Hills?
09-06-12, 09:11 AM
#51
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09-06-12, 09:41 AM
#52
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And having just finished the US Pro Challenge Course, coming from Fl, I don't want to hear a guy living othe front range complaining about not being able to train to climb.
Thanks to everybody that took the time to reply
09-06-12, 09:47 AM
#53
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Here is the situation; where I live on the front range in Colorado I can leave my house, do a hundred mile loop back home and never do more than a couple hundred feet of climbing. This weekend I left my house and headed west, now that is a completely different story, I just barely touched the bottom of foothills and quickly learned that no matter how many miles you put on the flats, they do nothing to prepare you for the hills. I want to be able to ride in hills around Colorado unfortunatally all my weekday rides originate from my house so I don't have any big hills to regularly ride on to prepare.
Here's my question: obviously the only way to get good at riding hills it to actually ride them. I have a few smaller hills I can ride up and down daily to prepare. What is the best way to use these smaller hills to prepare for the longer hills? Do I drop gears and try and spin up or do I go higher on the gears and mash until I can't pedal anymore?
Thanks for your help
Here's my question: obviously the only way to get good at riding hills it to actually ride them. I have a few smaller hills I can ride up and down daily to prepare. What is the best way to use these smaller hills to prepare for the longer hills? Do I drop gears and try and spin up or do I go higher on the gears and mash until I can't pedal anymore?
Thanks for your help
In a way, climbing a short, steep or long, gradual hill is just as much about concentration and focus as it is the physical exertion your body generates. When you can concentrate and focus properly, your body will cooperate at its maximum ability. That's why I'd personally go find some "Cat 4" climbs somewhere near you and start with those. A Cat 4's not overly difficult for most experienced riders and will serve as a good litmus test to future hill performance.
09-06-12, 10:20 AM
#54
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You're hosed.
Your best bet is to become a sprinter and have domestiques tow you around
I'd head out to Lowland on weekends and ride the back way up to Estes. Ride Devil's Gulch a couple of times keeping a high sustainable speed and watch your form on corners so you don't have to hop out of the saddle all the time. Carter Lake also has a nice steep hill If I remember right...but short.
09-06-12, 10:28 AM
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You should try Thornton as it is roughly an hour or so to get to the mountains. I don't have the time to climb during lunch and drive 2 hrs.
A nice climb on the weekend and my race training keeps me a reasonably decent climber. However, the climbing specialists just kill me.
A nice climb on the weekend and my race training keeps me a reasonably decent climber. However, the climbing specialists just kill me.
