After a hill......

[Aescott]

Hi

Morning commute is relatively flat but with a couple of climbs. Final climb is not steep but is long, so legs are a bit sore by the top.

A question which comes to mind each day is - when I get to the top, should I switch to lowest possible gear and take it easy to recover, or switch up a gear or two? It's the same distance either way, just don't know which option is best for recovery.

 

[wafter]

It's flat at the top..?

I'd just do what feels right at the time. Taking it steady should help to an extent with fatigue / aches; equally these potentially suggest muscle growth, so if getting faster / stronger is a goal and you can tolerate the discomfort hit it hard

 

[Sharky]

There's an old piece of advice...
- if your legs are hurting, use a lower gear
- if your lungs are hurting, use a higher gear

I think you should have changed to a lower gear at the bottom of the last hill and keep the cadence higher.

 

[katiewlx]

normally I stop, have a rest and recover, then carry on in whatever gear my legs can cope with

 

[Punkawallah]

normally I stop, have a rest and recover, then carry on in whatever gear my legs can cope with

Indeed. It’s not illegal to get off and chillax- although I suspect the likes of Strava don’t have a button for that ;-)

 

[SteveH80]

Get to top, pull over and stop, have a fag and a can of Special Brew (hydration, calories and pain management in one convenient package) and then carry on.

 

[ivegotabike]

Or go easier on the climb?

 

[Drago]

Try a few different scenarios and see what works best for you.

 

[Juan Kog]

Commute on Fixed , retired now but worked for me .
ps It wasn’t a flat route .

 

[Binky]

Hi

Morning commute is relatively flat but with a couple of climbs. Final climb is not steep but is long, so legs are a bit sore by the top.

A question which comes to mind each day is - when I get to the top, should I switch to lowest possible gear and take it easy to recover, or switch up a gear or two? It's the same distance either way, just don't know which option is best for recovery.

Ride up said hill in a lower gear than you are presently for sure, this should help will leg soreness. Then when at top continue in same gear for 50-100metres or whatever feels right to recover then change up to higher gear and continue on.

 

[pjd57]

Since its a commute , time for a rest probably isnt built in.
Most people allow just the right amount of time....or less.

 

[lazybloke]

Get to top, pull over and stop, have a fag and a can of Special Brew (hydration, calories and pain management in one convenient package) and then carry on.

Quite.
I was going to point out to @Punkawallah that Strava does need a button for rests, there's an auto-pause.

In your honour, it's now auto-pours.

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

Just simply staying in the gear you used to climb will feel much easier at the top of a hill if it simply levels out, if it quickly starts descending after the summit that gear will likely quickly have your legs "redlining" and you may need to quickly bump up a number of gears including a change to the big chainring.

You should feel reasonably recovered within 3-5mins or so depending on how long the climb took and your relative effort for your heart/power zone numbers and your fitness. In a workout of threshold/VO2 ~4min efforts, with training you should feel ready to go again after that sort of recovery time.

 

[a.twiddler]

It could be that the climb needs a higher or lower gear on different days, depending on how you feel on the day. Commuting will give you time pressure that you wouldn't have on a leisure ride, so it's almost guaranteed that the average human wouldn't start the commute with time in hand to be able stop en route. As you get fitter you'll feel less breathless once you reach the top, but I find that changing up to a higher gear/ lower cadence once the load eases helps you recover more quickly. You will soon learn to pace yourself, and what works for you. Being able to keep going at a lower speed while you recover beats pushing yourself so hard that you have to stop for several minutes.