Training for climbing.
 

I live in Central PA and we have a few mountains here, ahem, but I will be in Montana and Colorado and I wanted to get some pointers for training to do some climbing there. I assume the first thing is to hit hills here, but I also wondered if climbing the steps here at work (6 flights) would be good for increasing lung capacity. Let me know, along with any other good ideas.

Using the stairs is definitely a good idea. Finding the biggest hills available locally, and riding up and down them as often as possible, is even better. If you have any weight to lose, losing it is the best idea of all.

You may want to check into changing your gearing, ask at your LBS.

I would be careful with the stairs. Climb the hills you have and allow recovery between sessions. Climbing stairs is not as good as hills and will fatigue your legs. Now if you want to do stairs in lieu of hills and recover, that is okay too. Do not climb hills one day and do stairs the next day. That may not be enough rest. You get stronger when you rest not when you train.

Mountain biking! Only way to find real hills. I'm training for a very hilly ride(well, this coming weekend) and I've found mountain biking about the best. Gotta work those glutes.................HARD!

All the mountain bike racers I know do most of their training on the road.

You don't really need hills, you just need to go out an ride at a hard pace for 20-60 min at a time. Hills make it easier ride at a steady pace but they aren't necessary for training.

my only observation is, that climbing a hill at altitude, is a whole lot different,than in the east ,at a much lower altitude
Bud

Until 6 years ago I was a mountain biker and I can assure you it is hard. Providing you put enough into the offroad and find the hills- Road riding is tame.

Imagine your worst hill- on a bike that is around 10 lbs heavier- the terrain being a bit rutted and a lot uneven- and with WIDE knobbly tyres. OK- the tyres are necessary to give you the grip across the rocks and scree so discount them. But Mountain bike Hills are harder.

But have to admit that in my area we do not have long hills. Longest on the road is about 1 mile at 10%--shorter ones are steeper. Offroad and the Easy climb to the top of the hills is 1 mile long at an average of 9%. That discounts where it gets to 18% at the end and the trail being rutted from the rain and piles of scree 2 to 4" deep that sap the energy out of your legs when dry and test your balancing ability when wet.

But when I changed over to road- I did not find it easy. Hills are hills and they need some adjustment to do. However I did go to the Alpes and climbed Ventoux. My training for that consisted of hill repeats up the toughest hill in our area. It did not prepare me for a continual 13 mile climb at an average of 7 1/2% with some 10 to 12% thrown in. I found it hard despite all the training I did but without that hill training-I would not have done it.

So on your bike- Find the toughest hill in your area and ride it- again and again and again.

Calling RacerEx!

If I recall, he lives and trains in Indiana and recently went and climbed Haleakala in Hawaii (10,000' elevation). I think he said the key was to generate lots of power on the flat, or as he put it, power is power. You might see if you can get him to comment here.

I think you will find the hills out west to be long and steady. The hills you have in PA are short and steep. Power is Power but I find it hard to train for hills on the flat, the lack of wind when climbing, the lack of ability to coast in the pedals a little here or there or slow and rest makes it really different. Hills require constant attention and on a long grade that can be hours of constant attention. If you are able to drive a few hours you might want ot run up to Greylock in western Mass and climb the north side. Do repeats on it. It is not terribly steep but it is long - 2700' of verticle and 9 miles. Good luck.

+1 Western hills are not that steep but they are long. Ride into headwinds lots and do your normal hillwork. It is not a terrible disgrace to stop occasionally.

I live in NJ at about 500', and in NM at about 7600' and climb up to about 10K'. Most hills in the west are shallow gradient, but very long. If you're motoring up steep hills in central PA, you will be OK in the west, generally speaking. You shouldn't need to adjust your gearing, just relax and climb at your own pace.

The key is relaxation and controlled breathing. Try to ride some flat'ish stuff when you get there to get in the groove. Oh, and make sure your brakes are in good shape. Those long uphills usually come with long downhills, for some reason...

Not sure where you are in central PA - but if you can do the "Big Flat" climb (Shippensburg area, south-central PA) you'll be in decent shape. If you can do hill repeats on that climb, you'll be better off than 90% of the cyclists I know.

After that - the biggest challenge you may face is altitude - and there's no way to train for that here in the east.

Well, not quite geographically spot on, but the paradigm is the same.

Power over duration is power over duration, but climbing presents some unique adaptation requirements.

a) Generally a self selecting cadence that's lower than what you would use on the flats
b) A lack of "micro rests" during the effort
c) A different seat/bar angle that engages muscles differently.

The best way to become a better climber is, of course, to climb. To the point of KISS, the best way to get better/stronger/faster in non race mode is to find the longest climb you can keep in the saddle on and ride a pace which is hard enough to make conversation difficult but not so hard that you're breathing like you need a lung machine.

No hills? Head off into the wind, in the drops, at deliberately lower cadence than what's comfortable. No wind? Go into TT mode and treat every pedal stroke as if it matters...keep the load there.

And as noted, climbing at altitude is different than at sea level. Hydration requirements are higher for the same temps and if you go into the "red" the impact is much more draining and will require a longer "easy" period to recover.

This is spot on, and using an HRM for long hill climbs is a good practice. You can easily keep your heart rate at the desired point with small modulations in intensity. You will know long before you blow up that you WILL blow up and if you blow up your done. When I climb a long grade I put everything else out of mind and I focus on my pedal stroke, my breathing and my HR. Nothing else matters, not the other riders or my position relative to them. It is not until the end of a climb that I take stock of my reserves and decide whether I should pick up the pace or not.

Just go for general bike fitness. If the grade isn't extremely steep, you shouldn't have too much trouble with long climbs. In Ohio, the big climbs are 400 feet and 2 miles long, and most are 300 feet and 1 mile. To me, a 2800 foot climb doesn't seem like 7 or 8 times bigger. It's partly that I'm pacing, since I have no idea how long it'll take, and the scenery is usually spectacular--I'm having a great time on the climb.

I can't help you with high elevation climbs, up toward 10,000 feet, though.

I always use a heart rate monitor, which really helps in pacing up the climbs. A few years ago, before my first big climbing ride, I rode a rolling country road for 30 miles out and back, with no stop signs. I was trying to hold my "ride fast for an hour" heart rate as much as possible for the whole distance, simulating a long, steady climb. That was useful, but now I just do my usual riding, and try to do a good amount of miles on the weeks before the big ride.

Here's an example, up to Mt Mitchell from Asheville, with 8000 feet of climbing in 64 miles.

Unfortunately it's hard for me to put the sound of a large white pickup truck powered bu an angry-sounding diesel engine out of my mind. That's the cool thing about riding a bent; the motor is only inches from your ear. It really helps to quiet the mind and relax.

I picture winter months with a set of headphones and an endless stream of monster truck videos or tractor pulls as simulation.

My mother in law lives in Williamsport in central PA. Being able to climb 1,200 to 1,400' hills in South Williamsport, Lock Haven, Pine Creek valley or Hiner St Park makes the visits tolerable. They might not be two hr climbs, but the 5% + grades make it hard. The roads and riding areas out there are spectacular.

Double that, you really will need to drink a lot, our air is dry!
R

Several of us just returned from Colorado and did climbs up to 12,000+ feet on mulitple occassions over a week. It's important to note than in general the climbs are not that steep-usually less than 8%. But they can be longer than what you might have around where you live. I've never really had the higher altitude affect me that much while riding except for some general light headedness bending over to get my water bottle. For me the key is to just get into as good a riding shape as I can get into. Do as many hills as you can just to make sure you're training the muscles you'll be using more off. Make sure you have easy enough gearing that you can spin for the long climbs. If you use too hard of gearing your knees will start to suffer. It not only helps your legs to do a lot of climbing it helps your other body parts that will be in more of climbing position-like your back and arms. Be prepared for a little more wind than you might be accustomed to as well. There is less to break the wind and it just seems to hinder you more out there than it helps. Ride within yourself and you'll do fine.

I also tried the stairs when I first starting riding and to be honest I don't know that they helped that much. There is no substitute for simply getting time in the saddle. Riding into headwinds and using a little harder gear than normal seem to be better surrogates for hill work if you don't have hills to train on.

Hills and more hills--nothing replace miles on the road and miles going up hills.

Enjoy!

1. Do the hill training near where you live -- as mentioned, Pennsylvania gaps are usually shorter and steeper than Montana and Colorado passes.

2. Allow for a few days of easy acclimatization when you get there.

3. Take a camera. When you need a break, stop and pull the camera out. Take as long as you need, I mean as many pictures as you want, to get your breath back, drinking and eating as appropriate.

:)

"Take a camera"
 

I was just thinking this AM that I need to get a camera small enough to carry with me. I'm definitely out to see as much as I can, not cover miles quickly. As it is, I'm stuck on an average, including Central PA climbs, of about 13 MPH