How do "big guys" climb

[nun]

I'm about 210lbs and 5'10" so not TdF material. I ride a hundred miles a week, but it's those hills
that just kill me. I did a century last year with 2500' and it kicked my butt. It was a big reality check for me as most folks consider that to be a flat century. I imagine the only way to get better is to ride more hills and loose some weight, but some stories of "big guys" who started out hating hills, but got to love them, would be encouraging.

[Tom Stormcrowe]

Well, it never gets any easier, but you do go up them faster as tie goes on ;)

[alanfleisig]

I'm 6'4" and 210.

Ride as many hills as you can bear.

Just as important, find your best sustainable cadence/gearing for the hills.

Since it's the thing to do these days, I tried for a long time to "Lance Armstrong" my way up the longer hills, trying to keep my cadence between 90 and 100. This was okay for short climbs, but longer climbs were still killing me.

It wasn't working because, in the end, what us big guys have going for us is strength. I lowered my "climbing cadence" to 80, and suddenly I was able to maintain this on those 2-mile climbs, and still have something left in the tank for when the grade kicked up into the "brutal" range (which I consider anything above 12 or 15%). This may never make me the fastest guy over the hills, but it gets me there.

Never, ever think about how slow you're going or how far it is to the top.

[deanp]

In my area most climbs start with a descent, so I try and carry as much speed from the descent into the climb for as long as possible. Then it is sit and spin time for me. As the top of the climb approaches I might be able to get out of the saddle and pick up the pace a little. If there is no descent I spin most of the way up, if possible I save a little for the last push over the top. Spinning for me is 85-95 rpm range.

[nun]

I'm 6'4" and 210.

Ride as many hills as you can bear.

Just as important, find your best sustainable cadence/gearing for the hills.

Since it's the thing to do these days, I tried for a long time to "Lance Armstrong" my way up the longer hills, trying to keep my cadence between 90 and 100. This was okay for short climbs, but longer climbs were still killing me.

It wasn't working because, in the end, what us big guys have going for us is strength. I lowered my "climbing cadence" to 80, and suddenly I was able to maintain this on those 2-mile climbs, and still have something left in the tank for when the grade kicked up into the "brutal" range (which I consider anything above 12 or 15%). This may never make me the fastest guy over the hills, but it gets me there.

Never, ever think about how slow you're going or how far it is to the top.

6'4" 210lbs is way better of a physique for cycling than my rotundness...;) I do try to spin up hills and to that end I have a 26x34 lowest gear so I'll spin at 80 rpm and be doing 5mph. For me my cadence goes down to zero, ie I'm walking, at anything approaching 10%. I have lost some weight since last season and I'm doing all the hills I can stand, I do circuits of a 1.2mile 6% hill close to my house and that's getting a bit easier.

[piper_chuck]

Proper gearing for the conditions can make a world of difference. I live in a fairly hilly area so I have my bike geared so I can maintain a cadence of 80 down to a pretty low speed.

[Askel]

I dropped about 20 lbs over the winter (now down to 200ish). Once I started climbing hills again, it felt like I was floating up them. :D

Lately though, I've come to the conclusion that even if I do manage to drop a few more pounds, I'll forever remain the big guy in a bunch of little guy sports, so I've been trying to adapt my technique to suit my weight and strength advantage.

One thing that's never worked for me- high cadence. It might work better if I could get my cardio system to keep up with my legs, but it just doesn't work for me right now.

These days, I pick a gear one or two above what I might spin with and just mash the ever living hell out of those pedals. :D

I try and make a point of letting gravity do the work on the downstroke rather than pushing as much.

During my cross country ski season I learned a lot about throwing my upper body weight around to get more glide out of my skis. I'm trying to apply that to my mashing technique so I don't waste too much energy when really mashing away.

[Pinyon]

I agree with finding what works for you. I'm slow on hills, but got a lot better over the last couple of seasons by knowing what strategy works best for me. I'm a steady-endurance type, and try to keep my heart rate around 147-152 bpm the entire time. Significant and sustained changes in my heart rate, up or down, make it very difficult for me to hit my stride again afterward. On climbs that take more than 40 minutes, I tend to move around on the bike a lot so that I don't wear out one muscle group too much. I try to maintain the same heart rate, but alternate between sitting way back on the saddle with my hands in the drops or on the hoods, standing forward on the bike and pulling up HARD on the up-stroke, sitting on the front of the saddle with my hands on the top bar, standing with my butt hovering over the saddle and engaging more hamstrings (more of a standing "spin"). I spend most of my time sitting, with 2-3 minute standing "rests". It works for me.

Play with hills alone, and figure out what works best for you. You won't know if you are a steady-state, slow acceleration/increased-effort, or big acceleration with rest periods type of rider until you try them all out.

[Mr. Beanz]

I'm not so sure weight is the main issue here. I started riding mtns at 260. One bud said I could never beat him as he had the marathon body at 145 (5'8). That's one you don't do is tell me I can't!:D

I've always been active and athletic so I started riding hills 3 times a week knowing I could get in shape. I ate sensibly, rode hard and before I knew it, I was 220 lbs. I still outweighed him by 80 pounds, but I drilled him to the ground on the next mtn ride we did together. Needless to say, he won't ride with me anymore!:p

I started doing 40 mile rides with 5,000 ft of climbing, most in the first 21. I did midweek rides which included 2,000ft within 10 miles. It was all getting used to the climbing, getting comfy and finding a groove. I kept traing then did a timed even. A century with 10,000 ft of climbing. I placed at #123 out of 400. The registration said ,"don't register if you aren't a serious climber/rider", but I did!:D

I ended up doing that ride 3 years in a row. I didn't rain much last year but still did a 114 mile ride with 12,000ft of climbing. I used a standard double 39/25. Not as fast but still completed the ride at 235 lbs.

I don't think it's as much about weight as it is training! (I'm 6'1). The more you train, the better you climb! Plus, I know plenty of skinny riders that can't climb cause they don't train!
No fancy lite wheels, no fancy gears! My climbing bike

http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/Canni.jpg
Last year's ride
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/BAProfile.jpg

[JohnKScott]

Keep doing the hills and you will get better. I am about the same height as you and started out riding at 220 lbs (looking at 181 this Saturday for weigh in day). The first ride I took was an out and back with a 3/4 mile hill at 5%. I actually made it up on the out (very slowly and painfully) and ended up walking half of it on the back :D. Now that hill is easy (not even worthy of shifting to the small chain ring on my triple).

Here's what I did.

1. Kept riding. It looks like you are riding quite a lot already. This will continue to build your endurance.

2. Kept attacking that hill until I could get up both sides. Then I found a bigger hill, and then a bigger one...and started stringing them together on one ride. This helped to build strength.

3. Started watching what I was eating. This combined with 1&2 above helped me drop close to 40 lbs so far. It's amazing how much easier it is to drag 180 lbs up a hill rather than 220.

4. After I got a "base" going and the weather turned bad I started to train purposefully on the trainer. I got lucky and won a fairly high tech one so I was able to start training with power (which I will lose as I move outside again this spring). However, you can still structure some interval training. I have one climging TT that I do once each week (usually Monday) where I race my best time. That continues to challenge and increase my threshold power. Then I also do another day of intervals (usually Thursday) where I really try to either tax my aerobic or anaerobic systems and either build power or endurance. I will need to work my way into simulating these workout outside soon.

5. Make it fun and set some goals. I am enjoying the heck out of this as I keep seeing improvement. The goals help me get up at 5 AM when I would feel more comfy cuddling in under the covers. I have just learned about two rides that might be on my radar next year and the year after that I'm sure would hurt me badly right now. One of those is the Brasstown Bald Century. I'm fairly certain I'd be walking up that one right now. But it gives me something to shoot for two years from now with intermediate "climbing goals" between now and then.

I'll end this with...I'm still not the greatest climber. But there aren't many hills in my area that I would be afraid of tackling now. I'm starting to have to travel to find some more challenging terrain. But, with the hills I do have to work with, I can keep getting stronger and faster up them and even repeat them over and over to make myself ready for some real climbing down the line.

[Scummer]

How? Well, i'm 204lbs and 6ft. And last Sunday we had a get together for 50 miles in the Wisconsin hills and it HURT! ALOT! So, to answer your question, big guys ride the hills with tons of pain and HR > 180 :D

[grueling]

Um - a TRIPLE

[CliftonGK1]

2500' is just a bit more than I do on my daily 30 mile commute. I started off with a commute that was almost dead flat, then we moved to the top of Redmond Ridge; a 2.25 mile long, 650' climb on the easiest route to the top. At first, this was enough of a hill for me to tackle.
Then I changed my route and threw another little hill in the middle of things. And another a few weeks later... and another...

Now, almost 5 months later, I've gone from under 800' total climbing to over 2200' of climbing daily. I'm still a big Sasquatch monster at 6'6" and 235-240 pounds, and that's not really changing. My climbing strategy is simple: low gears and high cadence. I have a 34t inner ring on my compact crank, and an 11-32t cassette on back. To teach myself a smooth pedal stroke at 90+ rpm, I do a few cadence drills.
- I take my fixed gear out on the bike path (dead flat) or the 2 mile (mostly flat) loop in my neighbourhood and do sprints. It's easy to top out the low gear ratio I have on there, but you can't stop pedalling because it's a fixed gear. You're forced to learn how to smooth out your pedal stroke.
- Find a clear, level, short (1/4 mile or less) straightaway. Pop your bike into the lowest gear you've got. Now: SPRINT! Yep, pedal like a maniac until you're going a whopping 5 mph! Low resistance forces you to smooth out your pedal stroke or you bounce on the seat like it was made of Flubber. Do a few reps of 200 yards at a time.
The cadence drills have really helped me even out my pedal stroke and quit mashing on the hills.

[superslomo]

This big guy (6'3", 215) climbs slowly.

With a triple.

[coasting]

Well, it never gets any easier, but you do go up them faster as tie goes on ;)

I second that. I thought losing some weight would make it less painful but it is still just as painful. The only difference I noticed was I don't have to get off and walk and I can take on all the hills near me, but oh the pain and suffering!

[Pinyon]

I'm 5' 11" and about 220 right now. I like hills, even though I'm slow on them. I like getting into that zone, where I'm paying attention to nothing else but what I'm doing, so that I won't bonk or puke at the top of a 2-3 hour climb. This sounds nuts, but I really like it. I also LOVE going over 50 mph, and averaging over 40 mph all the way down the other side of the mountain pass. Love it. Whooooshhhhh.

[UniversalFrost]

do a lot of leg squats and hike a lot of steep hills, then when you get on a bike you will have the power to climb without even getting out of the seat.

I have bad knees and thank god i did this before injuring my legs so now I can not get out of the seat to stand on the pedals even if I wanted to. just make sure you have the gearing right so that you can climb without getting out of the seat.

JOE

[mcmatthews]

How do "big guys" climb?
The same way you get to Carnegie Hall practice, practice, practice and then practice some more.

It sucks at first but nothing beats the feeling when you suddenly discover you're actually accelerating up that hill that was kicking your butt a few months ago.

[Toddorado]

One suggestion that I use is when climbing, focus on your breathing once you've found the right gear, and don't hunch over! I figured out when I was hunching, I needed to gear down some. Focus on keeping your back straight, expanding your torso so your lungs can draw in more air. This, together with focusing on breathing has helped at least this 6'1" 205 Clyde.

One more thing - I recall the 4% grade I must climb for 2 miles at the tail end of my commute home. I ride a fairly heavy roadied-out MTB, and this guy on a fancy Prince passed me like I was standing still 3 out of 5 days a week. Remembering the above, I geared up one more than I should and tried to keep pace, failing each time for the first two months. Then one day, it just clicked, and while I wasn't catching this guy, I'd keep pace about 100 yards back. Eventually I caught him, but it took me 6 months.

He congratulated me when I finally got up there :-)

Breathing, posture, and ride hills more than you should.

[rickyaustin]

I'm 6'5" 280lbs - and hills suck.

The more you do them, the less they suck - but they still suck.

A few things I've learned that make a TON of difference:
Clipless pedals & shoes: You can pedal 360 degrees. Push down on the down, pull up on the up. When your quads die, your hamstrings can rescue you.
Proper pedal technique: Part of the above (360 degree pedaling) plus a proper cadence. Spinning up the hills is the way to go. 90 rpm might not happen on a hill, but keep it as high as you can. If you can get your lungs to go before your legs do, you'll help yourself and your conditioning.
Practice: It's been said a hundred times, because it's true. The more you do hills, the better you will get at them. Seek them out. Destroy them.

[cooleric1234]

How do "big guys" climb?

Poorly

[Aquajag]

do a lot of leg squats and hike a lot of steep hills, then when you get on a bike you will have the power to climb without even getting out of the seat.

I have bad knees and thank god i did this before injuring my legs so now I can not get out of the seat to stand on the pedals even if I wanted to. just make sure you have the gearing right so that you can climb without getting out of the seat.

JOE

Pretty much I do my climb on my homeward commute this way. While I haven't taken the time to look up the elevation gains, it's fairly steep and is all uphill for about 1.5 miles. No knee problems for me yet (was in baseball, track, swimming, and water polo as a kid), but I figure maybe eventually from abusing them as a kid. But after all my competitive sports plus the thousands of miles of backpacking I did with the Boy Scouts, my legs are pretty big. I find that now that I'm back into shape for cycling, I don't need to even think about standing on the pedals going uphill. Not mashing the pedals, just find my legs can do the work with me sitting and taking a steady pace up the hill. Makes me feel like I'm floating through the light hills for the last mile after that.

[nun]

I'm 5' 11" and about 220 right now. I like hills, even though I'm slow on them. I like getting into that zone, where I'm paying attention to nothing else but what I'm doing, so that I won't bonk or puke at the top of a 2-3 hour climb. This sounds nuts, but I really like it. I also LOVE going over 50 mph, and averaging over 40 mph all the way down the other side of the mountain pass. Love it. Whooooshhhhh.

I think my agony on the century with 2500' of climbing was brought about by speed. I did the ride in 7h10m, which is fast for me. There were a couple of short 10% climbs and a 1 mile 6% grade right at the end and that just did me in. With my granny gear, 26x34, I can crank up stuff at 4mph when I'm fresh, but to get faster I think it's just general conditioning and stronger legs that I need.

I did my 1.2 mile 6% hill 3 times last night (about 1100' of climbing) and I concentrated of some of the advice posted. My comfort zone is still at 4mph doing 60 to 70 rpm. I can do the climb without much lactic acid accumulation and not too much heavy breathing, but if I spun much faster or cranked a bigger gear I know I'd max out quite quickly.

[CliftonGK1]

Poorly

Wrong.

I may not climb quickly like some of my lighter friends on CF racing rigs, but I climb well. I'll ride hills all day long and keep a high cadence while doing it.

7 Hills of Kirkland century is coming up on Memorial Day: 100+ miles, 7000+ elevation gain. :D

[bribas]

well, I'm 5'10 or so and 270. hills are a love hate thing for me. The biggest challenge is mental. for example, the last two months I have been fighting pneumonia, and it's finally going away, so I got a few chances for rides. On the way back from a flat stretch, I had two options - a slow steady hill, or a fairly steep one. I thought about circumventing the route home, finding a flatter way, since my lungs were burning, but opted for the slow hill. And I kept picturing where I was going to have to stop and all. But I never did stop. Maybe it's because I've been going to the gym this year, and the legs are built up a bit, but the hils was no problem. The next time, I opted for the steep hill. Again, I kept waiting to get really winded, and have to walk, but that never happened. Even with junk lungs, the hill was no problem.

As far as strategies, I use a few. I pick shift points, that is, keep in one gear until I get to say, a mailbox, and then drop a gear. I count in fours while pedaling, over and over. I pedal like I am scraping my shoes off on a doorstep. All these seem to help me. The more I distract the mind from thinking I can't do it, the more I realize I can do it. Thus hills become more fun than flats, because it's a challenge, a test. I may hate taking the test, but I feel better after, if that makes any sense.

[chipcom]

A climb is just something you gotta do to get to where you are going. ;)

[coasting]

Climbs are there to stop cyclists from smiling on a bike. Joy whilst cycling is obviously frowned upon. Sometimes I sing to myself when I'm not breathless and a passing cyclist would give me a filthy look!

[funrover]

What I do that helps me out:

On my commute I set goals on hills, I find a landmark or similar up a hill and I keep my MPH up till that point. Little by little it is getting easier.

I also ride twice a week with a bike group, I try to keep up with the leaders while going uphill, it has really helped me.

I am 5'7" and 275lbs

[kjurt]

Im 6'2" ~225lbs and absolutly love climbing...its all about the lost art of suffering. In fact I just finished building up my 1972 Raleigh International with a modern triple and NOS Campy downtube shifters...it weights a ton compared to new bicycles, and climbs like a diesel truck fully loaded...but boy is it comfortable and watch out on the descents...this this flies like no other down hill...nice long wheelbase, heavy wheel set with those Campy high flange hubs. Ok, enough geeking out on gear, but I just did the Cherry Century Ride in The Dalles, Oregon and it had just under 8000ft of climbing...and you did most of it towards the end...whew. I think my group was last to finish. Learn to let the hills come to you and find your own rhythm and you will learn to love climbing too :) Looking forward to Tour De Blast Mt St Helens...check it out...fabulous views and riding in an active volcanoe!

[grueling]

I'm 5' 11" and about 220 right now. I like hills, even though I'm slow on them. I like getting into that zone, where I'm paying attention to nothing else but what I'm doing, so that I won't bonk or puke at the top of a 2-3 hour climb. This sounds nuts, but I really like it. I also LOVE going over 50 mph, and averaging over 40 mph all the way down the other side of the mountain pass. Love it. Whooooshhhhh.

+1

I love climbing anything even at 240. Some of my favorite rides are the awesome CO mountain passes which go on several hours at a time. I am stubborn enough to get off and walk if necessary, but I haven't turned around yet (well there was the Leadville 100, but I am trying to forget that (almost) climb - twice)

The downhill is always worth it :D

[Mr. Beanz]

Do it again,and again, and again, and again.........

2,000ft of climbing
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/DSC04597.jpg
12,000 ft
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/BreathlessAgony.jpg
5,000
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/FredGMR.jpg
10,000
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/ba6.jpg
2,000
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/C3.jpg
2,000
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/C.jpg
5,000 ft Taking pics of my suffereing friend!
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/SA%20River%20Trail%20Ride/DSC04412.jpg
AND AGAIN!
5,000 ft
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/FredGMR-1.jpg

5,000 ft with some aded company! The guy in the middle is the real guy!
http://i98.photobucket.com/albums/l267/gulpxtreme/GMRTeamBeanz.jpg

[moggyman]

lots of training....gearing to suit conditions and your riding style....and remember....hills are personal!!!!!

I'm 215 and cant belt heaps of blokes under my weight range....and if your with a mountain goat who rides you off their wheel....look down and do whatever you have to, to get up the hill in your own way....sometimes you will recover and make up time.....and use your big butt to catch up on the descent

[WonderMonkey]

6'4" 210lbs is way better of a physique for cycling than my rotundness...;) I do try to spin up hills and to that end I have a 26x34 lowest gear so I'll spin at 80 rpm and be doing 5mph. For me my cadence goes down to zero, ie I'm walking, at anything approaching 10%. I have lost some weight since last season and I'm doing all the hills I can stand, I do circuits of a 1.2mile 6% hill close to my house and that's getting a bit easier.

Refuse to walk. If you have to stop, do so but then get back on the bike and continue riding after your brief break. DO NOT WALK UP THAT HILL! Then next time ride just a bit past where you stopped last time, even if it is just a stroke or two. If you pick out a spot on the climb that you KNOW you are NOT allowed to stop, then your mind will allow you to get to it.

So to recap, lets go over the rules:

Rule #1 - No walking.

[Scummer]

This big guy (6'3", 215) climbs slowly.

With a triple.

Forgot to add that little tidbit to my post as well. Slow it is and I was in the granny gear as well:
http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/5577668

:D

[Jay68442]

I'm 5' 8" and 217 lbs. I climb slowly with a triple. Almost everything I ride has climbing so I really don’t know any different. It has gotten easier but I have a long way to go. Tonight I went for a 15 mile ride with 900 ft of climbing. In one spot the gps showed a 10% grade. That may not be much for some riders but my HR spiked to 183 bpm when I reached the top. Only a few weeks ago I wouldn’t even go near a hill like that. I like the challenge and have repeated that same 15 mile ride 5 times in the past two weeks. It’s not uncommon for me to hit a 1000+ feet in a 15 mile ride. I have lots of hill nearby. One thing I will say about climbing is that I love the down hills. :)

[JosephPaul86]

Consider yourself lucky. Only hill within 10 miles of my house is an over-pass. It sucks. I used to live in Littleton Colorado and wish I could have some of those hills now.

[tpelle]

I'm 6' - 2" and about 255 lbs. Living in Kentucky, no matter which way I go when I leave my house there's either a hill to climb when I leave or (even worse) a hill to climb when I come back.

Saturday I took my first ride in about 3 weeks (off due to being sick then a two-week out of town trip) and did about 22 miles. On the way home I had my choice of two routes - one way consisted of a long gradual uphill grade with one really steep spot right at the end, and other was only slightly uphill with one longer steep spot right at the end - I chose the second route.

When I got to the hill at the end I normally just drop to granny low and spin up. Saturday I decided to attack the hill, and shifted UP to about 3 or 4 cogs from the bottom, stood up, and powered up. My plan was to go as far as I could standing, and when I pooped out, sit down and go for granny. Lo and behold, I made it all the way to the top standing!

It's those little victories that are sweet!

[TrumpetMurph]

One of the best things about hills is the sense of accomplishment that you get from climbing them, or from improving your climb a little each day.

One thing to remember is that the way you tackle hills depends a lot on what your intentions are. Do you plan to ride a tour with a lot of climbing? Is a serious climb part of your commute? Do you hope to race someday?

On my commute I have a 400' climb during the last mile of the ride on the way home, and most days I just gear down and spin.

One ride I take on a regular basis has rolling hills, amounting to about 600' of ups and downs. Initially I started riding it geared down and just cruising leisurely. As my fitness and riding technique improved, I started to attack those rolling hills one at a time, gearing up, getting the hands on the drops, and powering through the crest of the hill.

One of my goals for this summer is to ride in the "Tour de Steamboat", a single day, three mountain pass tour with about 7500' of climbing over the course of 112 miles. So, I consider myself in training for that, as well. I need to be able to handle the climbs and make the cutoff times. I view each days commute as well as each days ride as a way to train for the tour.

Make climbing techniques a part of your daily routine, and before long they will become easier.

For what it's worth, I'm about 5'10", 233 lbs.

[Jay68442]

I'm training for a big ride as well. The Philly liveStrong challenge. 100 miles and 8000 feet of climbing. To date my longest ride has been 33 miles with 2000 feet of climbing so I have lots of work to do before Aug.24. I'm hoping to be sub 200 lbs in Aug. My goal as of now is 199 but less would be even better for climbing.

[DanteB]

I'm 6' and 225# and doing the Central Coast Double this weekend, 209 miles and 14,000' of climbing. The main climb comes at mile 87 after about 5,000' of climbing, it's 7.5 miles long and averages just under 8%. The first 2 miles of this climb run between 10-16%. The first year I did this ride I was about halfway up then a smaller rider came up behind me and said "have you ever seen a cement mixer going up a hill, that's what you remind me of". So, I guess that's how I climb hills, like a cement mixer.

[brandon113]

I stay in the saddle as long as I can unless the hill is too steep, One thing us big guys have is big motors.

[rideorglide]

If it's long, then in the saddle a lot.

Depends on how I feel too. If it's undulating, it may be worth giving a little out of the saddle, depending a lot on where you are in your ride, too.

Like lots have said here, once you get into the challenge of hills, they are very rewarding. But if you are with a pack of mountaingoats they can also be very humbling.

My new 50-34 -- 13-29 means I can take on a lot more freaky hills than I could with my old bike a 53-42 11-25. The 13-29 isn't quite the equivalent of a triple, but it's close. Sort of spins out on the end of some downhills, where you might want to crank it a bit in anticipation of upcoming flats, but if I'm already going 35-37 mph, I could care less. That's more than fast enough for my old bones.

[the engine]

Slowly ...

I am about 245 on a light day, and a fantastic climber. In over 30 years of riding (mostly in the mountains of NW New Jersey), including many hilly centuries (like the 2007 Lance Armstrong Philly Challenge), and I've never had to get off and walk.

I used a granny gear to save my knees, put my head down, and ride ... I'll get out of the saddle on the really steep climbs (over 20%).

If you don't count speed as a requirement, "big guys" can climb with the best of em ... and the little guys have to watch out on the downside, cause the turbulence from a clydesdale blowing by can be a little scary .:thumb:

[AlamoCoach]

Here is a technique that you can use regardless of being a Mountain Goat or a Clydesdale. If you are interested in resting and picking up speed while you climb read on. The main problem with the pain, sweat and tears method of climbing hills is that your legs are constantly under pressure which restricts blood flow to the muscles and results in lactic acid build up. If you have felt your legs burn, you know what I mean.

I learned a three-stroke technique many years ago from a 70-year-old rider who competed for England in the Olympics during the 1930s. He forgot more about technique than most of us will ever know. The goal of the three-stroke technique is to maintain momentum while allowing the legs to relax enough to allow blood flow to the muscles with a fresh supply of oxygen. It's really quite simple. It doesn't make any difference if you start with your left leg or your right, but we'll start with the right for illustration. Your first stroke with the right leg is a hard stroke, easy left leg, easy right leg, hard left leg, easy right leg, easy left leg, hard right leg, easy left leg, easy right leg, hard left leg........... You will notice that the hard strokes alternate back and forth from one leg to the other. In between each leg gets an easier stroke that encourages blood flow with a fresh supply of oxygen. You need to practice this technique on the flat at first until you get the tempo.

You will probably rock back and forth at first, but after a lot of practice you will smooth out to the point where you can do it without any of the other riders around you noticing. I remember one of my junior riders at the state championship one year in a class of about 30 riders. He would sit in the pack until they came to a hill. The he would go to the front at the base of the hill and set a torrid pace up the hill sitting down while all the riders behind him were standing up. It's an easy technique to learn but it takes a lot of practice to master it. It's well worth the trouble.

[WilsonZone]

Here is a technique that you can use regardless of being a Mountain Goat or a Clydesdale. If you are interested in resting and picking up speed while you climb read on. The main problem with the pain, sweat and tears method of climbing hills is that your legs are constantly under pressure which restricts blood flow to the muscles and results in lactic acid build up. If you have felt your legs burn, you know what I mean.

I learned a three-stroke technique many years ago from a 70-year-old rider who competed for England in the Olympics during the 1930s. He forgot more about technique than most of us will ever know. The goal of the three-stroke technique is to maintain momentum while allowing the legs to relax enough to allow blood flow to the muscles with a fresh supply of oxygen. It's really quite simple. It doesn't make any difference if you start with your left leg or your right, but we'll start with the right for illustration. Your first stroke with the right leg is a hard stroke, easy left leg, easy right leg, hard left leg, easy right leg, easy left leg, hard right leg, easy left leg, easy right leg, hard left leg........... You will notice that the hard strokes alternate back and forth from one leg to the other. In between each leg gets an easier stroke that encourages blood flow with a fresh supply of oxygen. You need to practice this technique on the flat at first until you get the tempo.

You will probably rock back and forth at first, but after a lot of practice you will smooth out to the point where you can do it without any of the other riders around you noticing. I remember one of my junior riders at the state championship one year in a class of about 30 riders. He would sit in the pack until they came to a hill. The he would go to the front at the base of the hill and set a torrid pace up the hill sitting down while all the riders behind him were standing up. It's an easy technique to learn but it takes a lot of practice to master it. It's well worth the trouble.

Thanks, Coach. I'll try it out tomorrow. :thumb: