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

+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

Mr. Beanz

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

2,000ft of climbing

12,000 ft

5,000

10,000

2,000

2,000

5,000 ft Taking pics of my suffereing friend!

AND AGAIN!
5,000 ft


5,000 ft with some aded company! The guy in the middle is the real guy!

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

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

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

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 .

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

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