Originally Posted by
rsbob
This thread is a mediocre place for a nagging question about hills. Is it better to attack the beginning incline of a hill to increase initial momentum or just find a comfortable pace you can ride the entire hill. For instance, I am thinking 5% for a mile.
I usually will take a hard run a the start of a longish hill but to me it seems like a waste of energy without any real gain. Correct?
And back to the thread… time X distance x power (or heart rate) is a nice lame way to calculate.
Run at an uphill longer than you can 'power' up and over usually finds me then flagging for the remainder of any steep grade.
I think the question is do 'comfortable' or do 'suffer' (with strength). Again, for uphills longer than you can punch over (which sometimes is still fairly long).
1 mile w avg of 5% ish (means some sections steeper).
I usually pick the 'suffer' with strength. It's a visual thing (if I'm not familiar with the climb/hill). If I can see a fairly steady grade ahead, I'll try to keep close to, but below, my AT Heart rate, and if I have a gear I can do at least 70-75 ish rpm. If I see a sharp rise ahead, I judge the grade increase, bring the HR down to give some headroom for increased effort, make a good guess on gearing.
I'm not sure what the definition for 'comfortable climb' is, so I don' think I've ever done that. There doesn't seem any way to do 10%+ grade as 'comfortable'.
If I fall below 70 rpm, I'll get out of the saddle more often, to keep momentum and rhythm up. If I go over 80, I'll drop into a bigger gear.
If the % grade lowers a bit, I'll find a gear which can keep me at 75 - that's my longer term, best/optimum balance between aerobic and power.
5-6% is a tough spot. It's not that steep that gearing choice is critical, but it's also not a grade that won; punish you, if you get too enthusiastic.
anyway, so much depends on your state, when you reach an uphill/climb.
Ride On
Yuri