Hills killing me

Raam

Now I can just about keep up with Fast Roger, when he lets me.
It was a sink or swim situation when I first started, and boy did I struggle!

TinyExplosions

Raam wrote: »

Now I can just about keep up with Fast Roger, when he lets me.
It was a sink or swim situation when I first started, and boy did I struggle!

I know the feeling of being let keep up with people... I'm grand when it's flat, it's just the hills that kill me, but I'm getting better

cantalach

I agree with blorg that keeping the heart rate under control is the key. Once you exceed your lactate threshold (LT), your goose will eventually be cooked because the accumulations of lactic acid will slow you down. How soon it bites depends on how far into the red you've gone, i.e. the shorter the hill the more you can get away with without blowing up. The LT for most fit people lies somewhere between 80-90%. I know where mine is from trial and error (probably a bit unscientific) and so long as I hold it at or below this I can climb for a long time, while still having something in reserve for the final kick to the line at the top. This has unfortunately made me a bit of a slave to my HR monitor, although I forgot to bring the strap to the Wicklow 200 and got on just fine without it.

P.S. I missed the entire second page of posts, some of which are making the points I'm making above!

lukester

I think the first time I did this climb I got to the stage where I was just barely moving forwards, totally out of breath, heart pounding, thought I was going to die.

Second time, was still crawling up the last bit, nearly dead. The last few times I've managed to maintain a decent cadence and can feel I have a little bit in reserve, but that's on the wuss ring

I take the point to ride your own ride- to be honest I'm not that worried about catching my mate, we have a bit of good natured competitiveness going on, and I can burn him on the straights .

I'm about a stone above my ideal weight, all belly area, it's gradually dropping away, so that will help no doubt. Ultimately I just enjoy it and am curious how other folks go about improving. I'm happy to just progress gradually, painfully.

For my next spin I'm masochistically considering the hill Frank mentions, from Stocking Lane up past the Hell Fire Club, to the viewpoint at Cruagh (and ultimately on to Kiltiernan). I've freewheeled down that a few times, and it's long...I'll probably regret it. It's bizarre, when I'm actually climbing I ask myself why the fluck am I doing this, but then afterwards I'm dying to do it again. Sick really.

niceonetom

lukester, how that cube treating you?

good advice here, so i'll throw my 2c into the pile.

rhythm. it's all about rhythm for me. breathing and pedalling coordinated to make a good little dance of it (i tend to resort to mentally singing metallica to myself when really on the rivet - it helps). second thing is breath as deeply and as slowly as you can, don't pant. it's just as important to get the CO2 out as it is to get the O2 in, so i find that a forceful puff on the exhale and a slow deep inhale get the best transfer. breath into your belly. relax your arms and shoulders as much as you can without falling off the bike... i don't stand much when climbing, but i do find that sitting as far forward on the saddle as possible gives a better power stroke. pull up at the back, keep the chain tight.

lastly, enjoy those endorphins, there basically free drugs (the best kind). our minds cannot accurately remember pain, but we do remember the endorphins that our bodies use to mask it. if this were not true no woman would ever have a second child.

it never gets any easier though, you just suffer at a higher speed.

Raam

niceonetom wrote: »

i do find that sitting as far forward on the saddle as possible gives a better power stroke.

I've read that it's better to sit back further back in the saddle to allow for better leg extension when climbing.
I guess it's a personal thing.

FrankGrimes

lukester wrote: »

For my next spin I'm masochistically considering the hill Frank mentions, from Stocking Lane up past the Hell Fire Club, to the viewpoint at Cruagh (and ultimately on to Kiltiernan).

I'm not familiar with the Stocking Lane route (might drive it to check it out), but the route I do starts from Firhouse and would probably meet you at the T-junction (where I turn right) up beyond Orlagh monastery. There's I dunno, maybe 700metres between Orlagh and that t-junction and it's a relentless fairly steep climb - great test.

lukester

niceonetom wrote: »

lukester, how that cube treating you?

Great, I really like it. It's my first road bike really, well, since I was about 12, so I've nothing to compare it to other than my crappy day commuter. I took a spin on my friend's road bike, a Claud Butler carbon jobbie, can't remember the model, it has Tiagra groupset, and I was delighted to get back on my yoke. The shifting felt way smoother and crisper, and the overall feel of the Cube was preferable for me, couldn't put my finger on it, just felt sharper all round. The carbon probably helps on the climbing though. How do you like yours?

niceonetom wrote: »

it's just as important to get the CO2 out as it is to get the O2 in, so i find that a forceful puff on the exhale and a slow deep inhale get the best transfer. breath into your belly.

I tried slowing my breathing down and breathing deeply, the bit of yoga I've done definitely helped there, but never thought of the need to expel CO2 forcefully, will try that.

FrankGrimes wrote: »

I'm not familiar with the Stocking Lane route (might drive it to check it out), but the route I do starts from Firhouse and would probably meet you at the T-junction (where I turn right) up beyond Orlagh monastery. There's I dunno, maybe 700metres between Orlagh and that t-junction and it's a relentless fairly steep climb - great test.

Yeah, Stocking Lane comes up from Rathfarnham and would pass that T junction down to Firhouse. Don't know the hill you mean, sounds worth a go

72hundred

niceonetom wrote: »

it never gets any easier though, you just suffer at a higher speed.

brilliant observation!!!

Wez

niceonetom wrote: »

pull up at the back, keep the chain tight.

lastly, enjoy those endorphins, there basically free drugs (the best kind).

it never gets any easier though, you just suffer at a higher speed.

Some real good points there.. I find that full circle pedalling really helps me when it comes to hills/wind/weight putting a dampner on my pace. It's a good trait I've picked up from riding my fixie (which is sick atm, chain snagged + tore apart coulda been well dodge!). I find this much more efficient for getting the power to keep my pace up a hill or into the wind, which I see as pretty much the same problem.

I also find that instead of swinging the bike side to side pulling back and forth in a straight line on the bars gives me a much better boost, but just in a straight line (where I wanna go) and coupling this with the f.c. pedaling I find it much easier to get through the harder parts of cycling.

Some real good tips in this thread, good reading!

cantalach

niceonetom wrote: »

it never gets any easier though, you just suffer at a higher speed.

That was what Marco Pantani said when asked why he rode up mountains so quickly - to make the pain end sooner!

Btw, this is my first time posting via the m.boards.ie site for mobiles. Works very well! I'm installed in a locals sort of pub in Kenmare having a quiet night cap before the RoK in the morning.