is to stay in the mythical Zone 2 for as long as I can. Does that sound good to y'all? Any advice on getting better at long slow drags is greatly appreciated. {BTW, planning on shedding weight too, but that's gonna take some time.**
- Pasta
If you have just returned to cycling after many years off, then you may do well to simply get on the bike and ride. If you haven't ridden at least a total of 500 miles so far this season then I encourage you to do so and then assess your overall riding/hill-climbing ability. Ride 2 or 3 times per week for a distance you are comfortable with. Most riders feel pretty weak after having not ridden for awhile - much less after 'many years' and a few extra pounds. 500 to 1000 miles makes a big difference in how you feel on the bike.
In the meantime do whatever you must to get up the hills without blowing-up. Get off and walk - or stop, put your foot down and count to 10, then continue - or use a route mapping tool to limit your total climbing and max. grade on the route ('Ride with GPS' or others). I find that sometimes matching my cadence (65 - 75) to my breathing by shifting up a little from my lowest gear ratio makes for the most comfortable climbing.
Don't expect too much too soon. You'll get there with consistent, prolonged effort. It's supposed to be fun!
Good Luck.
05-14-18, 03:08 PM
#59
Full Member
My recipe is squats. A lot of squats. And an overgeared 17kg 3 speed. Once you can pedal that thing over hills without going out of the saddle, you can climb with anything 
.
.
05-15-18, 11:24 PM
#60
Newbie
Thread Starter
Thank you all once again for the wonderful replies. Someone also sent me this link
https://www.sportivecyclist.com/how-...n-a-road-bike/
which is a good read on the topic. Thanks again all,
- Mark
https://www.sportivecyclist.com/how-...n-a-road-bike/
which is a good read on the topic. Thanks again all,
- Mark
05-16-18, 01:04 AM
#61
Me duelen las nalgas
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I resumed cycling in 2015 after more than 30 years away from cycling or any significant exercise. And I was still recovering from the effects of a car wreck several years ago. By early 2017 my weight was down to 165 lbs (I weighed over 200 lbs in the early 2000s after the wreck injuries). But even after two years back in the saddle I still struggled on climbs. I had avoided tough terrain during that two years and was still at the bottom of every local Strava hill climb.
So in June 2017 I bought an older road bike specifically to get stronger on climbs and our typical undulating roller coaster terrain, away from the mostly flat and easy multi-use path around the downtown area. It's a 1989 steel road bike that weighs in the low to mid-20s, downtube shifters, originally equipped with old school gearing: 52/42 chainring, 13-24 freewheel. My concession to age was to replace the 42 chainring with a 39. I might even go to a 38. The largest freewheel my old style short cage rear derailleur can handle gracefully is 13-25. So the current trend toward easy spinning at a fast cadence isn't practical. I usually do the old school rock 'n' roll on the steepest climbs in 39/24, that rhythmic bobbing up and down. Very unfashionable nowadays but it suits the gearing. I wouldn't want to try continuous 3 mile or longer 6% or steeper climbs but for our undulating roller coasters it works. Any limitations are due to the engine, not the equipment.
After 10 months I was much stronger on climbs, usually in the middle of the pack on Strava and occasionally in the upper third on climbs where I was most familiar and knew how to pace myself for maximum effort without blowing up. I even cracked the top ten on a couple of climbs, although those were with significant tail wind assistance.
Best advice I got from a fellow nearly my age who's an experienced amateur racer: Ride your own ride on climbs. Don't try to match someone else's pace or style. Find what works for you.
To that I'd add "Be familiar with your route." I'm faster on familiar climbs because after dozens of rides I know how to pace myself. I still blow up on unfamiliar climbs that aren't really any more difficult, but feel more difficult because I haven't found the best line through rough pavement or chipseal, or where the climb levels out briefly to give me a breather, or whether the climb gets steeper or shallower toward the peak.
I found that when I was dropped on climbs on longer rides, I could still catch the group on flats and downhills because I have decent power on flats and I enjoy blasting downhill while other folks are a bit more conservative and coast or just move their pedals without real effort. Probably makes a difference that they have jobs and families, and don't care to risk serious injuries just to go 40 mph downhill when 28 mph seems perfectly reasonable. But my kids are grown, and so far my serious injuries have all come from being hit by cars at low speed, not from unforced crashing on fast rides. (Right now I'm nursing a broken and dislocated shoulder, after having been struck by a car traveling 5-10 mph last week.)
I work hard on solo climbing. I vary my training approach, ranging from brief, painfully hard HIIT (high intensity interval training) to less strenuous intervals doing hill repeats on a 5 mile loop, to Fartlek style training on familiar longer routes -- mixing up continuous steady effort with occasional bursts of maximum effort at no particular interval. Usually I'll do maximum efforts on roller coaster climbs, then loaf-pedal for 5-15 minutes until I reach the next hard roller coaster climb, etc. I'll never be a strong climber, not even in my own age group. I know a few local men and women close to my age who are stronger climbers. But I'm stronger than I was two years ago and that's encouraging.
One bit of common advice that I ignore is looking up and ahead. That's just nuts. I don't want to see the horizon or how far away it is and how steep the climb is. Screw that. I gaze at an indistinct patch just ahead, keeping my peripheral vision aware of potential risks (obstacles, debris, vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists or joggers I'm overtaking). But I just go into trance mode and let the passing pavement go blurry and focus on my cadence and breathing.
That works for me on my solo training rides. But I wouldn't advise it on group rides where it's essential to be alert to other riders. I group rides I just ride my own ride, and don't worry about the gap opening up. On longer rides I'll often catch up with folks who blew up on climbs so we end up riding together anyway. As for the stronger riders, I'll never catch them anyway so it doesn't matter. They're much younger, fitter, often with much lighter bikes, etc., and it's not a race.
Even Phil Gaimon gets dropped sometimes. He's a retired pro whose strength was climbing. Since retiring he's snagged several tough KOMs (real climbs, not those KOMs that are mostly flat or with significant downhills). You can read about it on his website and YouTube channel.
Despite being a strong climber he got dropped like a slippery rock on his most recent video. Start at the 6:30 mark. Despite staying in good shape and tackling some tough Strava challenges, he still struggles to keep up with an active pro who's strong on climbs.
The 7:44 mark of this video is pretty much how I sound and see every fast group ride. As soon as we hit any significant climbs I get dropped.
So in June 2017 I bought an older road bike specifically to get stronger on climbs and our typical undulating roller coaster terrain, away from the mostly flat and easy multi-use path around the downtown area. It's a 1989 steel road bike that weighs in the low to mid-20s, downtube shifters, originally equipped with old school gearing: 52/42 chainring, 13-24 freewheel. My concession to age was to replace the 42 chainring with a 39. I might even go to a 38. The largest freewheel my old style short cage rear derailleur can handle gracefully is 13-25. So the current trend toward easy spinning at a fast cadence isn't practical. I usually do the old school rock 'n' roll on the steepest climbs in 39/24, that rhythmic bobbing up and down. Very unfashionable nowadays but it suits the gearing. I wouldn't want to try continuous 3 mile or longer 6% or steeper climbs but for our undulating roller coasters it works. Any limitations are due to the engine, not the equipment.
After 10 months I was much stronger on climbs, usually in the middle of the pack on Strava and occasionally in the upper third on climbs where I was most familiar and knew how to pace myself for maximum effort without blowing up. I even cracked the top ten on a couple of climbs, although those were with significant tail wind assistance.
Best advice I got from a fellow nearly my age who's an experienced amateur racer: Ride your own ride on climbs. Don't try to match someone else's pace or style. Find what works for you.
To that I'd add "Be familiar with your route." I'm faster on familiar climbs because after dozens of rides I know how to pace myself. I still blow up on unfamiliar climbs that aren't really any more difficult, but feel more difficult because I haven't found the best line through rough pavement or chipseal, or where the climb levels out briefly to give me a breather, or whether the climb gets steeper or shallower toward the peak.
I found that when I was dropped on climbs on longer rides, I could still catch the group on flats and downhills because I have decent power on flats and I enjoy blasting downhill while other folks are a bit more conservative and coast or just move their pedals without real effort. Probably makes a difference that they have jobs and families, and don't care to risk serious injuries just to go 40 mph downhill when 28 mph seems perfectly reasonable. But my kids are grown, and so far my serious injuries have all come from being hit by cars at low speed, not from unforced crashing on fast rides. (Right now I'm nursing a broken and dislocated shoulder, after having been struck by a car traveling 5-10 mph last week.)
I work hard on solo climbing. I vary my training approach, ranging from brief, painfully hard HIIT (high intensity interval training) to less strenuous intervals doing hill repeats on a 5 mile loop, to Fartlek style training on familiar longer routes -- mixing up continuous steady effort with occasional bursts of maximum effort at no particular interval. Usually I'll do maximum efforts on roller coaster climbs, then loaf-pedal for 5-15 minutes until I reach the next hard roller coaster climb, etc. I'll never be a strong climber, not even in my own age group. I know a few local men and women close to my age who are stronger climbers. But I'm stronger than I was two years ago and that's encouraging.
One bit of common advice that I ignore is looking up and ahead. That's just nuts. I don't want to see the horizon or how far away it is and how steep the climb is. Screw that. I gaze at an indistinct patch just ahead, keeping my peripheral vision aware of potential risks (obstacles, debris, vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists or joggers I'm overtaking). But I just go into trance mode and let the passing pavement go blurry and focus on my cadence and breathing.
That works for me on my solo training rides. But I wouldn't advise it on group rides where it's essential to be alert to other riders. I group rides I just ride my own ride, and don't worry about the gap opening up. On longer rides I'll often catch up with folks who blew up on climbs so we end up riding together anyway. As for the stronger riders, I'll never catch them anyway so it doesn't matter. They're much younger, fitter, often with much lighter bikes, etc., and it's not a race.
Even Phil Gaimon gets dropped sometimes. He's a retired pro whose strength was climbing. Since retiring he's snagged several tough KOMs (real climbs, not those KOMs that are mostly flat or with significant downhills). You can read about it on his website and YouTube channel.
Despite being a strong climber he got dropped like a slippery rock on his most recent video. Start at the 6:30 mark. Despite staying in good shape and tackling some tough Strava challenges, he still struggles to keep up with an active pro who's strong on climbs.
The 7:44 mark of this video is pretty much how I sound and see every fast group ride. As soon as we hit any significant climbs I get dropped.
05-16-18, 04:12 AM
#62
Senior Member
This is bike forums, and that is what we do here! ha
But jlaw is right. Reading about climbing is like...reading about climbing. Just go do. You will figure out what works for you. There are many variables, but none of them make the hill less steep.
But jlaw is right. Reading about climbing is like...reading about climbing. Just go do. You will figure out what works for you. There are many variables, but none of them make the hill less steep.
05-16-18, 05:31 AM
#63
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.
However, I have posted, for myself to look at what's ahead on an unfamiliar hill,
On a group ride in 2015. I rode in the mountains (Allegheny) for the first time in decades.
Best advice I got from a fellow nearly my age who's an experienced amateur racer: Ride your own ride on climbs. Don't try to match someone else's pace or style. Find what works for you.
To that I'd add "Be familiar with your route." I'm faster on familiar climbs because after dozens of rides I know how to pace myself. I still blow up on unfamiliar climbs that aren't really any more difficult, but feel more difficult because I haven't found the best line through rough pavement or chipseal, or where the climb levels out briefly to give me a breather, or whether the climb gets steeper or shallower toward the peak…
One bit of common advice that I ignore is looking up and ahead. That's just nuts. I don't want to see the horizon or how far away it is and how steep the climb is.
I gaze at an indistinct patch just ahead, keeping my peripheral vision aware of potential risks (obstacles, debris, vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists or joggers I'm overtaking). But I just go into trance mode and let the passing pavement go blurry and focus on my cadence and breathing…
To that I'd add "Be familiar with your route." I'm faster on familiar climbs because after dozens of rides I know how to pace myself. I still blow up on unfamiliar climbs that aren't really any more difficult, but feel more difficult because I haven't found the best line through rough pavement or chipseal, or where the climb levels out briefly to give me a breather, or whether the climb gets steeper or shallower toward the peak…
One bit of common advice that I ignore is looking up and ahead. That's just nuts. I don't want to see the horizon or how far away it is and how steep the climb is.
I gaze at an indistinct patch just ahead, keeping my peripheral vision aware of potential risks (obstacles, debris, vehicles, pedestrians, cyclists or joggers I'm overtaking). But I just go into trance mode and let the passing pavement go blurry and focus on my cadence and breathing…
One other thing I learned during my trial phase of this training program is not to underestimate hills when doing intervals. I once was riding up a hill in too high a gear, barely pedaling to stay upright, and my chain fell off the front cog and got wedged between the seat tube and pedal crank.
I had to pull so hard to remove it that I bent a link, causing the chain to skip with each rotation…
I had to pull so hard to remove it that I bent a link, causing the chain to skip with each rotation…
…Compared to the hills of Metro Boston, I consider that I rode over two mountains, shorter perhaps, but with grades as challenging as I had encountered in Colorado (but that was 35 years ago). 
There were also some steep backroad hills, and I occasionally got stuck in too high a gear, saying to BD, “I gotta learn to respect these hills.”…
I don’t use GPS, and I’m not familiar with grades, so he would indicate how steep (%) were various grades. This was the first time I had ever looked at an elevation profile (link) of a ride I have done, and since elevations were a key feature of the ride, I could re-visit every segment of the 61 miles…
We held together pretty well nearly the entire length of the Ride. At the top of the first mountain he said "I’ll see you at the bottom." Being heavier, I said, “No, because physics will determine arrival.” Well, actually fear determined arrival, because after about 30 mph, I started riding the brakes as they chattered. 34.5 mph is the highest maximum speed I have recorded.
I drove back to Boston on Sunday, feeling myself a much better rider than when I arrived, for conquering the mountains and learning from BD, with renewed enthusiasm to continue riding as much as possible to keep up my conditioning from this summer…
There were also some steep backroad hills, and I occasionally got stuck in too high a gear, saying to BD, “I gotta learn to respect these hills.”…
I don’t use GPS, and I’m not familiar with grades, so he would indicate how steep (%) were various grades. This was the first time I had ever looked at an elevation profile (link) of a ride I have done, and since elevations were a key feature of the ride, I could re-visit every segment of the 61 miles…
We held together pretty well nearly the entire length of the Ride. At the top of the first mountain he said "I’ll see you at the bottom." Being heavier, I said, “No, because physics will determine arrival.” Well, actually fear determined arrival, because after about 30 mph, I started riding the brakes as they chattered. 34.5 mph is the highest maximum speed I have recorded.
I drove back to Boston on Sunday, feeling myself a much better rider than when I arrived, for conquering the mountains and learning from BD, with renewed enthusiasm to continue riding as much as possible to keep up my conditioning from this summer…
Last edited by Jim from Boston; 05-16-18 at 05:35 AM.
05-16-18, 02:30 PM
#64
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I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that you're ambitious. I'm 55 and I've finally gotten it through my head that there's no shame in being in the small ring when the road is only slightly up hill.
There's something to be said for keeping some "gas in the tank" for later in the ride and trying to keep a steady cadence. I mean, if you really want to give your legs a workout, use a bigger gear. If you want to be steady and get up that hill and still have the energy to continue, use the smaller gears.
05-17-18, 06:14 PM
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Eh, I'm 32 and ok fitness (hockey 2x a week and biking), and I've got gearing so low on a couple bikes I can barely pedal without falling over I'm moving so slow (<20GI). I have zero clue what HR zones are, so can't speak to that, but gearing exists for a reason. Customize it to your fitness and locale.
05-17-18, 09:01 PM
#66
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Eh, I'm 32 and ok fitness (hockey 2x a week and biking), and I've got gearing so low on a couple bikes I can barely pedal without falling over I'm moving so slow (<20GI). I have zero clue what HR zones are, so can't speak to that, but gearing exists for a reason. Customize it to your fitness and locale.
05-18-18, 07:16 AM
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I'm not really any slower than that, but I can just sit there and spin. I know some folks like to go even lower, but if I'm dipping below 3 I'm just getting off and pushing.
05-18-18, 09:57 AM
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Hey Telecaster (great name BTW), what is it I need to 'get used to'? I do get this sneaking feeling that low gears are cheating somehow. This is where my cadence/HR thing is coming from: I want to try and keep the engine power constant and use gears to get me up the hills without over-exertion and blowup. Please tell me more about why you think noobs have trouble with low gears. - Pasta
You might find it easier if you climb with someone slower than you and you ride behind them. This forces you to strain less. Yesterday I went up a half mile long 6% grade in a 53/21. This builds your leg strength but it also keeps your legs from developing a spin. You depend on the gearing to give you speed and not your spin which at my age of 73 seems to work better for me. Also lugging returns my riding ability faster than trying to spin.
