Welcome new riders and returning riders! I look forward to your cycling success over the next six week session. Ok, enough of the formalities...lets get down(or get up..thats, how to get up) to business. If you haven't guessed I'm going to pass on some tips for making your climbing sessions successful. Tip numero uno...head out to Home Depot and pick up a sturdy ladder. OK, ok seriously:
1. Up or down: Stay seated! Resist the temptation to stand. Standing utilizes more energy and causes HR to spike...save the matches. You will be more efficient utilizing the old saying, "Slow and Steady." However, if it is a long climb then stand, legs centered over the pedals, pedal approximately 20 pedal strokes to flush the legs then resume climb seated. You may also stand to crest a hill to get the legs ready for what is on the other side.
2. Hand position: keep the airway open! Keep hands, gripped loosely, shoulder width on the bars and not on the stemcap. Triathletes you do not need to be aerodynamic on the ascents...get out of the aerobars; I promise you will still look sleek and sexy!
3. Hips back: slide back slightly on the saddle. You will be able to produce greater power and you will be utilizing greater endurance muscles vs sitting up on the nose of the saddle where quads dominate the pedal stroke; hammies & glutes good/quads no so good for climbing.
4. Shifting: take home message...NO MASHING! Approach hill in gear you were carrying for the flat, if you can power over the hill do so. If not, drop approxmately two gears on the rear cassette for each section of the hill. For example, if you break a hill into thirds you will shift down 6 gearings(two rt clicks for each section)...if you run out of gears and you are riding the "Big Ring" i.e., a 53 shift down to the "small ring"i.e., 39 and reestablish your rear cassette gearing as necessary to keep efficient cadence(not less than 60rpms) within your HR and watts zones.
Well, thats all I have for climbing today. I gotta run out to Lowes because Home Depot was out of ladders. See you on the other side of the moutain.
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