Training for hills, living in the fens!

vs4b
vs4b Posts: 257
edited December 2013 in Training, fitness and health
Hi,
I'm planning on doing a very hilly ride at the end of March (6000ft over 55miles) and am not good at hills. Other than losing some (lots of) weight how can I make this easier/less painful/faster?

I live in flatsville, do about 100ish miles a week on average - to give you an idea of how flat it is round here my commute is 46 miles and contains less than 100ft of climbing!!

Most suggestions gratefully recieved!

Comments

  • supermurph09
    supermurph09 Posts: 2,471
    Not sure but I'd probably think about doing intervals? Where are the Fens?
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  • imposter2.0
    imposter2.0 Posts: 12,028
    Supermurph09 wrote:
    Where are the Fens?

    Did you not do geography at school??
  • supermurph09
    supermurph09 Posts: 2,471
    School?
    Trainer Road Blog: https://hitthesweetspot.home.blog/

    Cycling blog: https://harderfasterlonger.wordpress.com/

    Blog: https://supermurphtt2015.wordpress.com/

    TCTP: https://supermurph.wordpress.com/
  • mamba80
    mamba80 Posts: 5,032
    the fens is the area around Fenchurch st train station, hence its flat and dark around there.

    time yourself riding hard for a set (short) distance with a tail wind, turn around and then try an beat your time, into the head wind, repeat as many times as you can, build up an do more, vary distance, eat less etc etc.
  • robstevens
    robstevens Posts: 47
    Also in the Fens here! (March, Cambs) and I can feel your pain! I only started riding mid summer last year and as soon as I hit anything with an incline, really suffered!

    I have invested in a Tacx VR trainer this winter to try and improve....will soon find out if it has worked or not whenI do the first sportive of the season (for me) on the 1st of March!

    Rob
  • vs4b
    vs4b Posts: 257
    Fens: north of cambridge, the very flat bit!
  • markwb79
    markwb79 Posts: 937
    And very close to Holland, where its equally as flat
    Scott Addict 2011
    Giant TCR 2012
  • MrT
    MrT Posts: 260
    To the OP...depends where in the Fens...I'm in Ely and its only 14 miles to Newmarket avoiding the main roads....nice rolling countryside. Went up Ventoux last summer....no major hill training......just went out with a group and pushed it as hard as possible at points....oh and I'm 6.3 and 16 stone so not a whippet. The key is strength and fitness.
  • ExigeR
    ExigeR Posts: 120
    Get a MTB and ride round a muddy field that will be about the same drag :)
  • alihisgreat
    alihisgreat Posts: 3,872
    Just turn a big gear into a headwind?
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    ALIHISGREAT wrote:
    Just turn a big gear into a headwind?

    That's nothing like hills. Personally, I find flat roads into a headwind harder than climbing so maybe it would serve as good training but I expect not. It's just too relentless.

    I'd be popping over to Derbyshire as often as possible and making use of the landscape NW of Derby/SW and W of Sheffield for practice. It's a pain but I can't see that anything but the real thing is going to really do the job.
    Faster than a tent.......
  • markwb79
    markwb79 Posts: 937
    Rolf F wrote:
    ALIHISGREAT wrote:
    Just turn a big gear into a headwind?

    That's nothing like hills. Personally, I find flat roads into a headwind harder than climbing so maybe it would serve as good training but I expect not. It's just too relentless.

    I'd be popping over to Derbyshire as often as possible and making use of the landscape NW of Derby/SW and W of Sheffield for practice. It's a pain but I can't see that anything but the real thing is going to really do the job.
    Scott Addict 2011
    Giant TCR 2012
  • cyco2
    cyco2 Posts: 593
    vs4b wrote:
    Hi,
    I'm planning on doing a very hilly ride at the end of March (6000ft over 55miles) and am not good at hills. Other than losing some (lots of) weight how can I make this easier/less painful/faster?
    I live in flatsville, do about 100ish miles a week on average - to give you an idea of how flat it is round here my commute is 46 miles and contains less than 100ft of climbing!!

    Most suggestions gratefully recieved!

    1/ easier/less painful/faster? Absolutly no way. Better to diet.

    2/ 100/46 is 2.17 commutes. Is that commuting by bike and car then?
    ...................................................................................................

    If you want to be a strong rider you have to do strong things.
    However if you train like a cart horse you'll race like one.
  • phreak
    phreak Posts: 2,953
    You don't need hills to train for hills. I'm doing a sportive over the Stelvio next year and most of my training for it will be done on the turbo, just as it was for similar rides of the Gavia, Mortirolo, d'Huez etc.

    Think of the kind of effort you need to put in for your desired climb, and try and replicate that on the flat. So for continental climbs it's 60 odd minutes of steady tempo sessions. For climbs in this country it's likely to be shorter and more intense intervals.

    Do that together with losing weight and it should make you better on the climbs.

    As an aside, climbs never really become easy, you just manage to go up them faster :)
  • Guanajuato
    Guanajuato Posts: 399
    Adjust your back brake so it drags a bit.*




    *may not be entirely serious ;-)

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