Originally Posted by Cramic

I have a “big” cycling event at end of April called Five Dams (West Australia). It’s around 210km and has 2000m of elevation. That’s made up of a number of tough, long climbs.

The vast majority of my cycling is almost pancake flat (my commute) and I don’t have much time for rides outside of the commute.

What I do have is a headwind, which about faces at midday so I get it in and out. It is nearly always significant. So I end up doing around 120-150km per week into a headwind and hoped this would form a good base.

This was probably naive! I did some time in the hills recently and the climbs were much harder than the headwind. I actually compare quite favourably to other cyclists into the wind, but poorly on hills (I believe this is mostly due to my weight).

So, in addition to losing weight and finding the time to go on at least one longer/hillier ride per week, I wondered:

1) I have access to a gym at work and can go there at lunchtimes. What should I be doing? More on a stationary bike with high resistance or just do “leg day” after “leg day”? Best to use weights/machine exercise or floor stuff.

2) I can do one big hill per commute, reducing time spent on the river (headwind) as a compromise. How should I tackle this hill? All out effort, out of the saddle style or just as I’d take hills normally. Ie. steady in the saddle? I very rarely get out of the saddle.

Any other advice also appreciated!