Just a little curious...<br /><br />How steep a gradient can you people ride on your bike before you start to scream in utter pain and curl up into a fetal position etc.?<br /><br />In my lowest gear (39x25), anything more than about 7-7.5% is enough to make me think walking up is a really good idea..<br /><br />Whenever going up a not-short climb (like 500m+), my HR usually shoots up to about 85-90% max .. does this sound a little high to anyone? Should I turn the wick down a bit on ascents? I figure hills are going to be a hard time, so I may as well get them over and done with quickly.<br /><br />I'm still somewhat heavy for my height (91kg, 183cm) so I still have a few kilos to lose ... how much easier would it be if I weighed, say, 5-8 kilos less?<br /><br />I normally try to keep control of my breathing (make sure I take deep breaths) and maintain a cadence of 90-100rpm wherever possible (I heard Lance climbed at high cadence on the TdF coverage commentary, so it sounded like a good thing for me to do too ..
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