Originally Posted by
DaveSSS
I can always tell when the people commenting have never ridden for hours at a time in the mountains. The big difference is that the power requirement to keep moving forward is unrelenting. On flatter terrain, you might put out the same wattage, most of the time, but it's common to relax once in awhile. That relaxation period often goes unnoticed. Try that on a big climb and you'll be going backwards.
There really is a big difference between training in the mountains, compared to training on the flats. You need to train in the mountains to be proficient at climbing.
I lived in Boulder, CO for fifteen years. Ride the Rockies from Golden to Grand Junction, Flagstaff Mountain, Lee Hill Road, the Mike Horgan Memorial Hill Climb, etc.
Apart from the pscychology (lots of people find it harder to push themselves on flat ground than in hills and many fail to pace themselves on hills) it's pretty much the same as riding on flat ground until you run out of gears and a little planning can usually prevent that.