So. I'm bad at climbing hills.

Kieran_Burns
Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
edited March 2012 in Commuting chat
So is my mate (admittedly he's worse than me 'cos he's carrying more weight)

but I did realise that there is piece of text from Moby Dick that entirely encompasses the feelings you have for that hill you hate:

"To the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee"

I think the last bit is the part that just nails it :)

When we struggled up that damn hill yesterday (both suffering from chest infections) my Mate got to the top and in a brilliant take on the quote bellowed "KAAAAAAHHHHHHNNNNNNN!!!!" at the top of his lungs :D

(wait for all the "Oh I really LOVE climbing hills" gits to chip in :p)
Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
2011 Trek Madone 4.5
2012 Felt F65X
Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
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Comments

  • CYCLESPORT1
    CYCLESPORT1 Posts: 471
    Two of you putting in some effort with chest infections :shock: should have more sence.
  • mudcow007
    mudcow007 Posts: 3,861
    i feel thee's pain

    im 17St, i go down hills uber fast, up is a different story
    Keeping it classy since '83
  • Kieran_Burns
    Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    CYCLESPORT1 wrote:
    Two of you putting in some effort with chest infections :shock: should have more sence.

    I didn't actually know that I had a problem until I started tasting blood near the top - my mate is just plain daft (it's his only way to get to work: he doesn't own a car)
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
    2012 Felt F65X
    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • SimonAH
    SimonAH Posts: 3,730
    I'm not 17st, but light I am not. I'm a lot fitter than I was before I took up this cycling lark - but big hills fill me with despair. The legs are OK, but the lungs just don't inflate enough and I'm gasping for air....
    FCN 5 belt driven fixie for city bits
    CAADX 105 beastie for bumpy bits
    Litespeed L3 for Strava bits

    Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast.
  • jonnyboy77
    jonnyboy77 Posts: 547
    I grew up in Derbyshire so should not fear hills ... fast forward to my 30's and Richmond Hill, something as a kid I could never have called a hill, is my daily nemesis.
    Commuting between Twickenham <---> Barbican on my trusty Ridgeback Hybrid - url=http://strava.com/athletes/125938/badge]strava[/url
  • rjsterry
    rjsterry Posts: 29,359
    Herman Melville wrote:
    "To the last I grapple with thee; from hell's heart I stab at thee; for hate's sake I spit my last breath at thee"

    I do really love hills, but that quote is spot on all the same. Very good for venting. I've been known to ket out a few strange noises on descents too.
    1985 Mercian King of Mercia - work in progress (Hah! Who am I kidding?)
    Pinnacle Monzonite

    Part of the anti-growth coalition
  • suzyb
    suzyb Posts: 3,449
    When I did the Women on Wheels thing last year I was alwasys miles behind everyone when we were climbing the hills even though I'd done the most cycling of everyone. Was a tad depressing tbh.

    At least until the instructor told me, once I'd caught up with the rest at the top of the hill, that I should go on ahead as I would be faster than everyone else on the downhill.
    Whippet
  • fossyant
    fossyant Posts: 2,549
    Love hills, the only issue I have is 1 in 5's and steeper, my knackered shoulder doesn't like them.

    Up to that steep, bring it on.

    Helps living on the edge of the Pennines though !
  • vermin
    vermin Posts: 1,739
    I love hills. I hated them until yesterday.
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,770
    vermin wrote:
    I love hills. I hated them until yesterday.
    Haven't the mod's changed your name as per CJCP's request yet?
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
    Cotic Solaris
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Hills are awful except for the rare occasion you're going up them faster than the guy next to you.

    a 4% beaut with a great view and a tailwind on your own shouldn't be under-estimated.
    _
  • gtvlusso
    gtvlusso Posts: 5,112
    I am not a big fan of hills, but I tend to get aggressive on them, I won't let them beat me......they are always watching!!!!!
  • Paul E
    Paul E Posts: 2,052
    I have a love hate thing with hills, on my own it's 50/50 with friends it's more 80/20, I just seem to go up them easier with other people
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    love hills.

    Hills hurt, sofas kill
  • Kieran_Burns
    Kieran_Burns Posts: 9,757
    coriordan wrote:
    love hills.

    Hills hurt, sofas kill


    drugs are baaad m'kay?
    Chunky Cyclists need your love too! :-)
    2009 Specialized Tricross Sport
    2011 Trek Madone 4.5
    2012 Felt F65X
    Proud CX Pervert and quiet roadie. 12 mile commuter
  • meanredspider
    meanredspider Posts: 12,337
    For me, hills can only be assessed relative to the wind:

    A hill that shelters you from the wind is a Good Hill

    A hill that has a following wind and makes you feel immense is also a Good Hill

    A hill that you have to pedal hard down because you are riding into a strong headwind is miserable

    In all honesty, I don't like hills or wind much - but I've learned to embrace them 8) :roll: :wink:
    ROAD < Scott Foil HMX Di2, Volagi Liscio Di2, Jamis Renegade Elite Di2, Cube Reaction Race > ROUGH
  • vermin
    vermin Posts: 1,739
    Veronese68 wrote:
    vermin wrote:
    I love hills. I hated them until yesterday.
    Haven't the mod's changed your name as per CJCP's request yet?

    :lol:
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Kieran_Burns wrote:
    coriordan wrote:
    love hills.

    Hills hurt, sofas kill

    drugs are baaad m'kay?

    Something like that. Practice makes perfect.
  • danlikesbikes
    danlikesbikes Posts: 3,898
    I have a love hate relationship with hills, as in North Bucks its relatively flat. Though we do have a set of pretty good climbs locally and a few hill repeats as training have helped a bit on the fitness side but more the mental side as I don't seem that bothered whereas this time last year I always dreaded getting dropped when its comes to the climbs.

    I have just read Robbie McEwans book and he talks about hills with a similar dread & suggests that when in a group get yourself towards the front on a climb & that way you can afford to drift to the rear at a slower pace than the more talented climbers & by the time you reach the top you won't have got dropped but be near the rear. Sounds like a pretty good idea to me
    Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Danlikesbikes wrote:
    Pain hurts much less if its topped off with beating your mates to top of a climb.
  • bigmat
    bigmat Posts: 5,134
    I love hills. Must be something in my nature that likes to embrace suffering. I'm no whippet, but when on form I climb a lot better than you'd think from looking at me. Sadly, haven't been on decent form for some time but the clocks change at the weekend I believe which is my usual cue to start getting a few more miles in!
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/41991871@N ... otostream/
  • veronese68
    veronese68 Posts: 27,770
    As part of our occasional pub wobble we ride up Richmond Hill. My mates had been complaining I was too fast for them, so I did the whole ride on a 1970s folder that's far too small for me. I still beat the lot of them up Richmond Hill.
    Unfortunately that's more of a reflection on them than it is on me. Added incentive of beating closing time in the Roebuck helped.
    Kinesis Pro6
    Marin Nail Trail
    Cotic Solaris
  • roger_merriman
    roger_merriman Posts: 6,165
    I like hills, preferably steep as you like, not fast but fairly unstoppable. unless being dumb with the single speed.

    my favourite are wet rooty steep climbs, which are more than just strength alone but skill as well.
  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    Long, alpine climbs are a thing of beauty. The same cannot be said of, for example, Whitedown. That's a right, nasty little peg.

    One thing that stuck out for me on the Marmotte was, inspite of the number of people around you, the distinct lack of voices: there are peiods when you just hear heavy breathing and gear changes.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • Yukirin
    Yukirin Posts: 231
    I'm a big scaredy cat and definatly dont like speed! (Thats anything over 35mph) but I love putting in some effort so I like hill climbs. I'm not very good and dont know how much extra effort my steel frame takes over a 8kg complete bike, but I'd rather go up than come down a steep hill.
  • greg66_tri_v2.0
    greg66_tri_v2.0 Posts: 7,172
    Up to 7%: ok. Not nice, or good, or no trouble. Just ok.
    8%: in the yellow zone
    9% and up: red zone with alarm klaxons going off all over the place.

    I fcuking hate descending too. Used to like it. Now all I can see is me hitting the ground at high speed (eg Jens Voight getting caught out on the white line and having his tour ended-type thing) and there being lots of bones and skin and blood involved.
    Swim. Bike. Run. Yeah. That's what I used to do.

    Bike 1
    Bike 2-A
  • bigmat
    bigmat Posts: 5,134
    Greg66 wrote:

    I fcuking hate descending too. Used to like it. Now all I can see is me hitting the ground at high speed (eg Jens Voight getting caught out on the white line and having his tour ended-type thing) and there being lots of bones and skin and blood involved.


    I'm with you on this. Have really lost my bottle going down hill. Which is a shame, as I used to be quite fast. Last sportive I did there was this one bloke who I kept overtaking on every hill, then he kept catching me on the descent - every time! I'm built to go down hills fast, its a real waste, but once you start thinking what might go wrong (and what has gone wrong a couple of times, thankfully without being too serious) its a losing battle.
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/41991871@N ... otostream/
  • jimmypippa
    jimmypippa Posts: 1,712
    What about this guy then?

    http://www.thebicyclestory.com/2011/11/paul-rozelles-24-hour-pre-pbp-fixed-gear-mont-ventoux-rides/
    There’s a nice medal for climbing Mont Ventoux by all three paved routes in one day, and an even more elite recognition conquering those climbs plus the unpaved forest road. That’s 116 miles and more than 19,000 feet of climbing (and descending), including two HC climbs plus an unpaved route on a mountain known for its bad weather. As far as I know, this had never been done on a fixed-gear bike.
    :shock:
    http://www.bikehike.co.uk/mapview.php?id=6404
  • Jay dubbleU
    Jay dubbleU Posts: 3,159
    coriordan wrote:
    Kieran_Burns wrote:
    coriordan wrote:
    love hills.

    Hills hurt, sofas kill

    drugs are baaad m'kay?

    Something like that. Practice makes perfect.

    No it doesn't - I've been climbing hills round here for years and it STILL HURTS

    Good quote though KB - must remember that one
  • fossyant
    fossyant Posts: 2,549
    Jay dubbleU wrote:
    coriordan wrote:
    Kieran_Burns wrote:
    coriordan wrote:
    love hills.

    Hills hurt, sofas kill

    drugs are baaad m'kay?

    Something like that. Practice makes perfect.

    No it doesn't - I've been climbing hills round here for years and it STILL HURTS

    Good quote though KB - must remember that one

    Never gets easier - you get faster ! :lol:

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