ir0nfist

torrey pines is an average of 5.5% grade for 1.3 miles or so... you should never have to walk, if you are out of shape maybe you could stop and rest, but walking is def. not neccesary.

bike_curious?

That's funny. I've got 2 girls under 3. Handfuls. That's why I love to ride now. Gets me out of the house and out of kid duty. I'm probably way too slow for you anyway. Hey you're talking about the hill that goes up to the 73 right by the shopping center and crystal cove right? I remember that now. I'm so there. How's the traffic

mazdaspeed

That's not bad at all. That's normal terrain where I live.

MrCrassic 

If your'e training to race, then yeah! If you're just doing a fun ride, then walk if you can't crank it anymore.
Then again, at 5.5% grade, you shouldn't need to. Heck, use it as a litmus test of your fitness; if you can't climb it, then you have more work to do!

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<3 2 Ride 

+1 If you get so tired that you just can't keep going. Stop & rest. Then get yourself back on the bike and conquer the hill.

I also agree that if you are still spinning, you are fine.

EGreen

I don't really understand the point of this. OK to walk? If you can ride it, ride. If you stall and fall over then perhaps you should consider walking the rest of the way.

First time I did one particular hilly century route of mine, I got surprised by a few steep grade short hills that I had neither the momentum nor the gear required to overcome. I did not do a repeat. I got off walked it up and rode on.

Only time I remember walking (for reasons other than mechanical failure). I don't care if it's OK or not that I did that.

bike_curious?

+1

c0lnago

THOU SHALT NOT WALK!!!!!!11111111111




































Just kidding...do what you need to get to the top...it really doesn't matter. Personally, I rarely walk because I have a very difficult time getting going again.

ursus australis

the worst part of walking on a climb is trying to get up enough energy and forward motion to start riding again

professorbob

For some of us, (me included... flame away...) there is always that hill that makes us start seeing fireballs. At that point it's dangerous to continue. Stop, get off the bike, wait 1-2 minutes and then get back on and ride easily in your lowest gear. There hasn't been a hill that I couldn't counquer using this method. Very often when I ride the hill again, I know what I'm in for and can pace myself better and either make it much farther up or even to the top. Don't give up. 75% of hill climbing is confidence.

Bantam

Anyone riding Speedplays couldnt clip in after walking in the mess. hahaha

umd

Speedplays get a bad rap. The X-series have a reputation for getting fouled easily due to the spring design. The Zeros work much better. If they are filled with mud they won't engage, obviously, but it only takes a few seconds to clean, unlike the X's which have gaps that are difficult to clean out.

prendrefeu

Or, they should've been using Bebop pedals. Period.

umd

I admit that Bebop pedals look interesting, but the only person I've ever seen use them I would not otherwise want to emulate in any way, shape, or form, so I'll pass...

chipcom 

Don't let some dude who couldn't climb a hill...or any hill for that matter, get you all psyched out before you have even tried riding it. If you get your heart rate in a tizzy before you even begin, you're gonna have a bad day. Hills are just something you gotta climb to get anywhere worth going...deal with em as they come in whatever way you can, but don't let them get your panties in a bunch beforehand.

mike9903

That looks painful, I think the funniest thing about the video is that there is a branch hanging down that all the riders hit, you would think they would clear the course of that kind of stuff before the race.

prendrefeu

So you like to judge based on an exceedingly small sample size?

Huh.

roadiejorge 

There's no way of knowing whether you can do it or not unless you try it, and a part of it is mental too because if you give in to the pain you might feel then it will make you less likely to finish the climb.

umd

You misinterpreted. I didn't judge the pedals based on that sample. I'm just not looking to run out and emulate him. I have no issues with my Speedplay Zeros and see no reason to try a different pedal system, especially one as uncommon as Bebop.

RazorWind

Is the hill he's referring to the one that goes from down by the beach up the hill to the UCSD campus?

If so, it has enough switchbacks that it's not really that steep. If you're not used to climbing hills, it will be hard, but I don't think it would make you walk if you legitimately trained to be able to do a 100+ mile ride.

prendrefeu

Glad to see that you've been working on your intensiy.

nostromo

No matter what hill/climb I've faced, I've never stopped. I've found selecting the right gear way before any climb is key. And having the mindset that no matter what, I will finish this climb (and not go backwards)....

I would never want to walk in my bike shoes on any grade, especially a steep one...

DaSy

For me it is never okay to walk, but this is not a macho thing but rather a state of mind that I have adopted that enables me to climb any hill. I think that if you allow the option of walking to enter your mind on a climb, you have given yourself a get out that you will inevitably take when the going gets tough.

If you don't have that in your mind as an option then you just keep pushing...if the grade brings you to a halt no matter what, then there you go, but you didn't give up but rather got physically stopped. That's just me though, and I really like climbing hills...

Rutnick

The most "guts" ride I have ever seen has been twice in the same year by a friend of mine. He was in the marines and we've been riding for a few years now. Last year, he really wasn't prepared for a 100 mile ride we did and it had 7k feet of climbing. The last and hardest climb was challenging even for me. He made it up without touching ground. Later in the same year, we were doing a 60+ mile ride with about 6.5k feet of climbing. He got sick but kept riding and kept climbing. He never touched ground.

I later talked to him about it and told him that those were the two examples of guts on a bike that I had ever seen.

His response.....I would rather die than touch ground.

When I got to the last climb at 3 State 3 Mountain and the grade got up to some ridiculous number...something like 1 million percent. I was watching just about everyone push up this climb. The voices were playing in my head. I remembered that I had climbed worse (brasstown) but my body still wanted to dismount. I thought of my friend. I thought of his effort. I remembered, "I would rather die than touch ground" and I freaking made it.

What is the moral of the story? You don't know what you can do until you push yourself to the limit and beyond. The mind does amazing things even if you body wants to quit.

marqueemoon

I've been on many large organized rides where riders just give up right in the middle of the road on tough climbs. Walk or take a rest if you need to, but please pull over to the right first.