Hills that make you get off and walk
Comments
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this made me reach for the lower gears yesterday (shown in direction of travel)
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I tackled Craigowl Hill yesterday, out the back of Dundee. It was into a 20-25mph cross/head wind (which didn't help) and the average gradient is 8.7% over 2.5 miles - with a couple of ramps at 10-15% and one brutal 0.3 mile section in middle that's 25%. I've never yet made it all the way up without stopping (though I haven't walked), despite using 30x25 (34x28) low gear combinations. My legs feel like they would just about make it up, but my heart-rate just gets far too high once I hit the 25% section ... 190 (measure max of 192).
http://app.strava.com/segments/1129128
the gradient is somewhat deceiving, as it starts off gentle(ish), the last 1.1 miles averages 11% though.
What makes it tricky is that it's a private road up to a radio trasmitter, so the road isn't in the best of condition and cows / sheep roam the nearby hills and are there is quite a bit of dung on the roads.
Any suggestions on training to better cope with this 25% section? Would hill repeats on a 0.1 mile hill at 15% help? Or would sprint intervals be better to improve cardio?
On the plus side though, I did take 8 minutes (!!!) off my PB up that hill yesterday :-)0
