Climbing, riding and walking

[ootini]

Not the actual activities as such, don't get excited.

Basically I've been going over the route the wife and I took last weekend and I'm trying to critique my climbing on the main hill / mountain. It gains 675ft in 2.1 miles Looking at it on a map it seems like a pretty gentle climb, but I managed to make it about half way up before I simply couldn't push any more and had to get off and walk, the Mrs had been walking earlier on, but she hasn't ridden in a long time.

I know it's very dependant on what you've ridden up to that point, what you're carrying etc but as a yard stick for me to gauge myself again, roughly what sort of gradient / distance would you say would be enough that you'd have to stop and walk? Sorry if this is a daft question, but I genuinely felt fitter and stronger over the weekends ride than I have done in a while, but now feel a bit let down looking at how easy the climb looks on paper.

It was this, by the way, hope the link works: https://www.google.co.uk/maps/dir/53.23 ... m2!4m1!3e1

As a bit of background, I'd ridden about 16 miles on a laden bike, carrying a 6.5kg rucksack and just had a pint and half of lager shandy.... probably wasn't the best move to be fair.

[Chew]

This is where you're going wrong

I'm trying to critique my climbing

Instead of looking at things which may not have gone well, concentrate on what you enjoyed. Sometimes you ride stuff other times you'll push, sometimes the miles are easy other times they're hard, sometimes the chippy is still open.........

[Bearbonesnorm]

Sometimes you ride stuff other times you'll push, sometimes the miles are easy other times they're hard, sometimes the chippy is still open.........

What Chew's said is very true, there's good days and bad days. Sometimes you surprise yourself by how far or fast you can go, other times you wonder why everyone else seems to be able to go so fast and you can't ... don't worry, your memories will be of the sunrises, sunsets and the fox that stole your tea bags

[Pirahna]

The other route looks easier, I would have used that.

[HaYWiRe]

There are too many factors at play to look at this that way

Id,like to consider myself to have a good level of fitness, I can sometimes push huge mileages and climb quite well,....on a good day...

But there's days I see people climb tough inclines while I can barely push, but remember, the bike is loaded, you've put several days in getting there, and you've got more days ride to go, take it slow and listen to your body, some days you need to know your limits

And if its frustration at what looks easy on a map, well that's all part of the adventure, the hill will always be steeper, muddier, rockier, trails longer and tougher. And that's if they actually exist in person, I've found many dead ends, wrong turns, washouts and flooded paths

But it all makes for a better song, you never read about smooth roads and easy routes, you read about that old bloke that carried a heavy bike up a mountain, cold and wet, but standing at the summit like a badass

[Bearbonesnorm]

I've just been thinking

Your stats show a 3.7km ascent with 205m of vertical gain. The first ride out of the forest at BB Towers is very similar and I've seen people throw up before the top

[ootini]

Thanks for the advice guys. I think, in hindsight, I may have just been shocked by how hard the climb felt compared to how easy it looked on paper.

[Gilbo71]

I ride around there fairly frequently, some of the climbs are very steep without you realising it. Plus the off roady ones tend to get used by farmers and chewed up by tractors to make it a little harder.

If you turn off the A541 at Nannerech and take the first left that road has some really steep bits, there is one section that without fail makes me consider giving up riding every time I ride it.

[Joshvegas]

I've come to grinding halt, fallen sideways and spewed where I lay on a climb before.

Too many pints and a shed load of crisps is not the grimpeurs choice.

[summittoppler]

Tbh I like climbing but a good bike route has walking in it

[Joshvegas]

I love climbing by the way.

But sometimes it just goes wrong

[Mariner]

I use heart rate - especially at my age.
The idea is that once I get to 130 bpm time to get off and push.
I can go beyond but its all to do with energy use ie use it now or keep some for later.
There is no point in wiping yourself out on the first hill.
Pushing is part of the ride anyway. The flat bits round here just connect the hills.

[HaYWiRe]

Funny you should mention heart rate,
My girlfriend suffers from tachycardia and now rides with a heart rate monitor, and tries to keep it steady to avoid palpitations,
Sometimes we need to just sit down for five to calm down, listen to your body

I'm not much different, I have to take a blood test every 30-90 mins when cycling to make sure I'm not crashing, and climbs take their toll on my blood sugars, so I'm constantly eating and fueling the engine...so to speak, I cant ride on empty