I think I'm paranoid...

CyclingBantam

.... now this isn't a thread where I am wanting everyone to come on and say how great I am (Because I'm not!) but I could do with some re-assurance.

I do about 100 miles to work and back a week over 4 days. It is in west yorkshire so it is pretty hilly. Not particually long climes just up and down all the way, barely any flat at all.

Now my problem is, I feel I am going slower than I should on hills. Ther is 1 steep little monkey half my way back which is 16% for about 300 meters. I can get to the top fine but I only ever get up at about 4-5 mph. I have some other slightly longer hills probable about 8-12% that I struggle to go up quicker than about 11mph. Now I am not hammering it but I am not taking it easy either. When I read on here it seems a lot of people just spin up hills like this without even using a tripple (which I use). Am I going quite slow or is there a bit much willy waving going on?

Thanks

Ben

richa

16% is pretty steep.

CyclingBantam

I know hoever I hear on here of others wizzing up 25% + at about 12mph..... backwards.
:roll:

Slurp

" I feel I am going slower than I should on hills."

What does that mean? There's no SHOULD about it. There's only what you'd LIKE. If you would like to go faster, then you'll need to train for that. If you're a collapsed heap at the top and can't pedal forwards, then you might consider slowing down a tad.

What I suspect you want is to know how fast other riders on the forum would achieve similar challenges in order to judge your own level of fitness. For that, your best bet is go out with a group, or measure yourself against other riders you might find along the way.

I do a similar length commute in London. On the hills I find challenging (and despite what you'd read, there are a couple up in the northwest of the city), some riders fly past me. By definition they're young fitness fanatics and trainee racers. Others I pass, which means, obviously, that I'm putting on a brilliant performance for a man of my age and weight at the end of the working day.

NWLondoner

i agree with slurp.

Everyone is different when it comes to hills. I HATE them. I can never get in the right bl@@dy gear and either pedal like a maniac or try to turn the entire planet :oops:

Then again i do ride a triple so I blame that Too many crossover gears :twisted:

Rich Hcp

You have to run at a pace that is comfortable for you.

Is this the only route/ride you do?

Try different routes at the weekends. It helps to vary the rides.

Don't worry about the others, worry about yourself!

chuckcork

16% is pretty steep. I have a short hill on my way to work, 10 minutes outside of town, way shorter and shallow grade than yours, sometimes I try and go over it maintaining 20mph, most of the time I settle for 12mph and just accept it, and enjoy the compensation of being able to fly down the otherside.

If you have a HRM and a cadence sensor (e.g. get a Polar CS200 Cadence) you could do the run, and see what you performance is like over the climb. If nothing else, you'll know how your body is performing against a objective measure, and from that you can always say "next time I'll do it 10% harder". Knowing your cadence will help as you might be sub-optimal on that too.

Other than than that, just ride it, the more often you do it the stronger you'll get, and soon enough you'll be impressing others with your hill climbing prowess.