I am fairly tall (6’1") and have always been really skinny (155lbs). That has made me a decent runner and pretty weak on the bike (some of the other posts have commented that skinny guys have trouble generating power on the bike). I assumed that meant that to do well in my age group I should pick races with tougher runs and easier bikes. But now I have been reading some cycling books and they say that the skinnier guys do better in the hills. For my relative advantage, does it make more sense for me to spend the season working on hill power and enter races with lots of hills instead of my previous plan?
The hills are about power to weight ratios. A 250 lb rider is not usually twice as strong as a 125 lb rider, hence most of the better climbers tend not to be big riders.
I am in the same boat. I am a fish and can run, but no power on the bike. I have alot of trouble keeping my avg above 21 mph for any length of time. Anyone have a sugestion on what type of training will get a 25 mph avg.
I am planning to put in long hours this winter on the trainer and weight room to get more leg strength but I will have to see if it will help, I have alway had problems gaining weight.
and then go for hilly courses or flat ones?
<< Anyone have a sugestion on what type of training will get a 25 mph avg. >>
Ask Frigo’s wife. 
21 mph to 25 mph is a quantum leap in performance. Without going to analyticcycling to see for sure, you’d hafta massively increase your average wattage to achieve that increase in speed. You don’t necessarily need to gain weight to gain power - in fact, you really need to increase your power to weight ratio, so gaining weight would negatively impact that equation (unless you really increased yer power by doing so)
One of the best climbers I’ve ever ridden with was a tallish, skinny dude. But - he obviously also had some good leg power to go with being skinny.
I would think that a flat bike course would be best for somebody who doesn’t have good leg power, since hills only expose that weakness further. And if yer skinny, then you might be a tad more aero too.