OP: Unless one of those steep climbs are in the first 5 miles of the ride, just use the first few miles as your warm up. When I was racing, they used to say "the longer the race, the shorter the warm up", and it worked.
Originally Posted by
punkncat
This is complete news to me. I have always been taught to stretch and loosen up a bit before as well as after any strenuous activity. I feel a big difference when I forget. Can you link me some reading on this?
It's somewhat recent, meaning within the last 10 years (which I consider recent because these types of things take decades to get to the general public). My brother-in-law learned while studying kinesiology that stretching before exercise doesn't do anything and can actually lead to injuries. It is, however, a very good idea to stretch immediately AFTER exercise. This will keep you limber all the time, including the next time you work out.