rdtompki

I find no matter the scenic vista that presents itself on a climb which tempts a photo opportunity I'm unable to stop. I look at stopping as a defeat of sorts. When my wife and I were riding the tandem and doing a tough climb we might stop, but only as an alternative to falling over. I did an organized ride on Sunday, 56 miles and 5800 feet of climbing. The first long climb had a 5.5 mile stretch with 1900' of climbing; there must have been three spots that would have produced a really nice snapshot. I simply couldn't do it.

Anyone else look at stopping as a bad habit?

JimF22003

I won't stop on an uphill unless I physically just can't keep going. I don't feel like I really did the climb if I stop halfway up to rest. Not proud of it, but that's the way I do it

Barrettscv 

I'll stop for pictures if it's my first ride on the route. I'll also drink water and stretch my muscles a little. If it's a shorter hill, I don't stop until it's flat. I notice riders stopping at the top of hills. It's better to stay on the bike and let the air cool the cyclist on the downhill sections if it's warmer weather.

Stopping for pictures can be worthwhile;

Gerryattrick

It depends on the purpose of the ride. If I'm just out for a leisurely ride, especially with hills I've climbed before, then I have nothing to prove to myself and have no problem in stopping to look at the view.

If I'm on a ride where the aim is to help my stamina, especially if the hill is one I may not have done before, then it's a challenge and the only way I'll stop is by falling off.

krobinson103

I don't mind stopping on a climb unless I'm out on a mission to torture myself in which case I'll climb as fast as I can till my legs want to fall off and I have no choice. More often its a crazy high Heart rate that stops me though. I'm good for long distance all day and night but speeds over 20kmh climbing or 40kmh on the flat and I won't last long. Don't really care. You'd never catch me racing! Too dangerous. Brevets are cool though I can ride those solo.

Phil_gretz

Being determined to finish a climb shows good mental toughness. Being willing to permit yourself to take a spectacular photo, well that shows a healthy mental attitude, too. Either one is okay in my mind, although I'm the type who won't stop unless my body simply cannot continue. I only know of one such climb that I've ever done.

Now, mental weakness is being willing to stop just because the ride has become uncomfortable and the mid brain is sending panic signals to the rest of your central nervous system... that just not acceptable to me. Things are rarely as life threatening as they might seem.

rdtompki

I have a follow-up confession. While I do hate to stop I also don't get very good photo ops on the twisty ranch road climbs in my area. If I were doing a brand new climb in a beautiful area I would either a)force myself to stop or b)use my excellent TRP hybrid discs to stop on the way down.

Also makes a difference if the climb is singular or part of a long ride. Last week's organized ride had a lot of climbing and stopping on the first, albeit toughest climb, with 35 miles to go thereafter would have been a big mental defeat. I should have looked at the profile a bit more carefully; I thought the peak was 2000', but it turned out to be 2500'. Once you get into the "when does it end?" mode things get a bit ugly.

Final confession: these climbs aren't the alps. Our toughest local climb is 9 miles, 2700' with the last 1/2 being more severe. Younger, reasonably fit riders aren't afflicted with the temptation to stop.

BluesDawg

Maybe the question should be is passing up good photo opportunity for some obsession about completing a climb a bad habit?

Dudelsack 

This.

leob1

Come on guys, haven't we learned at our age that we don't have anything to prove? The time to stop and smell the roses, or enjoy the view, is growing short.

rydabent

Stopping on a hill when ridding a trike is no big deal. Just another advantage of a trike.

MinnMan

As the OP said, not every ride has the same purpose. There are days when rose smelling is just what I want to do. There are days when it's not. YMMV.

Biker395 

I'll admit ... I don't like stopping on climbs. But if the view demands it, what are ya gonna do?

The only exception are those steep climbs where if I stop and clip out, it's a dangerous hassle clipping back in.

raqball

I'd stop and snap said photo then take a little extra time to enjoy the view!

If someone were training for an event or something like that then I can see them not stopping. Since I am training for nothing, I am going to enjoy what the ride presents..

nuke_diver

The one thing I've never done is try to unclip while climbing...or clip back in on a steep grade. So I don't stop. I worry about some climbs that might be beyond my ability and I would have to stop....so I avoid those

pdlamb

I'm willing to stop on a climb for a good picture. I can only remember stopping on a downhill a couple of times for a picture -- I'm usually going too fast!

GHill762

I also feel like stopping on a climb is like admitting defeat (if you're stopping because the hill is too much), but I'll take that since I've only been on a bike for a week and a half.. but when I was a runner I always ran hardest on hill climbs, and it paid off at races when everyone else was panting like a dog I was moving up like a champ.. it's pretty hilly around my house so no matter the route I take I'm dealing with pretty big rolling hills, they're all either very steep or less steep but very long..

spdracr39

When my heart is beating so hard my eyes start bouncing I have to stop for a minute otherwise I prefer to keep going. It isn't a failure just a stepping stone to success

dalameda

This. I think having a goal of not stopping is great, and I often set that as my goal when I start up a big climb, but if I need to stop, I'll stop, and nobody cares. Sometimes the best gratification I've gotten is riding past a spot where I remember stopping on a previous ride. As for stopping at the top, I rarely do it. I get better recovery by lightly spinning as I go downhill.

mrodgers

I have started to become a bit of a cyclist in that I ride my bicycle for exercise and I have been a bit of a photographer for many years. Thus, I want to often carry my camera with me. Photography is important. If I have my camera and I don't stop, I look at that as a defeat of sorts. I missed the shot. Perhaps I'll ride past it again later and it's not so much of a defeat, but if I have the camera and I will be on that ride again, then next time I probably wouldn't carry the camera. Thus, it is a defeat because I would then have to carry the camera twice.

My camera is strapped around my shoulder across my chest and sets on my side while I pedal. It isn't a camera that I could just slip into a pocket and thus is slightly cumbersome to carry. Thus the point of riding again I probably wouldn't want to carry the camera again because of the failure and lost shot last time.

fietsbob

As to the clipping in, since it's Not a Race, consider crossing the road ,

going back down the hill a little ways. do your clip-in thing, then turnaround again,

and head back up the hill, again.



for Mr R, there are camera harnesses which have a ring across your chest, neoprene is used , that stretches over
the lens of your DSLR..so it wont bounce..


Ortlieb also makes a 4 point harness and a Camera Dry bag with 4 D rings on it to clip the harness to ..

also about having the camera in front of you .. and compatible with wearing a Backpack.

Wogster

This is why I bought a cheap P&S digital, it goes on rides, if I wipe out or simply drop it, it was under $100, so replacing it wouldn't be a big deal. I rarely carry my big camera on rides, it's just too big. heavy and awkward to carry.

As for the original post, I'll stop, at 52 (53 in a couple of weeks), I don't have anything to prove to anyone. Not when 99.999% of guys my age wouldn't even think of attempting to haul a leg over a saddle.

crazyb

What did u guys do when your kids needed to stop to pee on vacations?

StephenH

As long as you don't walk up the hill, you're good. I figure walking the hill is a no-no, but riding up at 2 mph and stopping to rest 8 times is okay.

Seriously, you should stop whenever you feel like it- for the view, for rest, whatever. That's assuming you can get started again, of course. If you're stopping to rest because you're tired, then maybe better pacing would have fixed that, but no big deal either way.

Hermes

Would have missed these shots in

Elba, Italy.



Mallorca Spain



Mount Ventoux



Although, I did not stop to take any pics on Mount Lemmon but I did stop to get more water and shot pics on the way down.