Tell me how to love hills...

[capricapers]

High cadence does feel odd but you can practice it . On the levels drop a couple of gears but try to maintain the same speed to teach your legs to spin .
Do you know how many teeth your largest sprocket on the rear wheel has ? .

Does 32 sound about right? I marked one of the teeth when it was at 12 o’clock and when it was directly vertically underneath at 6 o’clock, I had counted 32. Hope that tells you something. ?

 

[capricapers]

I think it had been relaid the year before. That road no longer has many heavy vehicles on it. There was a near tragedy 20+ years ago when the brakes failed on a Calor Gas wagon coming down that 25% slope and heavy vehicles were prohibited after that. (Fortunately, the driver managed to drive off the road without hitting other vehicles or the houses down below.)


I could still do with losing 8-12 pounds. I used to try and ride up that hill when I was 5 stone overweight and it almost killed me!

It is Mytholm Steeps (up Church Lane, from Hebden Bridge).

The trouble with these really steep hills is that the back wheel will often slip if you get out of the saddle, but if you remain seated then the front wheel can lift ... It is a real balancing act, and especially tricky if the road is wet!

Hebden Bridge is a beautiful area. Wonderful.

 

[slowmotion]

I'm terrible on hills but I practiced by going up the same one again and again, and seeing if I could do it by using a slightly higher gear each time. Torture for me, but it did make a marginal difference to my ability to get up them.
Simon Legg, late of this parish, told all the bad climbers at the bottom of Ditchling Beacon to start in the lowest gear and keep turning the pedals. Sound advice. You really don't have to worry about gear changes!

 

[Edwardoka]

Hills are only in your head until you run out of gears to change down into. I see an incredible amount of people bailing out and walking up hills (even Essex 'hills'!) with the chain only half-way across the cassette and plenty of gears left. They've looked up the road, got demoralised, thought 'I'm never going to make it up there' and listened to the nagging doubts.

Precisely this happened to me on the Lecht. The dread of knowing it was coming, then actually turning a corner and seeing the road-shaped wall front and centre made me quail. I'd have given the lower slopes a proper go if it wasn't for some in front of me getting off and pushing and giving me an easy out I did climb about 2/3rds of it by bike, but I have unfinished business with that hill.

 

[capricapers]

Precisely this happened to me on the Lecht. The dread of knowing it was coming, then actually turning a corner and seeing the road-shaped wall front and centre made me quail. I'd have given the lower slopes a proper go if it wasn't for some in front of me getting off and pushing and giving me an easy out I did climb about 2/3rds of it by bike, but I have unfinished business with that hill.

That’s why I am such a softy and never look at the crest of the hill but kind of straight in front or even down at the floor, trying to kid myself that the ground is flat or that the hill is tiny.

 

[Edwardoka]

That’s why I am such a softy and never look at the crest of the hill but kind of straight in front or even down at the floor, trying to kid myself that the ground is flat or that the hill is tiny.

There is no crest on the hard part of the Lecht. You get to a turn and it opens up to reveal a steeper bit
I've done most of the famous Pyrenean cols and none of them demoralised me half as much as the Lecht. Presumably because French road engineers aren't sadists

 

[slowmotion]

Precisely this happened to me on the Lecht. The dread of knowing it was coming, then actually turning a corner and seeing the road-shaped wall front and centre made me quail. I'd have given the lower slopes a proper go if it wasn't for some in front of me getting off and pushing and giving me an easy out I did climb about 2/3rds of it by bike, but I have unfinished business with that hill.

I think we all have unfinished business when it comes to hills.

 

[ColinJ]

Hebden Bridge is a beautiful area. Wonderful.

Yes, it is. I lived there for 29 years, and am still only 4 miles down the road now.

 

[MikeG]

I’m sure going to try to lose those 8lb. It may seem like harsh advice but I think it’s good advice and I think it’s worth trying hard for. Thank you.

Good. I didn't mean to sound harsh, but with intermittent fasting (such as 5:2), losing weight is pretty easy these days. There are threads here on the subject which might be worth having a look at, and climbing hills will be so much easier without half a stone of ballast.

 

[MikeG]

.......It is Mytholm Steeps (up Church Lane, from Hebden Bridge)........

I just put this in RidewithGPS, and the steepest part of the climb is a little over 15%. The next road along to the west, Savile Rd, tops out at 21%.

It's pretty hard to beat Porlock Hill (22%) for brutality and beauty. The first time I drove up it I met a caravan coming back down, backwards.......the car having failed to make it up.

 

[smutchin]

climbing hills will be so much easier without half a stone of ballast.

Simple physics, innit. A few years ago I was 2st lighter than I am now and found hills sooooo much more fun.

OTOH, the OP isn’t exactly overweight and shouldn’t get too obsessive about it. It will be possible to get better at hills without losing any more weight simply through practice, as others have said.

In fact, do lots of hill climbing practice and you may find the weight starts to fall off anyway...

Losing weight also risks reducing muscle mass, so you may find that getting quicker uphill may come with being a tad slower on the flat (or at least a bit less power in sprints).

 

[Racing roadkill]

Keeping a steady and higher Cadence and seated, is a more efficient way of climbing. The more contact points you maintain with the bike, the better. If you’re on a twisty climb, stay seated on the straight bits, and stand in the uphill corners. Whilst standing, keep your hips forward and your back as straight as you can, and your head up. Try to relax your grip on the bars, as this just creates oxygen demand from the muscles in the shoulders and arms, that is more useful for the legs. Ride more hills, and you’ll soon get used to them, although you may never actually ‘love’ them, they will get less taxing.

 

[Aravis]

You want to love hills. Is there a type of climb you prefer?

Long, steep and straight I'll wager it isn't. But you might be more comfortable on climbs which have frequent changes in gradient, or you might prefer the long and steady type.

When I had some pretentions as a climber, I knew I definitely preferred the steady type, and the Valleys of South Wales had plenty of those. So I'd spend a lot of time riding up and down the valleys, thoroughly enjoying myself and gradually getting better at it, without ever subjecting myself to serious pain or discouragement. After a while I'd look at the more challenging gradients on the roads I'd been avoiding and I'd start to try some of them, and surprise surprise, they were fun too. Sparingly though, and even in my youth I'd tend to avoid Ordnance Survey double arrows. A succession of single arrows was always preferable, back to the theme of preferring the long and steady.

All blasts from the past I'm afraid. I don't have the power nowadays.

So in summary, do what you enjoy, and lots of it. The inspiration will come.

 

[capricapers]

Simple physics, innit. A few years ago I was 2st lighter than I am now and found hills sooooo much more fun.

OTOH, the OP isn’t exactly overweight and shouldn’t get too obsessive about it. It will be possible to get better at hills without losing any more weight simply through practice, as others have said.

In fact, do lots of hill climbing practice and you may find the weight starts to fall off anyway...

Losing weight also risks reducing muscle mass, so you may find that getting quicker uphill may come with being a tad slower on the flat (or at least a bit less power in sprints).

That’s very useful, thanks. I know that most quality cyclists are very slim but I have never been built that way. Now, as I approach 50, my metabolism has changed and things can’t burn off in the way they used to. Even when I go running or do HIIT workouts, I don’t lose actual weight, just tone up. I’m going to aim for the middle course - lose as many pounds as possible (in reality 4lb may be do-able) and practice going up more hills. When I play netball, my strength is pushing off fast (acceleration) - but after a long match, it’s very tiring. It’s hard to have quickness with stamina IMHO.

 

[Rooster1]

Hills fill me with fear and trepidation, but I love them because of that. I don't shy away from the harder ones my area has to offer even if I've ridden them a thousand times before. My weight is my biggest enemy, and i've just been off the bike for 5 weeks and have been to the USA so I am feeling lardy right now.