"I hate to climb"

[jmeb]

We've all heard the way to get faster or better in biking, skiing, etc is to ride/ski with people who are better than you.

And while there is truth to this (you'll learn better lines, you'll push your fitness) -- spending the last two days climbing a good bit -- I realized that one way to hate it less is to go solo. You can stop whenever you want, keep whatever pace feels right. You'll still get more fit and there's no pressure beyond whatever you put on. Although I had lots of breathers this weekend, I also cleared some techy bits I wouldn't normally because I took my time before hand to rest, read the line, and then motor through.

 

[Primoz]

If the MTB climb is at all technical, kinda hard to hit anything close to that RPM.

I try to avoid using term "technical", as around here, it's joke for people who either have no power or no guts It started a while ago, when 1000 and 1 sort of mtb riding appeared and when people with no balls to hammer it down (like DH guys were doing), started to call their slowmotion descending "technical riding". Same then went also for uphill... you either hammer it up, but if you have no power left, you ride technical details of that climb at almost still standing tempo So I normally try to avoid term technical.... not to mention with my xc bike and seat 10cm above handlebar, it's sort of impossible to ride anything what would remotely fit into technical anyway

 

[Monique]

We've all heard the way to get faster or better in biking, skiing, etc is to ride/ski with people who are better than you.

And while there is truth to this (you'll learn better lines, you'll push your fitness) -- spending the last two days climbing a good bit -- I realized that one way to hate it less is to go solo. You can stop whenever you want, keep whatever pace feels right. You'll still get more fit and there's no pressure beyond whatever you put on. Although I had lots of breathers this weekend, I also cleared some techy bits I wouldn't normally because I took my time before hand to rest, read the line, and then motor through.

Or ride with people who say they're okay with waiting - and believe them. I'm getting better at that second part. I make it clear that I'm slow ahead of time; they can always decline to ride with me in the future.

I try to avoid using term "technical", as around here, it's joke for people who either have no power or no guts It started a while ago, when 1000 and 1 sort of mtb riding appeared and when people with no balls to hammer it down (like DH guys were doing), started to call their slowmotion descending "technical riding". Same then went also for uphill... you either hammer it up, but if you have no power left, you ride technical details of that climb at almost still standing tempo So I normally try to avoid term technical.... not to mention with my xc bike and seat 10cm above handlebar, it's sort of impossible to ride anything what would remotely fit into technical anyway

Hah. I dunno. I guess some people can ride right up roots and rocks without missing a pedal stroke, but I sure can't. Add in ratcheting to keep your pedals out of the way ... I just don't see cadence applying to that kind of riding.

 

[scott43]

Hah. I dunno. I guess some people can ride right up roots and rocks without missing a pedal stroke, but I sure can't. Add in ratcheting to keep your pedals out of the way ... I just don't see cadence applying to that kind of riding.

Well..if you have a high cadence riding roots and rocks, you can spin the back tire a bit and continue pedalling and not lose momentum. If you're grinding, you get stuck in the dead part of the stroke and end up dabbing..or dismounting..in shame..

 

[Monique]

Well..if you have a high cadence riding roots and rocks, you can spin the back tire a bit and continue pedalling and not lose momentum. If you're grinding, you get stuck in the dead part of the stroke and end up dabbing..or dismounting..in shame..

I see your point (modulo having to do some unweighting tricks, wheel lifts, or ratcheting) ... I don't really have a choice, so grinding it is! And not wasting energy on shame ...

 

[Joel]

I love to climb. I find what works for me is to just focus on the spin. Not to take too many looks up the hill, just enough not to crash. I have my MTB set up with a really low, low gear to save my old knees.

When I climb sometimes folks pass me up ( always younger than me so I don't get too much of an ego hit ), sometimes I pass folks ( sometimes younger than me, good for an ego boost ).

Main thing is, I'm never in a hurry, more like a tractor, just chug my way up.

Once I do make it up, I do find the fast, technical, single track a tolerable way to get back down.