log in
register

Training for hills when you live on the flat?

  • Creator
    Topic
  • November 20, 2010 at 9:18 pm #12885
    Fish_n_Chips

    In Cambridgeshire it is flat as a pancake.

    How do I prepare for hills?

    Bath/Bristol it is gorgeous hilly 😀

    How would I prepare myself for hills when taking part in Sportives?

    I thought of riding in a hard gear and standing up on some slope or Turbo trainer? -would this be enough?
    Local gyms are lacking stair climbers too.

    Any tips appreciated.

    Thank you!

  • Creator
    Topic
Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 18 total)
1 2
  • Author
    Replies
  • December 15, 2010 at 1:59 am #639085
    0
    Fish_n_Chips

    Thanks J.T.C. I’ll be there
    Thanks J.T.C. I’ll be there within a week and start building my core and hopefully tag along your club in 3 months after I’m comfortable with my distance again 🙂

    Will explore Oundle – it’s been a while.

    Peterborough 100 not too far off!

    December 14, 2010 at 8:56 pm #639083
    0
    James Warrener

    Oundle is a perfect base for
    Oundle is a perfect base for some hillier cyling Fish_n_Chips.

    You can make Rutland on a good day and some serious climbing from there.

    Have a look at http://www.yaxleyriders.co.uk , we are members of a number of local clubs but just like to hang about and ride together. More than welcome to tag along.

    December 4, 2010 at 2:41 am #639081
    0
    Fish_n_Chips

    Thanks for all the advice on
    Thanks for all the advice on here!

    Some scouting is needed and Oundle, Car parks and bike trailers for shopping is on my hit list as well as TT, wind and Turbo trainer with front wheel pyramid blocks!

    Move to France?! Lol

    November 23, 2010 at 4:19 pm #639079
    0
    KirinChris

    Just checking how flat it is
    Just checking how flat it is here I looked up last week’s club ride – 139km with a grand total 265m of climbing.

    Slightly less than a 0.2% gradient. :B

    November 23, 2010 at 2:15 pm #639077
    0
    dave atkinson

    funnily enough i’m the
    funnily enough i’m the opposite; i live in nice hilly bath and i suffer like a dog. 😐

    it’s a pie-related issue i think

    November 23, 2010 at 1:31 pm #639075
    0
    cat1commuter

    I live in Cambridgeshire too,
    I live in Cambridgeshire too, and have been pleasantly surprised by how well I climb on the rare occasions when I do hit the hills.

    I think my secret is that I practice sitting and spinning. I have a bike computer with cadence, and try to keep between 95 and 100 rpm. When I hit the hills I shift down to maintain the same steady, high cadence.

    November 23, 2010 at 1:28 pm #639073
    0
    Simon_MacMichael

    Are there any multistorey car
    Are there any multistorey car parks near you? 😉

    November 23, 2010 at 1:26 pm #639071
    0
    cat1commuter

    dave_atkinson wrote:good plan

    dave_atkinson wrote:
    good plan – doesn’t work when you’re testing an electric Ute, I’ve found out thins evening :-)

    Just switch off the electrics!

    November 23, 2010 at 1:13 pm #639069
    0
    pabryan

    You could always just move
    You could always just move the the French Alps and solve your problem that way.

    November 22, 2010 at 8:56 pm #639067
    0
    dave atkinson

    good plan – doesn’t work when
    good plan – doesn’t work when you’re testing an electric Ute, I’ve found out thins evening 🙂

    November 22, 2010 at 7:49 pm #639065
    0
    Stofish

    My technique for hill
    My technique for hill training;

    1. Find a supermarket downhill from your house, it doesn’t need to be a big hill just physically lower than your house.

    2. Buy a bike trailer, those single wheeled MTB ones are good.

    3. Do the weekly food shop for you & your household by bike.

    Even the smallest slope becomes significant when your pulling an extra 30kg.

    November 22, 2010 at 4:00 am #639063
    0
    KirinChris

    Where I am is probably even
    Where I am is probably even flatter than the flattest pancake in Cambridgeshire – and also given to horrible winds.

    I disagree with DaSy about it being only psychological to train in the hills.

    I’ve done a lot more good quality riding out here in the last three years and lost several kilos as well. So I’m stronger and lighter but I still have trouble climbing when I go back to do a sportive in Europe.

    The main problem is being able to stand up in the pedals for any length of time. It’s my arms and back that fail first, not my legs. It’s very hard to replicate that on the flat – it doesn’t have the same angle of being further forward over the bars as you do when climbing a hill.

    So my view is, yes you can stand, do TT training and generally improve your power to weight ratio and fitness. But it will be hard to avoid some effect on your climbing ability and the other stuff is just the best way of compensating for it.

    November 21, 2010 at 9:26 pm #639061
    0
    Anonymous

    Hill climbing ability is for
    Hill climbing ability is for the most part a function of power to weight ratio, so getting lighter whilst maintaining your current power or increasing power for you current weight will make all hills easier. Whether you achieve either of the above whilst training on the flat or in the hills makes little difference.

    Training for hills in the hills seems logical, and does help psychologically to give you confidence, but you can achieve equally good results on the flat.

    November 21, 2010 at 5:52 pm #639059
    0
    James Warrener

    Depends where in
    Depends where in Cambridgeshire you are… I can get to Northants and the hills around Oundle pretty easily from my house.

    Might be worth chucking the bike in the boot for a twenty minute drive before starting a ride ?

    November 21, 2010 at 4:51 pm #639057
    0
    Fish_n_Chips

    Thanks Guys, I was planning
    Thanks Guys, I was planning way ahead but as Jimmy the Cuckoo will know, Cambs is flat as a pancake but very windy.

    Although the aero position helps quite a bit.

    You guys have got me thinking about which energy and muscular systems are being used on hills and also sprint intervals on straight.

    Time to get the notepad, heart rate monitor and cadence computer on and attack Lansdown and see if I can mimick in training in Peterborough area and weights in my garage.

    Agree with the core work too.

    Thanks for the inspiration – I have 3 weeks till I move and 6-8 rides to collect some data lol.

  • Author
    Replies
Viewing 15 replies - 1 through 15 (of 18 total)
1 2
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.