Dang right! You are allowed :thumb:

Michael,
I'm having a very similar experience as far as hills go. Today I rode steadily up a local hill that really used to bully me and my HR got to only about 125... so I went around and did it again. I've started actually trying to find local neighborhood routes that have more hills. As with Denver, we have a lot of wind here too and I can hold speed going upwind much better these days. It's pretty satisfying.

IMO all that intense indoor training last winter is really paying big dividends now. :)http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=250728:)

I've accepted the fact that climbing hills is going to hurt, but I didn't expect the pain and cramping that debilitated my thighs last Saturday. It was so bad, I couldn't stand up over the last 10 miles without my left leg locking up. Both legs were in bad shape and it took 3 days (Tuesday) before the pain subsided.

Needless to say, I was actually shocked. I thought my overall conditioning was better then that. Certainly creates a lot of doubt for a century I'm considering riding in June.

Congrats to everyone else who's finding hills less intimidating.

Cramping can often be resolved with addition hydration and nutrition during the ride. Early season century rides can also be a special problem, especially if the weather is warm.

What started as a short 20 mile loop in 80 degree weather, turned into 54 miles. I knew the 40 ounces of fluid I carried in two bottles wasn't enough, but I didn't expect the severe cramping. It really hurt. I thought maybe I tore or overly stretched the muscles just above the knee.

Today was actually my first day back on the bike, and good news, the legs feel great. Time for some more hills. :speedy:

I agree, the indoor training I did during December & January taught me a lot about higher power output in the 45 to 60 rpm cadence range. And the computrainer software duplicated the requirements of hill climbing almost perfectly.

I'll keep training indoors during the winter.

Billydonn, will you take a bike trip out-west again this year?

Michael

I restarted cycling in May 2006 and my hill climbing was horrible. So after 5 years of riding 5 times per week and doing a lot of climbing, I can climb pretty well and depending on the speed of accent or VAM meters/hour it can be easy or hard. We are in SoCal this week and had the chance to ride the coast from La Jolla, CA to Carlsbad and climb one of the most traveled hills in San Diego... Torrey Pines. We used to live in SD and climbed Torrey Pines a lot via bicycle. This was the route via PCH. There is another more difficult way via the park.

I had my Contour camera on the bike and marked the start of the climb and a lap on the Garmin. Using Bike Telemetry software, I made an overlay for the video to capture on bike metrics such as power, speed and gearing. The climb is not that long 1.4 miles and the grade is 6% average that may go to 7% on some sections. My wife led the climb and was on her SoCal bike which has a triple. I think she used the 30/16 or 30/17. The wind was at our back which is normal for that hill.

On Strava I am 577/1524 on the Torrey Pine Hill Climb Challenge segment which reminds me of my running days in large fields. My VAM was 1023. I did not climb this fast when we live in SD when we were in our 20s. One of the key factors in climbing or going fast at higher power is to stay relaxed and not force the effort. The harder one tries the more difficult it becomes. My wife is a masters class on how to climb in this video. She climbs effortlessly but make not mistake, she is working hard and I am generally to the side of her so I am not getting much if any draft and the wind is at our back. Here is the video.

Very impressive!!

I have enjoyed bicycling up the original old Torrey Pines State Reserve grade which can be seen on the right above the parking lot at the very beginning of your video. I have never bicycled up the road (101/PCH) you and your wife rode, however.

For me enjoy is a rather strong word. Hills like Torrey Pines aren't bad and in fact are over pretty quickly. Mountains are another story. 3500 feet in 10 miles moves into a different mode than enjoy for me. Yes I am glad when I make it and yes I love the decent. The 50 mile climb of 8200 feet to Big Bear from Mentone is not that much fun either. JMHO.:(

I'm 55, too, and I'm all about climbing. A long time ago, a semi-pro racer told me you can tell rookie cyclists from the experienced ones--rookies complain about hills, experienced cyclists complain about the wind.

Where I live in Prescott, AZ it's hard to ride 15 miles anywhere without climbing 1000'. The Skull Valley loop has 4000' in 54 miles, and the ride to Cottonwood and back is 6000' in 90 miles. Before I moved to Prescott, I lived in Tucson, where the Mt Lemmon climb is absolutely incredible. My first attempt at Mt Lemmon was a painful fiasco which took days to recover from. Two attempts later with some experience gained, I made Summerhaven. I was hooked on the climb and did it weekly. (I felt pretty good about that until I heard Lance lived in Summerhaven for a season and commuted home by bike after training all day--jeez.) After leaving Tucson, I stayed hooked on climbing and found the excellent rides around Prescott. Every time I come home, I need to climb a short 15% grade up 300', and I'm working on doing that in second gear now, and that hurts. Right now I'm visiting Albuquerque and have climbed Sandia Crest twice in two weeks--6000 in 80 miles. In a couple of weeks I'm taking off on the Northern Tier route, and am curious to see how I do on the Cascade passes with a touring load. I plan on having a great time.

Keep on climbing and enjoying it!

I've been having trouble with cramps also. If cramping begins to subside due to better fitness, why I just go a bit faster next time and the cramps are back.

I began using a product named Sport Legs and felt it helped somewhat. What has worked best so far though is a product from CVS Pharmacy named, logically enough, Leg Cramps - pain relief. This has worked much better than drinking lots of water, eating bananas and other things.

Andrew, are you keeping a journal on Crazy Guy On A Bike we can follow along. If not, best wishes for a rich and rewarding journey.

Yes, I am, at http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?..._id=10115&v=2M. Thank you for the good wishes, and good luck with relief from cramping.

I'm also over 200 pounds and love to climb, too bad I don't have the self control to lose weight. I did just get my first compact double after using triples the last 10 years and standard doubles before that.
I think the most intense climbing rides I have done have been in the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains. Miles of steep grades going up to 10,000 feet, I don't know how those people do that Everest Challenge ride for two days and finish on White Mountain.
I've done several centuries with 10 and 12 thousand feet but I'm thinking I might not want to do any more of those, (yeah, right).

Where is this and is the ride supported?

I would be very satisfied to climb Whiteface, or a mountain like it. I've skied down Whiteface :) but the satisfaction of climbing it on a bike might be better.

I have tried to climb it at least once each year, this year I did it on foot with my daughter. Not sure I will make it up on the bike - I just lack motivation. Now for skiing WF, I do that as well. Was there this year to ski and for my daughters race - she is on a ski team here.

Andrew, I took just a quick look so far at your journal on Crazy Guy. It appears you are traveling quite light. My own practice in backpacking has gotten considerably lighter over the years. When putting together my equipment for some touring in New Hampshire this coming summer, I ended up with a base load about the same as yours. I believe this is the best approach for maximum pleasure and to avoid injuries. When you reach the Vermont - N. Hampshire area, if your need something, give a shout via PM if I can help.
Bern

Yo Andrew,
I took a longer look at your first 8 pages on Crazy Guy and learned your trail name on hiking forums is Garlic. I read your journal of the AT hike and was impressed first, by your base pack weight, and second by your daily mileage. I'll be looking forward to the northern tier journal.
Bern

So today's ride I was just going to do a nice 30mi, spin it out and be done. The wind blew so hard into my face I just got tired (been this way every stinkin ride this week) of the roar in my ears, turned the bike around and headed back into the hill country. I took a 7 mile ride that was nothing but hills.

So true. Wind sucks. Hills rock.

Yep, I'm doing Cycle Montana again during the last week of June. It is a different route this year, perhaps even more scenic than last year.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=251083
One day is 75 miles with 5300 feet of climbing which will be my hardest ride ever I'm sure. I'll be posting about it and my video skills are much more advanced, so I'll expect to have some tasty stuff to post when I return. I'm about 10 pounds lighter than last year and an unknown percent stronger, so it should go fairly well.

Next summer I've signed up to do this in Rimini, Italy:
http://www.battaglin-usa.com/road/travel_overview.php

I don't know about that. I am from Kansas and can go on a lot of rides of 30+ miles where there is less than 200ft of climbing. I don't climb hills much but there is almost always wind here in Kansas. I went into a 26mph headwind today with gusts of 35mph. Yes that is a stiff wind by Kansas standards but not that very unusual. I know how to ride in wind. Hills, however kick my butt because I don't have the history with them. A lot of it is what you are used to.

Thanks D'Fox... We are having so much fun on this trip biking around SoCal and training at the velodrome in Carson. When we lived in SD we ran up and rode up the original grade. There is a lot less traffic. As I am sure you remember, the wind is off the ocean so the ride north is a cross to headwind which is vexing at times. And then the climb up Torrey Pines comes at the end. The previous day we left our hotel on Genessee and La Jolla Village Drive and cycled to La Jolla Cove via La Jolla Shores descending Scripps Hill and climbed Mount Soledad via La Jolla Scenic Drive. We descended Via Capri and were treated to the great ocean views of the coast all the way to Carlsbad.

I actually think Andrew is correct. A semi-pro racer will drive 100's of miles out of their way to climb mountains. When I lived in VA I ran into semi-pro racers from FL spending time in the Blue Ridge climbing.

I am lucky to have hills in my area, but mountains I have to drive 2 to 3 hours for, and I do but not on a regular basis. Personally I like hills as well, I would not consider myself a semi-pro racer nor even a strong rider this season - I am not in that category.

Sounds like a great ride. I grew up in and near SD in the 1940's and spent a lot of time at the beach. Bicycling was not one of our regular activities, except neighborhood bicycling.

I did a hill ride this past tuesday that was a 25mph headwind. That's about where I draw the line but as in last night there come times when a 15mph headwind roaring in my ears gets old. This has been a windy spring for us in northern Michigan and if you dont ride when it's windy you dont ride. But then, that's probably true with every other location.