Originally Posted by
Sierra_rider
Rides with short, steep climbs are actually easier for me...the type of climbs that I'm riding above threshold for 5-20 minutes. I'm the type of rider with a good "VO2max" type power, with repeatability. The rides with big, long climbs are the ones that wear me down. There are several climbs that I ride semi-regularly, 3000-3500' of gain and take roughly an hour to climb. Doing 2 of those climbs in one ride feels considerably more difficult, to me, than doing a ride with 6000' of punchy climbing.
Interesting. Do you think your lactate threshold is relatively low compared to VO2max?
I'm kind of the opposite. Short, punchy climbs wear me out quickly (my legs, specifically), but I can tempo climb for several hours before fatigue sets in. At least I could in years past.