Hills

[rsvdaz]

I'm currently in training for the Dartmoor Classic 100km route:

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/kingsteignton/500127088433466144

I'm up to 43miles in distance and feel the 100km target is acheivable so im now focussing on hill climbing, basically to get some speed on them.

The classic has hills upto 6% and I have been on a section of the route which is the most "lumpy" - Bovey Tracey to Manaton

Ive also been using this route:

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/torquay/973127079248576031

which also has a 6% climb

I have also found the steepest hill around:

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/torquay/532127106224616603

which vary's form 6% to 20%

If i'm with a group I can maintain a speed of 7mph, but if im on my own..my headd drops and im down to 3mph! in the last cog of the granny ring

Ideally I would like to be 10mph up the 6% and my thoughts are to keep riding the 20% hill...up at lest 3 times..to condition my legs n body that the 6%'ers are nothing and I will breaze up them..am i doing right?

sitting/standing...whats the done thing?

 

[accountantpete]

1. Hills highlight any deficiencies in your bike -wheel and frame flex etc. Make sure your tyres are pumped up to the max.

2. Once your equipment is right it's down to you to develop the leg muscles.

Get your pedalling technique sorted and then practice nearby. I use a hill at the bottom of the road which is only 5% and do 3 runs up/rest and repeat 4 times a day. I use 52/13 to go up in order to compensate for the relative ease of the climb but start on a challenging but manageable gear and gradually work your way up.

You should aim to be out of breath at the top -ie give the pedals a bit of welly!

Good luck.

 

[Jerry Atrik]

Hi rsvdaz ,as a matter of interest have you got to manaton without stopping ? Ive tried on numerous occasions and though getting better i am getting nowhere near the top . I rode to kingswear on Sunday but got the ferry over to Dartmouth and climbed out of town to Halwell then on to Totnes where i couldnt go any further and got the train back to Newton . The South Hams is just one big roller coaster and like you ive entered the Dartmoor but im having reservations .

 

[rsvdaz]

Hi Jerry,
No! lol..ive only attempted it once...I stopped twice..once at the first cattle grid and then second time just before the switchback..but..since then I have got up kingswear higher ferry hill..and up Goodrignton Road from 3 beaches to Nortel (Paignton - a 20%'er) both without stopping...but well done you for getting up Townstall Hill in Dartmouth..been down that one..and got 50mph!!

I'm attempting the Classic Route again tomorrow morning from the start...at the momnet looking to do the route to Princetown only..the lumpy part...including Manaton and Holne/Venford..I will see how I feel when I get there...if all well and time is on my side I will go for the whole route

 

[Banjo]

A tip I had from a very experienced rider was to try and get in the right gear for the hill (even if thats the granny /large rear cog combination) right at the bottom so you dont have to change gear on the way up which loses your momentum .

Since doing that I have found hills easier .

 

[rsvdaz]

Banjo..ive tried that...but common sense also tells me to get a good run up the hill...so when i change down the gears my legs spin but thats not being transfered to the back wheel.
i'm trying to keep out of the granny ring so what ive been doing is..dropping down form top front ring to bottom but keep the gears high on the rear...than as my momentum is fading as im hitting the hill..drop down say 3 or 4 gears and try and remain on them with a decent cadence..safe with the knowledge of a couple more drop downs if needed

 

[PpPete]

I don't know that a "good run up" makes a lot of difference. Might help the first 50 mtrs or so, but after that the momemtum is gone, and you might as well have given your legs a rest on the approach to the hill anyway.

If I know it's a big hill, I get in the granny ring early, it's a shift that's always easier when the drive chain is not under load. Middle of the cassette is a good place to be. Avoid the crossed chain of using granny/smallest sprockets. The gears are so close together at that end of the cassette that it doesnt make a lot of difference. I use the time when I'm "spinning" to focus mentally, and visualise maintaining that fast cadence all the way to the top. I also usually look down between my legs to double check exactly how many more cogs I've got "in reserve" for later in the hill.

Well it works for me anyway....

 

[chfp77]

Where i live,there isnt much in the way of long climbs. Plenty of short,sharp,steep climbs. So to prepare for longer stuff i was told to just hammer up the shorter climbs in as big a gear as i could,really attack them. Uphill intervals i suppose. I also used to find a long road with a drag uphill. Stay seated and push as big a gear as i could,while keeping cadence as high as poss. Basically if it aint burning by the time you reach the finish,u aint pushed hard enough!!

 

[Dan B]

A tip I had from a very experienced rider was to try and get in the right gear for the hill (even if thats the granny /large rear cog combination) right at the bottom so you dont have to change gear on the way up which loses your momentum .

Since doing that I have found hills easier .

Invaluable advice in the days of downtube shifters, but if you've got STI or Ergo or something else that lets you change gears from the bars, not as important as it used to be. I shift up and down all the time when climbing a long hill - if I stand up for a section I like to change up a couple of gears to compensate for the slower cadence.

Yes, if you change gear while pushing as hard as you can on the pedal you may expect bits to sproing off into the undergrowth, but modern derailleurs only need you to ease off a little for a quarter-turn, not to slacken right off

 

[lukesdad]

Golden rule of climbing don t go into the red untill you have to.

Approaching difficult climbs it is senseless to attack them at the bottom. (There are exceptions but your not at that level yet.). The reason is its too much too early,you will go into the red sooner on the climb, and if you re not at or near the top its. curtains. Pace and rhythum are the key. As you approach the climb select the chainring your going to climb it on and get the chain on the middle of the block.(mindset is another factor in climbing it would be too simplistic to deal with that here) but you don t want to be worrying about your gear selection on the climb, One click one way or the other.

It doesn t really matter if you climb on a 52/13 or a 30/27 the principle is the same and you ll hurt the same.

 

[paddy01]

Daz,

I'm not that far from you (near Exeter) so if you fancy a training ride or 2 drop me a pm and I'm just starting to unwind from my habitual winter biking hibernation and I've got some pretentions of doing a 100 miler or 2 later in the year

Cheers

Paddy

 

[rsvdaz]

cheers paddy will do.
i'm off up to manatan very early tomorrow then away this weekend ..so perhaps next weekend?

 

[paddy01]

I away myself from Sunday to Sunday so could do an after work ride 1 day the week after or failing that the following weekend (1st/2nd May)?

 

[rsvdaz]

ouch!!

just got back from the moors...57miles!

manaton isnt the hardest hill...Holne is!!

 

[Jerry Atrik]

Trying that stretch Sunday !