Simple Tips Help to Improve Your Hill Climbing Skills

Biking, The Uphill Battle...

Ok, the photo to the left may be a little extreme, but even the Tour de France can seem like something of a strange spectacle for those who aren't familiar with it. In most of the Tour's group stages, the racers cross the finish line not, as one might expect, staggered and individually, but more usually as part of a large group called the peloton. The race's organizers, in fact, recognize how common this will be, and award all of those who finish in this way a single time for the stage.

This raises the question as to who is likely to actually win the long race. In the end, it is those who do best on the mountainous stages, for it is only on these that the usual group finish is broken apart. On the steep climbs in the Alps, individual cyclists who are most skilled at climbing are able to break away from the large pack that forms in the flatlands, often leaving those other cyclists behind by tens of minutes by the time they arrive at the finish.

Biking up hill, then, is a skill of its own and one that many cyclists are interested in improving. It can also be one of the most difficult of skills to develop, although a few basic cycling tips for better hill climbing can benefit most riders.

One of the most useful of these is also the most fundamental. As with those mountain-climbing specialists in the Tour de France, the best recreational hill climbers are often slightly built people. The most important factor determining hill climbing speed is the ratio between a cyclist's power and weight, and the best way to raise this is not, as some would expect, to pack on bulky muscle, but the opposite. Becoming leaner is the easiest way to become a better hill climber. Check your local book store or bike shop for cycling books to tell you which diet is best and how to train correctly to shed weight and gain power. Also cross training like running, walking and swimming is good to increase your stamina and muscle strength.

The same “lean-rule” goes for the bicycle itself: While a bit of extra weight might not be felt much while spinning over flat roads, as soon as those roads turn upward, it becomes much more important. Therefore bikes made of carbon fiber, the lightest frame material, are getting more and more popular and less expensive. Cutting a few ounces from a bike's weight can make a noticeable difference in a cyclist's hill-climbing times. The same goes for gear selection, too. Being able to make fine adjustments when it comes to uphill cycling is more important than at any other time. Paying attention to these apparently minor matters can be the best way to improve your hill climbing skills, as this specialized discipline has unique requirements.

Ask your local bike shop how to reduce the weight of your current bike, how to optimize your gears or which is the lightest bike they recommend.