Highgate Hill Thursdays

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...