Highgate Hill Thursdays

mashton:So, I finally got around to trying our Highgate West on Saturday - seemed like a good idea as I had just switched to 48x19 from my usual 48x17. All was going pretty well, with the lungs heaving but definite progress being made, when disaster struck. The bloody road works half way up have temporary traffic lights and they went red just on the corner before the steep bit. Big cars coming t'other way so no way of snicking through. I couldn't get my momentum up again after stopping and had to throw in the towel about 50 yards from the top. I am a bit embarrassed to be honest. :-( Has anyone else been humbled by it?

cycled up last sunday with a friend. made it 3/4 of the way and lungs couldn't hold up. stopped for a few mins and cycled up the rest. so, i didn't walk up the hill, but i didn't do it in one go.

Anyone up for this? Me and Jesse'll probably be there around 6/Half 6, so bring a can of lager. David, you bringing your gearie? :)

I'm having my face drilled today, so you've got off easy.

Nope don't think so.

Me neither... I've got off easy.

Though if the dentist decides I need root canal I will wish I'd been on that hill.

I could be persuaded, but am not sure I can take the humiliation...

DK - was replying to laplus - sorry!

Mashton go along in a couple of weeks when hopefully i have the time to spare and we can share the humiliation (last time i bailed 75% of the way up then had a relaxed cycle the rest of the route ;) ).

Ok, looks like I've got a pacing partner in rkn.

If my ride home has my legs feeling amazing then I'll swing by the park, if not, see you in a week or two...

(my inner voice is saying - "don't be a pussy". (my other inner voice is reminding me of not being able to play football very well at school. (my other other inner voice is wondering if I need a therapist!)))

ive got commitments again on thursdays, so wont be making this for awhile :( still ride the route on my own though, the best bit of the ride (besides breezing past some guy on a road bike on the way up) is the climb really 'loosens' up your legs, so on the way down to swiss cottage you can just spin, and not bother with brakes.

you guys are nuts.

tried highgate west hill last night, and failed miserably.
i could blame the fact that it was the end of a 25 mile ride, but won't.

made it up highgate hill today. unfortunately chain came off on the way down and i skidded. scary. and got greasy hands.

i got up it on a 49x15, ouch

49x15? holy crap. hats off to you.

it was at a snails pace, but i made it

49x15? Do you ride that ratio on the road? That's bigger than my track ratio! Also I seem to remember that you ride brakeless - is that right?

Damn. Just had my first go at HH West this evening, and failed miserably. Tried to go for it early on, but ran out of puff/strength/will literally half way up. Absolutely hopeless. Had a bit of a rest, tried to get back on bike, but barely had strength left in my legs to clip into spds!

Do you guys have any theories about ratios? I'm running 48/19 (about 66in), and wonder whether it might be too low (paradoxically).

Momentum 49x15? Do you ride that ratio on the road? That's bigger than my track ratio! Also I seem to remember that you ride brakeless - is that right?

yup, slow at the lights, but i like the grunt.. and yes, brakeless

matthew Damn. Just had my first go at HH West this evening, and failed miserably. Tried to go for it early on, but ran out of puff/strength/will literally half way up. Absolutely hopeless. Had a bit of a rest, tried to get back on bike, but barely had strength left in my legs to clip into spds!

Do you guys have any theories about ratios? I'm running 48/19 (about 66in), and wonder whether it might be too low (paradoxically).

I made the mistake of gearing down one year for the hillclimb season (only 1 tooth up front), and ended up 5 seconds slower on a 2min 1-in-4 sort of climb, but still felt as knackered at the top.

I reckon my perfect gear (I'm about 140lbs at race weight) for HH West would be in the high 60s, but that would be pretty much flat out from the bottom, staying seated till at least the first side road on the left, then out the saddle all the way. But you've got to be very strong out the saddle (arms, lower back, calves, pull-uppy muscles at top of thighs) to be able to ride efficiently. I was riding 72" the other week during the Thursday night 'race'.

Depending on your weight, 66" could be an awkward in-between gear - not low enough to sit down till the last bend, not high enough to support your weight out the saddle. Then again, it could just be a matter of practice. Set yourself incremental goals (ie. stand for 10 pedal strokes one ride, 20 the next, 30 the next, or whatever), breath out strongly, and concentrate on standing tall and getting your full bodyweight over the bottom bracket, synchronising your arms and legs - if you find a rhythm, you can use zen to get past the first "fuck me, I'm going to die" patch.

Sorry to waffle - I was a hillclimb specialist competitively, and it took about 3 years to progress from cracking on HH West to competing at national level. By the end of the summer, I'm sure you'll get the better of it...

BMMF, thanks for this excellent advice - I'm convinced that almost as much of hillclimbing is about strategy and willpower as raw strength/fitness, so it's interesting to hear all this from you. I wouldn't have thought of putting all weight over bb, but it makes sense. I guess I'll just have to keep at it. I think my problem often is that I'm too reluctant to get out of the saddle, and too often I let myself get too far up a hill at too slow a speed to ever conquer it.

I ended up sharing Marco Pantani's philosophy about climbing - though not his lack of self-control with illicit substances ;-)

Journalist: "Why do you climb so fast?"
Pantani: "To make my suffering end faster"

Well, I've never seen anyone climb so fast, so it must work for you. Do you train on hills a lot? Fancy a rematch tomorrow?

laplusgourmande Well, I've never seen anyone climb so fast, so it must work for you. Do you train on hills a lot? Fancy a rematch tomorrow?

I did for a few years, so there's a bit of residual oomph despite being a few pounds heavier, cranks being a few mm shorter, and not getting any miles in. I think the best training was the year I spent working in Highgate - I used to go up Highgate Hill (not West), down Shepherd's Hill (where I worked) but then tag on a little loop of twice up Muswell Hill followed by Wood Vale, with fixed mtb, and panniers stuffed with books. Same extra loop on the way home.

Can't be arsed doing competitive stuff at the moment, but I still 'attack' most hills out of habit. Topographically or otherwise, I like getting high.

Would love a rematch, but I've just walked out of a 3hr anatomy exam an hour early due to having fuck all opportunity to revise whilst the council builders rip our home apart, and have got to do my entire acoustics revision by 10am tomorrow. What a fucking laugh. Can you tell I'm fucking stressed, or is it not that fucking obvious. Fuck knows.

How're the teeth, David?

Don't even start, I'm looking at lovely root canal work and the pulling of a wisdom tooth. I swear dentists have a racket going on.

velocity boy I swear dentists have a racket going on.

Yeah, those drills are well noisy.