clengman

If i go this year it'll most likely be as a spectator. I've got some lumbar spine/sciatica issues I'm trying to work through in PT. I just can't tolerate that much saddle time at this point. We'll see how things go this spring and summer. Maybe I'll be back in shape in time.

Getting back to the OP, I'm definitely the type to shift into my lowest gear at the bottom of a hill that steep and grind it out. If my bike had better shift-on-the-fly capability (I've got DT shifters) I might approach it differently.

Sapperc

Building up momentum before attacking a hill certainly helps, but that momentum won’t last for long. In short order it will just be you slugging it out to crest the rise. Still, no need to shift to your lowest gear immediately because if you do you will lose all momentum and most likely you will spin without actually producing power to your pedals.

Stay focused on what you are doing. Don’t look ahead to how much hill is still left to climb. That can crush your spirit and cause you to give up. Stay ahead of your downshifting so you don’t get into a chain tension issue. If you do, don’t give up. You can always zig-zag to relieve the tension and complete a shift.

As this will be your first try at this obstacle, be conservative but not timid. Standing on your pedals will produce more power only if you have the strength and stamina to do it. Seated climbing is sustainable much longer. Stay seated as forward as as you are comfortable as long as you are able. Pulling from your handlebars with each stroke may help put more power to your pedals. Any weight you can shift from the rear will help. Eventually you may be sitting straight up far back on the saddle with your hands on your bar tops which is fine. Zig-zagging is also fine. Whatever it takes. If you have any reserve left in you, use it to stand and sprint near the crest of the hill.

While you may be disappointed if you have to stop and walk up, you’ll be more disappointed if you don’t try. Eventually you’ll sort it out. Have fun cycling!

NoWhammies

This is pretty much what I do. Build up momentum and then shift accordingly as steepness of the hill increases. And just as @Sapperc said, I tend not to look too far up the hill. I focus on what's in front of me and just keep slogging it out.

Depending on the momentum I have, I'll try to keep strong pedal strokes but when that fails I'll just spin my way up. Remember hills make you strong!

woodcraft

This will be happening this weekend- nominally 10k climbing in 50 miles.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/4394647

Cyclist0108

I lived less than a mile from there for my first two years of grad school at Berkeley (1986-88). Maybe I should try it for old time's sake.

woodcraft

I grew up there. The route goes a literal stone's throw from the house,& past schools that I attended, & rode to.

During the ride, I've found myself associating various streets & neighborhoods with girls that I was interested in in high school.

caloso

I was an undergrad at the same time. Hard to believe I used to ride up some of those hills on my boat-anchor Schwinn with a backpack full of books.

caloso

That ride up Marin in the first 5 miles is no joke.

rm -rf

I like very short, steep climbs. It's an all-out effort, trying to hold it for a few more seconds to reach the easier grade at the top. A nice challenge. I can do 18% grades, but the few hills that are 22% are very hard for me, I'm going too slow, and my steering starts getting sketchy. At 18%, I'm going 3 mph, around 30 rpm -- that's just one pedal stroke a second. Balancing is key.

Photos
Yes, it's hard to show the grade in a photo. Wide angles minimize grade views, telephotos can exaggerate. And if the camera is pointed even slightly upwards, it won't look steep at all. Keep the camera exactly horizontal.

I posted these years ago. It's Monastery Street in Cincinnati. This short, steep bottom section is 15-17%.



A crop of the same photo, imitating a telephoto shot:

NoWhammies

Any of you do hill workouts/repeats for strength?

caloso

Retro Grouch 

Percent of grade only tells half the story. The other half is how long does the steep grade persist. You have to have either the strength or momentum to ride up the steepest part, but you also need the endurance to crest the whole hill. It comes down to how fast your body can process oxygen.

If the steepest part of the hill is short, I usually sprint it in whatever gear I can manage.
If I'm not confident of having the endurance to crest the whole hill, I take the turtle approach. Shift into my lowest gear and drop my cadence. That gives my body the greatest amount of time for oxygen uptake.

woodcraft

It's still steep, 'tho not quite as intense with a 34/34 gear.

That & a couple of other bits appear to get over 20%

I was able to ride in a little gruppetto with the organizer, who started the ride ~ 18 yrs ago.

Being able to follow someone who knows the route is huge with 100 turns on the cue sheet!

DrIsotope

Google Maps is at least 50% Satan, because when I asked it how to get back to the hotel from Fort Point in SF, it sent me up Steiner Street, which is certainly the most direct route... but gains 200ft of elevation in a quarter mile. The tactic for that was "don't fall over."

NoWhammies

Yeah, that would be a good workout for sure. I can already hear my legs screaming.

wipekitty

Absolutely.

There's five steep little hills on dead-end residential streets that get into 20% territory; I'll go hit all of them for a good workout.

I'm also a fan of taking the single speed up and down some of the local hills (1.5 - 2 miles, average 6% and max ~12%) for a good time. I'm too lazy for actual interval training, and find this a good way to force myself to push.

ibanez350ex

looking at some of those cycling pics i can just feel the legs burning lol
i do distance running i have to slow pace down on the hills and sometimes a fast walk to avoid burning out where it goes on for nearly a mile. the breathing gets harder and the mind wants to give up lol but i tend to look down cause if you look up it plays on the mind.

308jerry

I've read some comments here about hitting the hill hard so momentum helps carry OP up. I don't get to ride many hills but how much momentum is there going to be to help get the OP up a 17% grade three miles long?

one4smoke

An iPhone does the trick as well...

gregf83 

Pretty rare to have a 3 mile long 17% hill. In Cornwall it's more likely to be a 1km hill.

A 75kg rider will take about 125kJ to get up a 1km hill. If he were riding at 40kph (25mph) he would have about 5kJ of kinetic energy stored so not much help.

woodcraft

The OP is in the UK, & I don't think there is any such thing there, in fact it would be hard to find such a road anywhere.

By my calcs that would be 2700' elevation gain.

Locally, I can get 2,400' in 6.6 miles for 7%. Mt Washington NH is 4686' in 7.5 miles for 12%.

In any case, if you get a good running start- say 50 mph in a really big gear on a single speed- oh wait, wrong thread...

308jerry

I reread the OPs question I thought he said 3 miles at 17%. My bad....... I was thinking that the 70/11 was going to be the only way to get that much momentum. Oh wait.......... 😎

Wilmingtech

Ride with cadence. Try to keep up a cadence of 90 RPM and then as your cadence starts to slow, shift into a lower gear. Make sure you are in your little ring before you need to put any power into the pedals so you are not shifting from the big ring into the little ring under power.

From yesterday -

KathyF99

17% - nothing that high near me, I could use the advice too

daoswald

Wait, did the OP say 3 miles long? I just did the first five miles of Little Cottonwood Canyon, 2100 feet to Tanners Flat (which isn't) with grades varying between 7% and 12% It continues upward and onward for a couple more miles, and is known for being one of the finest climbs in Northern Utah. The descent takes 1/5th the amount of time spent in ascent, easily hitting 50 and mostly never dropping below 40mph.

It's a hard climb. I can't imagine 3 miles at 17%. The rear cassette needed for such an assault would almost necessitate a hanger extension on the long cage rear derailleur. The momentum necessary to make it up a 3 mile 17% grade would require careful calculation, just a little more and the bike would reach the exit velocity for earth's gravitational pull.