I've toppled. I'm not a climber, hills are my enemy and I get dropped like a rock on hills if I'm with a group. My best climbing year I had a coach and did a lot of drills on the trainer, single leg, tempo, sprints. I was amazingly stonger that year. My plan is to try and embrace hills this year and do lots of repeaters.

I have no tips, but it always cracks me up when people say -- "yeah, just gear down and spin up that hill." They make it sound so easy; no problem at all. In reality, there are very few hills I'm able to "spin" up.

Me too. I have a triple on both my road and tri bikes and if it's steep, hell even if it isn't steep, I run out of gears and grind away.

Me three. But watch out going down the hill!
I think that's why I'm loving the velodrome so much...no hills!

clm

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

I too have toppled. I also do that slow grind up the hill in my lowest gear. It doesn't help that my hubby is a crazy-good climber. (He's a big guy too, so it's way unfair... ) I used to completely freak out on hills, because I felt like if they were too steep, I wouldn't be able to stop and rest and then be able to get going again. So, if the hill was steep, I'd panic and get off my bike and walk. My hubby gave me a very helpful technique for climbing on some of the steep sections, and getting started on a steep incline: you basically ride across the steep section at an angle and then angle back, so you're sort of riding in an zig-zag pattern on the hill. Naturally, this won't work for roads with a lot of traffic, but sometimes it's a lifesaver. If nothing else, it gives me something else to think about besides how much climbing sucks. :-D Similarly, if you have to start again on a steep hill, start with your bike perpendicular to the slope to give you a chance to start pedalling before you turn to start climbing again. Apologies if these are old news to you guys, but they really helped me.

I've been trying to make my peace with hills. Last year I did a ton of hill repeats, which helped me at least feel more comfortable. This year I added some strength training to my regime, so that I (hopefully) have more strength to increase the cadence and when the weather gets a bit better I'll return to the hill repeats again.

M

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The beatings will continue until morale improves

Keep practicing - repeats sometimes seated, sometimes standing, use different gearing, and hit different grades. but in reality most races are more flat to rolling than climbing. I find that when I'm training I'm a pretty good climber, but most of the people who I can climb better than, can beat me pushing gears on flatter terrain, which seems to carry over better to races than what I consider my strengths. I think I'd rather be stronger on the flatter stuff than on the hills, for racing. But I do love a good climb. I recently hit one locally, a gravel road (we rode it on mtb's), just under a mile long, just shy of 400 vertical feet gained, the top was steeper than out steepest measured road hill locally (which is 14%), and between the steepness and the loose gravel, I had to walk - the first hill I've walked in years (not counting off road). They are fun and chalenging.

Thanks everyone for the helpful words. I have never toppled, but I have wimped out and hopped off in anticipation of toppling.

The roads I train on have some pretty steep grades. I had to hop off at 17%, but they range about 14 % - 25%, and long.

I have been training on these hills using my mtb. I can get up them on the mtb, (well actually I take a break on the steepest one), and I hope to be able to be able to make some of them on my road bike during the season. (However I'm not in the mood to find out the hard way and be stuck walking my road bike in 19 degrees).

Is this flawed logic? Since the roads are quite slushy and gravelly right now I have no real choice except to use the mtb. And believe me, I WORK! Even on the mtb there are not enough low gears to spin. But I hope I haven't been wasting my time freezing my @$$ all winter . I have some hilly races on my schedule (smiliar terrain to IMLP or IMWI) and I won't be able to bring my mtb to those LOL.

I wonder what it feels like to have really strong legs......

There is nothing wrong training on your mtb if the road conditions are not great for a road bike. 14-25% for your normal grades is pretty steep though. Most roads aren't even allowed to have grades above a certain percent for vehicles (like near 10% or so). Our normal grades around where i live are 5-8 percent for .5 to 1.5 miles. I did Lake Placid in 1999 with no idea how to train, was undertrained, had a 25 on my rear casette, and didn't have any trouble with the bike course - granted I was not fast (6:45 or something), but for not knowing what I was doing back then - (there were not a lot of internet sites with training info back then like there is today) I didn't suffer on the hills. The hills there are long, not steep. IMWI is more similar to where I live (midwest), shorter steeper hills. I have not done WI, but some of my friends who live here have, and they did not have trouble with the hills there either.

You have a lot of days until either of those races. Just keep practicing. I'd avoid the hills above 10% grades, you won't face anything like that at LP or WI.

Thanks a lot. Congrats on your finish, 6:45 would be awesome for me. I'd be thrilled. I'll bet IM was a whole different ball game back in 1999.

My first tri was 1991 (Oly) -- sprints were not invented yet in my area. Similarly, you were probably training in a much different social environment back then. Any plans for a 10 year anniversary revisit? :-)

Oh -- thanks for the hill info. It is certainly confusing b/c everyone everywhere complains about how hilly their rides are and it starts to unnerve me. I don't get to ride nearly as much as I'd like for quantification purposes, so I am trying to research and piece together info.

I did just come back from a ride-for-transportation, about 8 miles, in a flat/rolling area. I noticed that I am instinctively being a lot less patient for spinning up the small hills, I am sticking to my middle chainring (I ride a HT mtb for transport) and just pressing a little harder to get it over with, rather than my usual "deep breath, gear down and spinlike hell " strategy. I am not going to be able to find out if I have any measurable gains until mid April, though.

No 10 year revisit for me! I actually had entered IM AZ for this April, but last summer decided it just wasn't for me. Several years ago, I had a neck injury from snowboarding and it makes riding a tribike very uncomfortable.

Good luck at your IM. Keep plugging away at the training, and don't get discouraged or nervous about the hills. Do you have a coach or a training plan that you are following?

I've ridden in the mountains a lot even though I live in an area that's perfectly flat. The first years I did, I was terrified. I wasn't sure just what happens if you can't turn the cranks, toppling wasn't too appealing especially if the road is full of 'S' curves and traffic. I have a triple and I can say I have never toppled or walked not even on the last 4 mile climb on Mountains of Misery. However my husband gave me some good advice after watching me attempt a couple of steep climbs. He told me to relax and even to sort of take a tiny little break sometimes at the top of the pedal stroke. I was wasting a lot of energy being tense.....

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Nor do I use punctuation in the way a child sprinkles glitter over a ribbon of glue on construction paper - Trash Talk

What size chainrings do you have? If you have a 27t cog in the back and still end up grinding away at 45rpm, you should seriously look into either a compact crankset or perhaps a triple chainring. There's nothing wrong with running a triple, especially given where you live.

I've seen some people run XT (mountain bike) rear dérailleurs as well, so they can run up to a 32t rear cog. Some may say that's a bit extreme, but the guys set up that way sure kicked my ass in the NorCal mountains!


If it makes you feel better, I've dropped well below 15RPM and still managed to not tip over - so you've got some wiggle room yet. :)

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<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
Get Fitter!
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You do realize that you actually climb 2 hills every lap, right? That and the higher up the track you ride, the bigger the hills get!

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<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
Get Fitter!
Proud member of the Smartasscrew, MONSTER CLUB
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Thanks for the info. It is something to keep in mind. I never knew you could switch to a triple. I have very limited interaction with other cyclists due to my personal schedule. Every time I do find some , I wind up learning a lot from exchanaging info. This forum is kind of like extra credit study.....so thanks to all who've commented.

In club rides, I usually stay with the mid to BOP on long hills, and those are the people with the triples. (the rest of the ride I am BOP hanging on for dear life!)

Well, the season is basically here. I have my first tri next month and I will be able to see if there has been progress, or not. If not, then I quit! (well maybe for a minute ;-)) And when I finish quitting I guess I'll pull out all the stops and look into the triple.

I'm confused - so if I have a double chainring now, I can just switch it out for a triple? what happens to my shifters? I mean on the chainring side, I now just "click" into one of two gear spots. How will I insert a third "click" position? Is this something I can do easily?

this may be a dumb question, but like I say, I'm confused.
Margaret aka -bike dummy

http://www.trainingmo.blogspot.com

Speaking of ascending...anyone else have this problem?
I absolutely cannot stand up in the saddle. And I have been doing this since 1999, and done hily IMs too..LP and Canada.
SHould I bother to try at this point? oh and Im slow, wanting to get better.

Oh, geez..I forgot about that issue.

I can and do stand on my mtb. I am very far away from standing on my road bike. (I don't even own a tri bike).

Can you stand on your tri/road bike when it is on the trainer? I can do that....so I feel like the standing is a confidence thing.

Also, I noticed that when I ride in the mtns on my mtb, the first time I encounter a hill I cannot stand. But once I get to know the hill I gain confidence and can stand. HTH

That's funny, I can't stand either. I wonder if it is a center of gravity thing? I'm honestly frustrated by it. I don't think it makes me any faster getting up a hill but it could be that I struggle with it. It just doesn't "feel" right. I also did LP and Canada and will be doing CdA this year. So far, I suck at climbing and really need to fix it as I hear the CdA course has become quite hilly. I'll be checking it out in May.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

Not a dumb question at all, Margaret.

You would need to replace your double crankset with a triple crankset. If you're talking about a tri bike with bar-end shifters, you would just use the same shift lever in "friction mode" (no clicks, just shift by feel). In the highly unlikely event that you have a road bike with bar end or downtube shift levers, the same applies. If you have a road bike with integrated brake/shift levers (what I'm guessing is most likely), you would very likely need to replace the left brake/shift lever as well.

This isn't an inexpensive option, as you might surmise. But it isn't your only option either. You could install a:

1) Triple crankset (+ new brake/shift lever if on a road bike)
2) Compact crankset (still a double, but can go with smaller rings)
3) MTB dérailleur and cogset (no change to the cranks or shifters required)

4) Combine option #1 or option #2 with option #3 for the ultimate "scale Mt Everest" gearing. I wouldn't go there right away, but some ultra-long distance touring folk do just that. It's a nice option to have in your back pocket.

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<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
Get Fitter!
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I'd be hard pressed to think of a race where I didn't want to quit at some point. It becomes part of the game. From the sounds of it, you have a great mindset already.

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<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
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Proud member of the Smartasscrew, MONSTER CLUB
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kbee/WeRide/jenhs - try this progression:

On a slight downhill, get some speed (not too much, but enough such that you could coast for a while if you wanted to) and put your hands on the hoods (the top part of your brake lever, forward of the tops but not in the drops). This is by far the most stable position and generally the most comfortable. See http://www.sheldonbrown.com/deakins/handlebars.html for pictures.

Just coast along with your hands on the hoods if you aren't used to riding with this hand position.

Level your pedals (3 o clock and 9 o clock)

Start to stand up just to the point where you feel less pressure on your saddle. Keep your hands and arms relaxed - don't death grip or stiffen up. Hold there for a second or two, and then sit back down.

Keep doing that, increasing the amount you stand (height) and the duration as you feel comfortable.

Experiment with standing while your pedals are in the 12 o clock/6 o clock position (all your weight will be on the "down" pedal)

Pretty soon you'll be able to coast for long periods of time standing. Most cyclists do this regularly as a way to stretch out their legs and back. Play with your weight balance while standing. Move your weight far back, far forward, and to both sides. Lean your bike to one side while tilting your body in the other direction (this is easiest if you lean away from the down pedal)

Once you're comfortable doing the above, start to pedal (make sure you're in a high enough gear such that you will have some resistance)

Try pedaling standing on the flats, and then on a gradual incline.

Pretty soon it will become second nature.

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<If you're gonna be dumb, you gotta be tough>
Get Fitter!
Proud member of the Smartasscrew, MONSTER CLUB
Get your FIX today?

Ladies, listen to Khai. You REALLY need to learn how to stand up and pedal. Powering up a hill, sprinting away from a dog, it's definitely a skill to learn.

If there are any cycling clubs or shops who give a skills workshop, it's a really good idea to take one.

clm

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clm
Nashville, TN
https://twitter.com/ironclm | http://ironclm.typepad.com

I used to have that problem, and it bothered me because it didn't make sense to me. It's a basic skill and I've been riding a bike my whole life -and I'm sure I stood when I rode my bike when I was younger. So I decided it was a confidence thing, and practiced. Started out small, for short periods, on flat stretches with no one and nothing around. And once I realized that it was in fact the lack of confidence that stopped me from doing it in the first place, I had no more problems with it. Just start practicing, and you'll realize how easy it is - really!

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http://thethighmasterroutetokona.blogspot.com

Those are great tips. You can also practice this in the grass, softer landing.