Uawadall said:
I have a few routes I take when cycling alone or with my brother. One of them has a hill that is down right challenging. It last for 1.2 miles and is a 6.2 grade%. Its mostly straight and somewhat consistent in steepness(although at the last .2 miles it levels out a bit. The road isn't paved very well, small potholes and rough patches. In order to make it to the top, I have to use my lowest gear and pedal like my life depends on it. If I slow o stop for even a second,i'll fall of the bike clipped in.I can't grind my way through it either(standing), I'll run the risk of losing steam too fast . The first time, I had to get off the bike halfway through, take a 20 second breather and finished it. Overtime after that, I've completed it. Today was the first time I tackled it in 90 degree weather, I was breathing heavy and sweating a lot.As brutal as it feels, I'll never skip it, something about it makes me feel accomplished.
Do any of you guys do hills regularly that are really challenging? Also, some may ride steeper hills, but I think this one is an adequate challenge for a 4 month newbie,lol..
You point to the improvement yourself. The first time you had to dismount from the bike. Now you can pedal the climb. That's a sign of improvement.
I'm 6'2", climbing was never more forte. I was a water carrier and on the flat, I was the man who brought the contenders in our team to the line. On the flat I was probably the quickest rider in our team bar the out and out sprinters. I could pedal on the flat at the head of the bunch with no difficulty for hours.
But on the climbs I had to work far far harder to try to protect the contenders. In order to protect them better, I had to invest a huge amount of time in training on climbs.
This would mean selecting gradual climbs of perhaps 4-5 miles and pedalling them repeatedly in order to get my body "in to climbing mode"
These steady climbs allowed me to improve my climbing. As I became more accustomed and my body was able to withstand the exertion, I started to climb shorter more steep climbs of 12%+.
These climbs were a real killer for me but even if it meant using the triple gear I'd use it without hesitation to get over a climb. The more I practiced the more I improved.
Repeated application brought about better results. But it was hard, very hard, work.
With my physical build, weight was always going to be an issue for me. My racing weight was 13 stone (182 lbs). The lower my weight was the easier climbing was.
Since retiring from racing my weight is closer to 15 stone (210 lbs). This weight coupled with far less training makes climbing those training climbs far more difficult (and I'm nearly 25 years older!).
My advice is keep working at it.
