Pipeline Climb @ The Sourlands

ArmyOfNone

Well-Known Member
I woke up this afternoon with the urge to just get out and grind away on the pedals. I grabbed me some food and took off to the sourlands. (i have no idea why im narrating my life)


anyways rode the pipeline climb 3 times from bottom to top. I broke it into 3 sections. It worked out well becuase when the climb leveled out i couldnt crank out one more pedal stroke.

Think this is the right way to go about becoming a better climber? If so how often should i do this? Climbing is my biggest weakness as a rider and i am starting to hate to have to play catch up bc im gettin smoked on the climbs.

Thanks!
 

NJ Jess

Active Member
climbs arugh!

I've been racing for 3 years and "way dislike" climbs. Yes, one can bask in the sun of achievement when you get to the top,....but I usually just fall over. Keep practicing they tell me. Hummm, the climb or the fall?
 

ArmyOfNone

Well-Known Member
I am no stranger to falling off my bike. Happens so often that i think i have become good at falling. So sad
 

anrothar

entirely thrilled
i wouldn't do it too often, sounds like you were really pushing yourself. at most once per week, but with a hill that size, i would think once every other week would suffice. good job riding the whole thing! even with breaks.

one of the best ways to improve your climbing ability appears to be doing hill repeats at a much easier output level. did you warm up before starting? that'll be crucial in the future with that excercise to prevent injury.
 

jdog

Shop: Halter's Cycles
Shop Keep
Yo Fred,

Soon enough we will do some stuff on the road that will do more for you fitness than anything you can do on the Mt bike.

Nothing I have done on a mt bike is as hard as some of the road rides I have been on.

j
 

ArmyOfNone

Well-Known Member
i wouldn't do it too often, sounds like you were really pushing yourself. at most once per week, but with a hill that size, i would think once every other week would suffice. good job riding the whole thing! even with breaks.

one of the best ways to improve your climbing ability appears to be doing hill repeats at a much easier output level. did you warm up before starting? that'll be crucial in the future with that excercise to prevent injury.

Thanks Sean
It was pretty tough, but still kinda fun. I guess thats a good thing. Maybe I should go out on my geared bike if im goin to do that again? I did warm up for about a half hour playin on the rocks before i started climbing. Rocks are so much fun!
Yo Fred,

Soon enough we will do some stuff on the road that will do more for you fitness than anything you can do on the Mt bike.

Nothing I have done on a mt bike is as hard as some of the road rides I have been on.

j

Sounds exciting J! Bring the pain!
 

heythorp

New Member
Yo Fred,

Soon enough we will do some stuff on the road that will do more for you fitness than anything you can do on the Mt bike.

Nothing I have done on a mt bike is as hard as some of the road rides I have been on.

j

very very true. The road just hurts.
 

bonefishjake

Strong like bull, smart like tractor
Team MTBNJ Halter's
riding the road really is the best way...unfortunately since i really don't like riding the road. the cold weather is brutal on the lungs though.
 

ArmyOfNone

Well-Known Member
yea tell me about it. Until my body temp gets up I feel like im sufficating. makes pedaling not so much fun. SUCKS
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Yo Fred,

Soon enough we will do some stuff on the road that will do more for you fitness than anything you can do on the Mt bike.

Nothing I have done on a mt bike is as hard as some of the road rides I have been on.

j

This is the truth. All the pro mountaim bikers have a considerable amount of time on the road. It's pretty tough to get where you want to only on the trails. I'm sure the seasoned riders (Maurice, Weber, JimG) could tell you all about that.

Also...

Man there is a world of information out there. You could literally get into the theory of this stuff for years. Doing hill repeats without some sort of foundation won't nearly be as helpful as it could. You would get more out of the LT push workouts than hills right now. You would get even more from lots and lots and lots of tempo riding.
 

Maurice

New Member
Did you actually ride to the top on the single-speed? If so that's impressive. What kind of gearing do you have on there? That climb gets pretty steep in places, even though the traction is incredible.
Also it's never a bad time to ride hills. As long as you're not tired of climbing why not keep going? Your body will tell you soon enough. Also I'm pretty sure you'll get mentally tired of Sourlands before being physically tired. That's not a very long climb and it _will_ get boring. I know I would chain the top trail and downhill each time just to keep it interesting.

No not all pros ride the road crazy amounts. I know someone who passed pro and only rode trails up until that point.

Not to say it doesn't help, but you don't _have_ to. The problem is conditions don't always allow to ride trails, and it tends to get expensive.

Maurice
 

ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
Off the top of my head...

anyways rode the pipeline climb 3 times from bottom to top. I broke it into 3 sections. It worked out well becuase when the climb leveled out i couldnt crank out one more pedal stroke.

Think this is the right way to go about becoming a better climber? If so how often should i do this? Climbing is my biggest weakness as a rider and i am starting to hate to have to play catch up bc im gettin smoked on the climbs.

Thanks!
Lots of things to consider here, so this is just one viewpoint: Climbing requires dynamic ability- you need to be able to adapt to the terrain, as well as attacking/chasing other racers. Thus, training on hills that require/invite varying cadences can be beneficial.

If the climb at Sourlands is so steep that you're barely turning the pedals, that's a valuable power workout, but it's not as beneficial to your cadence training or steady-state tempo climbing. Doing the same climb on a geary might allow you to scale it at a similar (or faster) speed while spinning an easier gear at a higher cadence, but power is de-emphasized. Obviously, the physiological demands of each will be different, and you'll be training your body to achieve the climb through two different sorts of exertion, to put it in simple terms.

IMO, it's important to work on the low-cadence, power-focused stuff and the higher-cadence, strength-focused stuff as well. A complete cyclist needs it all.

So find different climbs that ask for different kinds of effort, Fred, if you want to be a better climber. That's the short answer.:D
 

Shaggz

A strong 7
Not that I am in climb mode now, but what is the best way do climb workouts on the indoor trainer? I understand that getting out on the road or trails with different types of hills/climbs will be more effective, but rewalistically, I don't foresee this happening on an even somewhat regular basis this winter.
 

Shaggz

A strong 7
My guess is that the change in angle on the trainer does not translate directly to a change in angle on the road/trail.

I'm not too bright, so bear with me. When you climb on the road/trail, for the most part, the contact point for the tire to the ground will be at the same relative position to the bicycle no matter what angle you climb/descend. On my particualr trainer, the resistance unit touches the rear tire at almost the 5:00 position. So if i were to raise the front tire, not only will the angle change, but more weight/force will be distributed to that contact point.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Actually my point is that a hill is the same as a flat surface. If you ride hard enough on a flat surface it will be the same effort as a hill. The advantage of a hill is that you can't really lollygag, where on a flat you can beg off for a few minutes and no big deal. Basically high end intervals do the trick.

As for actual hills, get out on the trails once a week. Either press yourself or ride with people stronger than you and try to keep pace.
 
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