Rowan

Is that: Why did I engage in it before this ride?

Frankly, sex, good as it is, is the last thing on my mind when climbing a hill.

I prefer looking up and around at the scenery. I am going slow enough to appreciate it, and it takes my mind off the task at hand.

I prefer to stand as much as possible. It allows me to get a good rhythm going, but it does take practice because it affects my aerobic level. So climbing more in training is essential. That is not difficult around my region.

There is a lot of merit in paying attention to heart rate and breathing.

I used HRMs on the tandem to help Machka even out her pedalling effort. She would go like a bat out of hell at the bottom and run out of puff only 200 metres up. But by gauging her effort through the pedals and using my and her HRMs, we could get her to slow down at the bottom, get into a good rhythm, and make it to the top without being totally burnt out.

Now I have to work on her breathing so that she is taking deeper and longer breaths, and breathing out hard to evacuate as much CO2 as possible before taking in the next lot of oxygen. Of course, there are times when I am breathing hard and fast, but I am not a racer, rather a LD rider, so I have no need to catch someone up ahead and can level out my energy needs. Machka also has sports-induced asthma issues.

Yeah, easy, go fixed or single speed. Lots of weight-saving, and no mental energy to expend on when and what gear to use.

Riding fixed was something that helped vastly to improve my climbing, especially with touring loads or equivalents on board. I learned to transition smoothly from seated to standing and vice-versa without breaking the pedal strokes, and I learned I could climb hills without resorting to ultra low gears and still was able to bail if need be and walk.

Climbing on steepish hills on FG is not for the faint hearted (especially with clipless) or those with dicky knees.

As to getting an advantage on hills on racing, an acquaintance and fellow touring cyclist, who also is a former champion from the 1960s told me the best way was to pull up alongside a fellow rider, and ask a question that required much more than a simple yes, no or grunt. It's enough to upset the breathing and concentration.

Also, get to know what the grades are that you actually ride. We have very few signs that indicate grade, so I made up a very simple device last weekend, and we went out to measure what we ride on a regular basis.

I was surprised that what I thought were 5% were 8% and what I thought were 8% were 10 or 12%. One or two surprised in the other direction, being 8% instead of 10 or 12... but the perception may come from the long 4-5% leading up to them.

BikeArkansas

I read an article by a coach that said to learn to climb you had to accept the fact it was going to hurt. He went on to say, if you get to the top of a hill and it did not hurt, go back down and ride it again because you did it wrong. In some weird way this bit of information has helped my climbing.

cyclinfool

AzTallRider,
Thanks = some good advice in there. My mental games so far are to focus on breathing slow and deep - making sure the exhales are complete. I have used an HRM before and that really does not help me much, my heart rate can get high on a long climb and stay there. Body feel is a better gauge for me. Looking up rather than down seems to work better, when I look down I know I am beginning to give up and I hunch over and stop using my abs and hips. When I look up and can still plan for the parts of the climb coming up, how to take the steep turn, if I am going to grab a higher gear if the grade is a little less coming up. Most of the time when I get passed on a hill and I am still motivated I will think about how to minimize the damage or that those going faster may just blow up and I'll get them later.

400K feet - are you in orbit yet?
I suspect I only get about 1/2 of that in a season.
I don't know which would be a mentally harder - Hamilton or Whiteface, Hamilton where you are getting 4000' of elevation gain in 23 miles where the last 1800 is a continuous grind over 6 miles or Whiteface where you eat the whole 3500' in 8 miles - at least you get it over with. Whiteface is a 2 hour drive from my house, if it were closer I would make a steady diet of it. It is hard to train for. Doing hill repeats on 1000 to 1200' climbs is not the same, hanging on to that mental toughness for only 3 miles is a lot easier even though you know you are going to do it again. Being able to take a few minute break at the top to grab a nibble and a drink before the rest on the way down are not parts of the Whiteface ride. With Whiteface you can see the observatory from the start in Wilmington and you get to see it again from about mile 5 to the top.

Greylock, which is about an hour away, is a little better (2600', 10 miles) but there are some options for little rests on the way up. With Greylock you are under a dense tree canopy most of the ride. The training routine has us doing two laps on Greylock in 2 weeks and a training run up Whiteface the following week. Race day is the 18th of June-it's coming fast.

kenji666

The secret to climbing is to climb a lot. Find a rhythm and stay there. If it's not a race, why blow yourself up trying to chase down mountain goats?

jppe

I climb a good bit, but unfortunately I just don't have the power/weight to be a good climber. It's the weakest aspect of my cycling. But, I can climb anything at my pace as long as cramps are at bay. There are days when climbing goes better than others--and it's important to relish those days. And not fret over the days when it simply isn't your day. If it's your day go for it and enjoy. If it's not your day get through it and know you'll have a better day again. But, DO NOT quit a climb. Keep the bike going forward with whatever it takes. If you have to slow your cadence that is okay. Just keep going forward until the top.

So much of climbing is mental. Doing the Assault on Mt Mitchell taught me that as much as anything. It's hard work, there is no shortcut and you just have to gut it out. But, two things help me climb better than anything else. Get my body and bike weight down to a minimum and climb hill after hill after hill.

And if you don't have the right saddle you'll feel it more doing long climbs than anywhere else!!!

Hermes

With respect to mental aspects of climbing, the climb itself can affect how is done and what to think about. We have several climbs that have a mountain in their name - Mount Tam, Mount Diablo, Mount Hamilton and Mount San Bruno and each has a different degree of difficulty depending on the route to the top. Mount Hamilton is typically featured in the Tour of California. The climb up the back side is more difficult than the more tradition front. Hamilton from the traditional approach and what will be used as a mountain top finish in the ToC this year is actually 3 climbs and two descents totally 19 miles so there is some recovery on the descents. The first time I climbed (not raced) Hamilton, I remember being really tired as I descended the second descent. There is a bridge and a sign that says 7 miles to the top. I saw that and it was like someone popped a ballon. I did the climb but it was very tough. On subsequent times when I raced, I saw the sign and was ready to kill it up the final steeper section. The mind can play games with ones ability to perform as it tries to protect.

On a none climbing subject, I was doing my first 40K ITT and a former pro racer from when Webcor had a men's pro team was giving me advice. Break the ride into 4 segments and ride each segment a little faster. If you think of it as 40K it is too long. And he said that if I am doing it right, I should have that tacky slight taste of blood in my mouth on the last 10 k. And no matter how bad I feel, remember no one dies from feeling that bad. Of course there is context around death but the point is ones mind try to protect when it is not required and to excel, one has to break through the pain and suffering.

freighttraininguphill

I sound like I'm having sex Especially on climbs like this one, at 20% max grade:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWRVLM-pgUk

As far as what I'm thinking about? I dunno. I just love climbing, even if it hurts like it did in the video.

Shimagnolo

Yes, I would rate that soundtrack as NSFW.

freighttraininguphill

It's even funnier to edit the video immediately after the ride while I'm still under the influence of endorphins I laugh my ass off listening to it