Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - I love hills!

It's the burning in my legs and lungs that I hate! :-P


No, but seriously. I love hill climbs. There is something amazing about the sense of accomplishment that comes with making your way to the top of this hill, that hill, etc. . .

Anyone else right there with me?

I have a love/hate relationship with hills. I hate climbing them, but love the feeling at the top, and especially love the ride down at high speed. :D

I hate them so much I can't even enjoy the ride back down >:|

All I think at the top is "Oh god where is the next hill?!"

I love climbing them and I love cresting them. I don't like steep, technical, or windy descents though. It's rollers that I can't stand. Yuck.

hills have a defined top that u can see... wind gusts dont. so i hate them more

Yes, there is a big hill on the way to work and it feels fantastic when i finally get over and start pedalling easier. Still don't look forward to doig it though;)

I keep trying to have a positive attitude when I see a hill in front of me, looking at it as an opportunity for an unplanned interval training, a test of my resolve, even an opportunity to demonstrate my improved fitness from my last ride. But without fail, about the time things start to burn and hurt, I just wish it was over. Now down the other side, however, is a completely different story!

The hills are where you gain a lot of fitness.

The lighter I get the less hills have an impact. I really don't even pay attention now unless they are big and then they are so much easier than they used to be that they don't bother me too much.

Yes, there is a big hill on the way to work and it feels fantastic when i finally get over and start pedalling easier. Still don't look forward to doing it though;)

Ditto that!

The hills are where you gain a lot of fitness.

+1 on that. mentally too:)

Hills are fine when I'm riding solo, since I can go at my own pace. Hills, even small ones, on group rides can be somewhat embarrassing for me, because I tend to get dropped on every climb.

That said, hills will help me lose the weight I need to get better at climbing them. So we have a somewhat symbiotic relationship. :)

Mostly hate the ones with stop sign (or light) and the bottom (either side). This seems to include most of the hills in my area.

If I hated hills I would never ride. Where I live is nestled right in a huge batch of rolling hills.

What is this "flat" riding I hear some of you people speak of?

I had that epiphany last week on my first long ride of the year. I was climbing this long hill and just as I was cresting it I could see the hill I was on and the road rolling out in front on me. I could believe the feeling.

Like bautieri, I am surrounded by them. I live at the top of one. When I first started riding again last year I bought a Specialized comfort bike aka 'tank'. I was humbled very quickly. I hated them but there was no avoiding them. With a little lighter bike and better gearing AND practice, I learned not to hate them so much. The ones I couldn't climb before, like the ones home, I finally could without getting off and walking the rest of the way.

Me? Ya, I still hate 'em.......

Wait til you go to climb a hill with a 30 pound touring bike, pulling a trailer loaded with everything you need for a wilderness tour and the rider/bike/trailer/load combo is 430 pounds ;) (I'm talking where you have to pack drinking water for a few days with you as well as food, etc)

It feels so good getting to the top! :)

Wait til you go to climb a hill with a 30 pound touring bike, pulling a trailer loaded with everything you need for a wilderness tour and the rider/bike/trailer/load combo is 430 pounds ;) (I'm talking where you have to pack drinking water for a few days with you as well as food, etc)

It feels so good getting to the top! :)

Been there, done that! (minus the trailer, but using 4 loaded panniers). IMHO it felt better to get to the campground for the night, setup camp, kick back with a cold one (bought at the nearest grocery store before camp), and enjoy the sunset. :D

The only hill I've really disliked this year was the one at mile 98 of the Daffodil Classic this past Sunday. Geez Louise, did that hill ever suck... Steep, winding, and rough pavement/chipseal, all after 98 miles of hills and already riding over lots of chipseal.

I turn the hills into a game. I'll see if I can maintain 10mph, or 14, or whatever speed (depending on how steep the hill is, it could be 8) while goign up the hill. There's one hill on my commute where I can't maintain more than 5 or 6mph. It's steep but short.

I turn the hills into a game. I'll see if I can maintain 10mph, or 14, or whatever speed (depending on how steep the hill is, it could be 8) while goign up the hill. There's one hill on my commute where I can't maintain more than 5 or 6mph. It's steep but short.

I thought most of your hills you took at three or two MPH - depending on how hard it is to push the bike. :D

Mountains are ok. As long as the climb does not exceed about 8-10 miles. Those who talk of 20 mile climbs. I've never completed one. Wonder if I could. Guess, I've always avoided cycling like Colorado, so far. For a plus ten percent grade for 10 miles. Like to know if I could. Can always turn around , I guess. But, its a great feeling when its over. The only thing about mtns. I have a slight elevation phobia. I'd rather climb than descend.

Mountains are ok. As long as the climb does not exceed about 8-10 miles. Those who talk of 20 mile climbs. I've never completed one. Wonder if I could. Guess, I've always avoided cycling like Colorado, so far. For a plus ten percent grade for 10 miles. Like to know if I could. Can always turn around , I guess. But, its a great feeling when its over. The only thing about mtns. I have a slight elevation phobia. I'd rather climb than descend.

If you want to really test your climbing ability, come do the Mt. Baker Hill Climb in Washington.
http://www.norkarecreation.com/hcmap&profile.htm
24.5 miles, 4300+ gain, progressively steeper as you get to the top.

I am right there with you T-Murph.

Since I converted from all MTB to mostly Road, I love how much easier the climbs are on light bikes.

Living in the monutains of CO, I guess I better love them (not unlike you).

I did a 500 mile charity ride last summer Lincoln, NE to Denver - (many rolling hills), I learned to really dislike wind. I would climb Vail Pass 4 times before riding an hour with a 30 mph cross wind.

If I hated hills I would never ride. Where I live is nestled right in a huge batch of rolling hills.

What is this "flat" riding I hear some of you people speak of?

+1

This seems to be the nature of PA...

Where I am, what everyone considers a flat ride is one that follows the river. This is a ride that I would have always considered rolling hills before... but I have definitely discovered that flat is a relative term.

I am planning to start commuting 8 miles each way... along the Susquehanna, a very gently flowing river for those that don't know it... so no rapids or anything. In fact, I was here for a year before I realized that the river flows the opposite direction from what I originally thought. :o

However, unless I ride on the levees, there is not a contiguous half mile flat portion for the whole commute.

From the river to my home is very flat (I can see the river when it gets high enough, and I can't when it is at normal levels due to the woods) but my property has four diffeent three foot retaining walls from the river side to the high side.

I used to hate them. Now I seek out harder and harder climbs. The nice thing is that I really don't worry about them much any more. I know I can handle most anything in my area. It's just a matter of how hard I want to push myself up them...

I'm sure my perspective would change if I ever hit any mountains...

:D

If I hated hills I would never ride. Where I live is nestled right in a huge batch of rolling hills.

What is this "flat" riding I hear some of you people speak of?

Columbus Ohio for one...can't find a hill here for love or money.

Drive just a bit south. My home town Athens is loaded with them.

If you want to really test your climbing ability, come do the Mt. Baker Hill Climb in Washington.
http://www.norkarecreation.com/hcmap&profile.htm
24.5 miles, 4300+ gain, progressively steeper as you get to the top.

a 5.7 % grade I can take. Its those 7% plus grades that kill me. what 9 miles tho. I can hack it as long as there are breaks with a couple hundred feet of comparatevely flat terrain once in awhile. We all sometimes are curious about our limits. Most relief I have ever taken on is a 5000 feet climb .

If you want to really test your climbing ability, come do the Mt. Baker Hill Climb in Washington.
http://www.norkarecreation.com/hcmap&profile.htm
24.5 miles, 4300+ gain, progressively steeper as you get to the top.

Reminds me of the GMR climb in our neck of the woods (or at least the final climb).

On topic, I like to climb, too. Not if it's the 3 Ts: too long, too steep, or too fast (when with others). GMR's very nice. Not too steep. But it is about 8-1/2 to 9 miles long. And usually not too many cars.

I tend to make a game out them as well. I watch my speed going up and try to improve on it each time, then I try to see how fast I can go while going down.

As my Drill Sergeants used to say, "They build Character in you."

I personally would rather turn back down a hill then to walk up one. This way I can keep the hill as a goal for me. In fact this evening, I completed a goal--I crested a hill that I had previous never made it up this season. It gives me a greater satisfaction knowing that I completed a goal, plus I like to torture myself and don't want myself to reap the benefits of the down hill without suffering up it.

Usually when I ride I go down a long road and turn around and ride back, so I now have a saying, "What goes down now, must always go up."



I turn the hills into a game. I'll see if I can maintain 10mph, or 14, or whatever speed (depending on how steep the hill is, it could be 8) while goign up the hill. There's one hill on my commute where I can't maintain more than 5 or 6mph. It's steep but short.

Drive just a bit south. My home town Athens is loaded with them.

Actually, I lived in Vail CO for a while and in State College PA for 11 yrs. after that. I know hills....and Mountains.

BTW - Athens is a nice area..

The only hill I've really disliked this year was the one at mile 98 of the Daffodil Classic this past Sunday. Geez Louise, did that hill ever suck... Steep, winding, and rough pavement/chipseal, all after 98 miles of hills and already riding over lots of chipseal.

It was like a bad joke, but with more cussing than laughing.

I've noticed that my attitude towards hills depends largely on the purpose of my ride:

If I'm doing a recovery ride, I hate hills because they elevate my heart rate.
If I'm training for speed, I hate hills because they slow me down.
If I'm training for distance, I hate hills because they tire me, and reduce overall distance.
If I'm training for hill climbing, I love hills because they're a challenge, an obstacle to overcome.
If I'm just riding for fun, then hills can be fun too.

That said, the hill that CliftonGK1 mentioned on the Daffodil Classic was killer. Here's the 40 mile ride profile:

http://www.twbc.org/events/daffodil/2008ElevProfileBuckley40.pdf

The 175-ish foot blip near the 35 mile point is the hill of death. It doesn't look so bad, but we had already completed this:

http://www.twbc.org/events/daffodil/2008ElevProfileEatonville61.pdf

We ended up with about 5500 feet of elevation gain that day, by far the most I've ever done in a single day.

Forty years ago when I started racing, I used to train riding around and over the hills of Palos Verdes and up Topanga Canyon in California. I remember getting into a zone going up those long, long hills where my pedal cadence was constant and breathing hard but rhythmic, just slightly below maximum effort. The hills would melt away. I'm afraid I'm having trouble finding that at this point - maybe the hills aren't long enough, but it seems like I always too fast or too slow. But I'm just back to riding after a number of years off, and hope maybe those old rhythms will come back! Then I'll love the hills again.