I have no more dreams. Life has crushed all hope.

I don't enjoy climbing but I don't avoid it either. If you like to descend, you have to climb. Two weekends ago, I encountered heavy dense fog on a long climb. At times the visibility was about 15 yards. Very surreal and mystical! Also very strange when you can hear the voices of the groups in front and behind, but you can't see them. You are isolated by yourself in the gray nothingness!

Think how steep it'd be without switchbacks. They're actually your friends.

Riding a bike up hill isn't that bad. Find scenic hills.

There is always some hill to climb or ride down so it is just a part of riding in the Northwest. I like it though. Nothing like flying up a hill that used to kick your butt and then find a new one and start the battle all over again. Scenery and tunes make it worth while.

Oh Common!!! Seriously??? What do you expect? The bike is ridden on the road which follows the contour of the land. Sometimes, it's flat, other times it's up or down. Maybe another hobby?

To paraphrase an alleged Lemond quote, "Climbing doesn't get easier. You just get to the top sooner."

I live in the foothills. If I go down, I don't have a choice but to go back up. If I don't go down, I will only have 1 mile of flat and I have to go back and forth like 20 times or more. How silly do you think will I look if I did that? And like H20xtc said, it's not a ride if there are no climbs.

late

We laugh at your puny climbs. Ha!

You nicely graded roads with steady and even ascents are no match for our twisty, nearly never ending switchbacks of death that pitch into double digits without warning.

You think you have climbs? We climb those for breakfast on our way to the real climbs. Ha!

And if you smart ******* from CO think you have climbs we laugh again in your stupid faces. Ha! We laugh at you!

The areas near where I live in Rochester are very flat and very boring, although they can be along Lake Ontario and its various bays and quite scenic. But if you drive just about 30 minutes or so south and hit the Finger Lakes you can get some pretty intense hills, although nothing Colorado-wise (or Taiwan-wise, apparently.) I'd much rather ride in the hilly areas; you've got the great views as a payoff once you hit the top and you don't feel quite as guilty indulging in unhealthy treats after you've burned off all those calories hill climbing.

Do I like climbs? Seeing the mountains out my window and wanting to climb them was the only reason I bought a road bike.

Every person I have met that told me that they "love to climb" whether it's on a mountain bike or road bike..... climb up in the lowest, granniest gear. IMO if you're trying, you'll be suffering. So I can see someone enjoying the end results of making it up the climb but I can't fathom how a person can enjoy the process of the climb.

It's like saying I LOOOOOVE riding with crazy headwind. As you all know cruising leisurely at 8mph is quite different from putting max effort trying to sustain 20mph during a strong headwind. Same concept with climbing.

He's wrong, though, at least if you do similar rides a lot.

You don't get it.

First, you assume that you can't enjoy something that also causes pain. Of course it hurts to go all out up a hill. Doesn't mean you can't enjoy it inspite of the pain.

Second Pain does not equal "suffering." Pain's inevitable, suffering is optional.

I hate it just about 5 days a week but I keep going back all the time even though I will never ever be a mountain goat

I like climbing...I don't really find it more difficult than riding flat terrain. I train my heart rate, so if I'm shooting for 160bpm it doesn't much matter if I'm going up or along. Certain workouts are much easier to do while climbing, so I'm glad I live in a mountainous area. It does make recovery days a bit more complicated though, I can barely get off my block under 130bpm.

I refuse to climb....

I love climbing but specifically in regards to your question... i personally noticed that as I've become a stronger climber I've come to enjoy it much more. It's not that i'm suffering any less but going faster makes me feel like i'm attacking the mountain instead of just grinding my way up it. If it feels monotonous to you try breaking it up into segments, try to set PR's for the different segments like on Strava.

I climb hard to tire out the big guys before the downhill and flats ;) If you go into climbing dreading it and being miserable then you're already toast. go into it ready for a challenge and get yourself up for it then you'll feel better.

this weekend our club rode on the most ****ty pavement of the year so far and all people could complain about was 200 meter long hill right before the parking lot :P wahhhhhhhhh

Rode a lot of crazy hills in Southern California on a single speed @ approx. 72gi and hated hills.
It did get me in GREAT shape but I blew out my knees and it was too painful to ride the SS anymore.

I bought an 18 speed mtb and I just spin up the hills now.
It feels good to set a steady cadence and spin while I see others walk their bike up, then of course the fun is in the descent.....
I actually Love hills now, it is the best workout there is for improving overall average speed on a bike IMO.

Hills suck when you went out a little too hard and are paying for it during the last ten miles. Or when you're pushing your endurance envelope and have gotten to the "wish I were home now" point - and have to finish with a modest climb.

Switchbacks are easy. Try the roads in NH, VT or NY. Straight up 8-13% grades :x

I think gravity may have something to do with this, refusal.

I want to repeat the same ride now.

As I left work on my roadbike today it started raining. I had planned a relatively slow and easy climb to the highest point around here, around 1700 feet of climbing. A bit put of by the rain I still did the ride and had a pretty good time doing it (the rain stopped halfway up). No way would I have started that workout today if I did not enjoy climbing, making my 56 year old body prove that it still is in pretty good working order.