Tell me how to love hills...

[MikeG]

I like hills. But in response to tso I'll say that there is one hill near here which I have never liked, despite it being less steep and less long than plenty of others. In the end I rode around and around a little circuit which included the hill, until I had done it a few dozen times in a week or so. It's now just like any other hill.........and the lesson to take away from that is that so much of this in the mind, not the legs or the white knuckles..

 

[Broadside]

This thread has tons of good advice already. The couple of bits I would add is if you are numbers based then ride to a heart rate that you know you can sustain for a while, no closer than 20bpm of max HR is what I can usually hold for a while on hills.

Also recognise when the hill gets a little easier, keep an eye on gradient and push a bit harder when it eases off so it keeps your average for the whole hill a bit higher.

The last bit is to always finish strong, when you see the top don’t slack off, give it a final push, maybe stand up and fly over the top, it feels much more satisfying than going over the top at a snails pace feeling half dead!!

 

[ColinJ]

Climbing definitely does get easier with practice. I used to set off too enthusiastically and run out of steam halfway up the local climbs but now I know how to pace myself. Losing weight can make a lot of difference.

I was out on a ride with @Littgull a couple of weeks ago and we rode up an offroad climb which had a reasonable surface. We'd been chatting all the way up and then encountered a woman walking her dog near the summit. She made a comment about us being brave to "tackle a hill like that". We had hardly even noticed the gradient! A few years ago I would have been struggling all the way up and not able to spare the breath to talk to anyone.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Most satisfying recent hill was a long 25% one done with the bike in touring mode loaded up with panniers. Not my fastest ascent of such a hill be a long way but I earnt the ascent, my lungs and heart knew it, and it felt good especially given it was wet and had leaves to catch you out.

 

[nickyboy]

As long as you've got a good level of cycling/cardio fitness it's 90% in your head. I can only speak from my own perspective as a fellow hater of hills when I started out... in the first couple of months of "serious" riding I'd have to stop part way on any climb over 10 minutes long with my heart rate at 170+, but once I'd built up some fitness & stamina by putting in the hard miles, I was away.
It could be just your mindset that isn't right - it takes a special kind of masochism to really enjoy the physical effort of riding up a 10% gradient for 20 minutes, all the pleasure is in the satisfaction of making it to the top (personally speaking). Even better if you did it quicker than the last time you did it... but don't expect it not to hurt, ever, it always hurts if you're putting in the effort!

So, as stated many times already in the thread, get in the right gear for the hill you're facing. If it's a short steep effort that you can tackle in under a minute, carry as much speed in as you can safely & try to power up it as far as you can out of the saddle. If you have to sit down & spin the pedals for the last 100 yards so be it, you'll improve the more you do it. Have a rest at the top & get your breath back, carry on satisfied that you made it.

If it's a longer effort, get in the correct (low) gear and spin up. Start off in the absolute lowest gear if you must, if it's too easy flick up a gear or two. I distract myself by checking my heart rate as I go; if it's around 155 I know I can carry on at the pace I'm travelling at for a while, even if my legs are complaining... and that's where the mental side really comes in - ignore the pain, once you've proven to yourself you can do it it's all about fitness & stamina. Concentrate on breathing properly, don't strangle the handlebars, keep a nice, steady, even rhythm on the pedals. Stop at the top and have a drink, you've set a benchmark to aim at next time you do it.

And lastly don't fret about weight loss, if you're born to be a mountain goat you'll lose weight by climbing more hills...

You're right about hill climbing being largely a mental issue. It hurts, it always does and it always will do (as you get fitter you just go faster). Some people give up when it hurts quicker than others. I'm not sure if you can "improve" your mental approach other than by keeping on riding up hills

Forget about weight loss. Concentrate on practicing hills which will get you fitter and work on developing a tough mental attitude to the pain of the climb. You might lose weight in doing this, you might not. Doesn't really matter much

 

[13 rider]

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. ?

That's a pretty low gear which will help if you had a small cog ie a 28 tooth I may have suggested you put lower gears but a 32 sounds a nice gear to spin you up most hills . Keep at it

 

[MikeG]

..........Forget about weight loss. Concentrate on practicing hills which will get you fitter and work on developing a tough mental attitude to the pain of the climb. You might lose weight in doing this, you might not. Doesn't really matter much

Poor advice. It's just basic physics: the lighter you are, the easier you'll get up hills.

 

[capricapers]

I am no fan of hills - the local ones are easy to avoid, and I usually do. But there's a hill on my occasional commute that I cannot avoid, which defeated me the first time and really hurt me the second. Before my third attempt I was reminded of the advice to relax ones upper body - no death grip on the bars, no rigid arms or solid shoulders - and I found it really helped. Expend the energy where it's needed.

Very sound advice! I hate hills so much, I probably clench the bars like grim death. Trying to convey my hatred of the hill in front

 

[capricapers]

That's a pretty low gear which will help if you had a small cog ie a 28 tooth I may have suggested you put lower gears but a 32 sounds a nice gear to spin you up most hills . Keep at it

Thank you! I think I’m just an impatient person really. It’s much easier for me to pick up speed on the straight and keep pumping those legs and to watch the Wahoo’s numbers go up - it’s a different experience (and a bit of a mental barrier) to keep whittling away at the seemingly insurmountable hill in front!

 

[MikeG]

[QUOTE 5436954, member: 9609"]stronger bigger fitter heavier legs will get you up hills quicker than a couple of match sticks........[/QUOTE]

Which is why Mark Cavendish is so much better up hills than Yates, Froome, and Thomas.

 

[Ice2911]

Lots of good advice already. Finding the right cadence tempo helps. I use a tactic from ‘Mud,sweat and gears’ counting pedal strokes 1-10 and repeat. If it gets really steep and hard this changes to repeating the F word. Riding a fully loaded touring bike up some steep hills I sometimes use the 24 inch gear when it’s quicker to walk than spin.
I enjoy the challenge and head out for hill repeats, especially inWinter when dark nights mean once a week we hill loops close to home, especially handy if the weather changes.
Only other bit of advice I’ve not seen mentioned is riding with hands relaxed on top of the bars rather than hoods or drops also seems to help. I’m sure someone will have said hills always hurt, you just get faster at going up them.

 

[ColinJ]

I’m sure someone will have said hills always hurt, you just get faster at going up them.

It is paraphrasing the great Greg Lemond who is quoted as saying "It never gets easier, you just get faster".

What he meant was that as you get fitter you can ride faster for the same amount of perceived effort and/or suffering.

That is obviously true but if you decided to have a relaxing ride at the slower speed that you used to do, it would feel easier! I think that is probably why I am not making the speed gains that I should with my improved fitness - I am just treating myself to less suffering. I'm sure if I flogged myself the way I used to when I weighed 17+ stone and riding up 20% climbs then I would be climbing a lot faster than I usually do!

 

[Spoons47]

+1 for hands on the tops. I find it allows you to push arse back rotate pelvis a little and keep up the high cadence.

 

[Lee_M]

all great advice, but what do you do when you have a 32 on the back and you're grinding, and your HR is 25 above your max for your age?

yep that's me! generally fit, can do a 100miler at 16mph, but rubbish at hills, being 6'3" and 15 stone probably doesnt help, but it never seems to get any easier!

 

[Spoons47]

Well I’m 5ft 9 and 10 st 9 but can’t do anywhere near 100 miles and don’t think I’ll ever love hills, but I love cycling and don’t feel I have to do them, so win win really