# Climbing (on a bike)



## bvibert (Jun 1, 2009)

Do you enjoy the climb, or is it just a necessity to get to the down hill?

When riding my MTB I enjoy the climbs, especially if there's some sort of technical challenge to it too.  Even non-technical climbs are good by me too though.  There's something about the sense of accomplishment when I get to the top, or maybe that's just the effect of lack of oxygen.  There's plenty of climbs that I can't make, for whatever reason, I look forward to giving them another shot every time I ride them again.

I'm interested to hear the roadies take on this too...


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## Greg (Jun 1, 2009)

I really love short technical climbs. The long extended grueling ones? Not as much, but I still like them. Part of why I'm doing this is the fitness benefit and building endurance and wind throughout the season just feels good. Plus you get to go back down!


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## bvibert (Jun 1, 2009)

I like the long, grueling ones the best, even though I'm usually ready to pass out by the top.  And it's not just because I know I get to go back down, that's just a nice added bonus.


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## MR. evil (Jun 1, 2009)

Enjoy them….not so much. But with the exception of a select few I don’t hate them either. I do prefer the shorter technical climbs over the easier long drawn out type. The longer drawn out ones just bore me to death, all you are doing is pedaling for what seams like an eternity. That’s what I imaging road riding to be like. I need some technical challenge to keep me on my toes and my mind off the lack of oxygen. The last section of the Johnny Cake climb we did yesterday is a good example. If that had been a standard fire road that would have really sucked and bored the crap out of me. But all the rocks, ruts & leaves gave it a technical aspect that I enjoyed. It wasn’t very technically challenging, but it had just enough going on that you had to pick lines and think about what you were doing. Then there is the climb from the stream crossing after rt69 to the stone wall. That is a pretty rocky / technical little stretch and I really look forward to it every time we ride that loop.


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## awf170 (Jun 1, 2009)

Climbing is the best part of riding because it is actually challenging.  Downhills and drops are 90% guts, 10% skill.  Climbing on the other hand is purely based on skill.

Flame away downhillers...


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## RootDKJ (Jun 1, 2009)

I went with the These options suck.  There are some climbs that I get really into, and one in particular that makes a steep & sharp left, is really challenging to me, but I can only do it about 1/2 the time.

Other hills I could do with out.  There's one long steep one on a fireroad that just drains me, it's boring and seems to last forever.  Only good part about it is the sweet twisties off to the left of it once you get to the top.

Rolling hills are more my style.


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## bvibert (Jun 1, 2009)

MR. evil said:


> Enjoy them….not so much. But with the exception of a select few I don’t hate them either. I do prefer the shorter technical climbs over the easier long drawn out type. The longer drawn out ones just bore me to death, all you are doing is pedaling for what seams like an eternity. That’s what I imaging road riding to be like. I need some technical challenge to keep me on my toes and my mind off the lack of oxygen. The last section of the Johnny Cake climb we did yesterday is a good example. If that had been a standard fire road that would have really sucked and bored the crap out of me. But all the rocks, ruts & leaves gave it a technical aspect that I enjoyed. It wasn’t very technically challenging, but it had just enough going on that you had to pick lines and think about what you were doing. Then there is the climb from the stream crossing after rt69 to the stone wall. That is a pretty rocky / technical little stretch and I really look forward to it every time we ride that loop.



A climb is never boring to me.  I'm too busy concentrating on making that next revolution of the pedals.

I even enjoyed that long ass climb up the gravel path in the sessions loop that we did last week.  There was nothing technical about that.


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## Trev (Jun 1, 2009)

I started biking in May of this year.

 I 'love the climb' in the sense that it is very challenging. I am starting to pick apart the various challenges.. like I find myself popping my front tire up off the ground to replace it in a better spot now and then..  sort of chuckled yesterday while doing one of those slow demanding climbs.. saying to myself " ok move that front tire over there .. good job Trev " .. those self pats on the back really help me out 

 Of course, my slow demanding climb is probably something some of you bikers consider downhill...  lol..


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## TheBEast (Jun 1, 2009)

I just hate it when the 50+ crowd whoops my a$$ on the damn climbs, only to have me buzz by them on the downhill


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## Johnskiismore (Jun 1, 2009)

Love climbing on my MTB.  Not that great on the long long ones, but I really like the challenge


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## MR. evil (Jun 1, 2009)

awf170 said:


> Climbing is the best part of riding because it is actually challenging.  Downhills and drops are 90% guts, 10% skill.  Climbing on the other hand is purely based on skill.
> 
> Flame away downhillers...



So you are saying that this is only 10% skill?
http://www.ellsworthbikes.com/mobilerider/?video_id=12415


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## Paul (Jun 1, 2009)

Climbs suck, I climb enough on the road, thankyewvurrymush....


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## mondeo (Jun 1, 2009)

It's a love/hate relationship on the road for me. It's not therapeutic and relaxing like flats or fun like turns or downhills; basically as I head toward a good climb I simultaneuosly think, "this is gonna be painful" and "Show this b**** who's the boss." Then I get to the top and get a decent amount of mental satisfaction to go along with sucking wind.


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## JD (Jun 1, 2009)

awf170 said:


> Climbing is the best part of riding because it is actually challenging.  Downhills and drops are 90% guts, 10% skill.  Climbing on the other hand is purely based on skill.
> 
> Flame away downhillers...



I enjoy a good climb.  A nice singletrack that tractor-beams me up.  Nice flowing trail with interesting features that makes me want to clean it up.  Not overly steep, eroded trail with mad roots showing where the trail has gotten wider and wider and is just asthetically shitty, and not never ending washed out 2track.  But a good climb that allows me to keep it rolling,  is well thought out and sustainable, I LOVE them.  Granny gear grinds IMO require no real bike handleing, just cardio.  A bunch of XC racer types here in town can tear my legs off of stupid shitty climbs.  On the DH they are so far off the back sometimes I worry about them and almost go back.  Descending technical DH singletrack requires an emense amount of skill and real sound technique on braking, cornering, jumping, pumping, unweighting, manuals....  Grind up a hill just requires a granny gear and some lungs.  I couldn't disagree more with austins perpective, but I still LOVE well thought out ascents.  Waterbury VT climb up to Burning Spear.  The climb to peek a view in Stowe. (never made it all in one shot, though I have made every section....hardest move is the last 20 feet and I made it once, but dabbed earlier...and I've made everything else and dabbed there a few times)  Both are awesome, devistating, doable, misty climbs that I love.


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## JD (Jun 1, 2009)

MR. evil said:


> So you are saying that this is only 10% skill?
> http://www.ellsworthbikes.com/mobilerider/?video_id=12415



That guy can rock, but those trails are absolutely gross!!!  
I'd rather rip buffed out shit like this...which is obviously only 10 percent skill...


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## Marc (Jun 2, 2009)

I do get some sort of sick, masochistic pleasure from climbing.  I think it's the sense of accomplishment.  I've ridden up Killington almost every year I've been going there (about nine years maybe?) and the sense of satisfaction is amazing.  Only rivaled by the sense of pants wetting terror as you realize you're now about to ride down Killington, half the time on wet, greasy, steep trails with noodly legs and tired everything else.

Climbing on the road is different for me because I don't have long climbs around here.  Some moderate length at best... maybe a mile at the most, but most of them are also very steep.  Some right around my house approach 20% grade.  I still enjoy it, and I still seek them out for the sense of accomplishment and the endurance gains, but I do wish I had some longer, 6-8% average grade climbs around.


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## bvibert (Jun 2, 2009)

JD said:


> That guy can rock, but those trails are absolutely gross!!!
> I'd rather rip buffed out shit like this...which is obviously only 10 percent skill...



 Wow, sick stuff there!


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## MR. evil (Jun 2, 2009)

JD said:


> That guy can rock, but those trails are absolutely gross!!!



That was filmed at Whistler. Those rock faces and roots were so wet I would kill myself trying to hike down them.


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## MR. evil (Jun 2, 2009)

bvibert said:


> Wow, sick stuff there!



Did you watch the link I posted? Insane is the only word for some of the stuff that guy is riding. The first minute of the vid is slow, but after that it gets really cool.


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## bvibert (Jun 2, 2009)

MR. evil said:


> Did you watch the link I posted? Insane is the only word for some of the stuff that guy is riding. The first minute of the vid is slow, but after that it gets really cool.



I watched it, pretty intense terrain.  Not anything that I'm ever likely to ride, especially in those conditions.  I was more impressed by all the features in JD's video though.  The raised ladder bridges with gap jumps in the middle were pretty sick, IMHO.


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## Gremf (Jun 2, 2009)

It's a love hate relationship but the payoff is the opportunity to ride fast down hill.


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## Greg (Jun 2, 2009)

Marc said:


> I do get some sort of sick, masochistic pleasure from climbing.



I'm starting to get this. Smoothing out a long climb is oddly exhilarating.


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## bvibert (Jun 2, 2009)

Greg said:


> I'm starting to get this. Smoothing out a long climb is oddly exhilarating.



I will get that stupid fat kid climb eventually, and when I do it's gonna be SWEET!

I keep getting stuck on that stupid rock, I'll get my front tire over it no problem, but then I hit a pedal on it trying to get the rest of the way over... :smash:


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## Greg (Jun 2, 2009)

bvibert said:


> I will get that stupid fat kid climb eventually, and when I do it's gonna be SWEET!
> 
> I keep getting stuck on that stupid rock, I'll get my front tire over it no problem, but then I hit a pedal on it trying to get the rest of the way over... :smash:



Stay towards the right third of it. Session it a bit next time.


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## JD (Jun 3, 2009)

Greg said:


> I'm starting to get this. Smoothing out a long climb is oddly exhilarating.



One step closer to turn earning....


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## Marc (Jun 3, 2009)

You know what the irony is in my situation... I'm really not a born, gifted, talented or even 'half-decent' climber.  And yet I still like it.  The endorphin effect is still up in the air from what I last read, but something is making me like it.

It probably helps I ride alone and don't have the deflating effect of stronger riders blowing by me like I'm standing still.


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## bvibert (Jun 3, 2009)

Marc said:


> It probably helps I ride alone and don't have the deflating effect of stronger riders blowing by me like I'm standing still.



That's just more incentive to ride even harder. 

I'm no great climber, but I enjoy it just the same. :beer:


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## abc (Jun 4, 2009)

bvibert said:


> I'm interested to hear the roadies take on this too...


Is this a roadies forum or what? Climb-lovers dominates! 

I ENJOY climbing on a road bike. But not so much on mountain bike. Compare to climbing on smooth pavement, I can't seem to get into any sort of rithym off-road. 

So for off-road, I climb to get to the top so I can go downhill. I suppose I enjoy the downhill on the road too. But that pales compare to technical downhills.

Though come to think of it, I do get a kick out of the challenging kind of off-road climbing. The more technical and steeper, the better. Fire road climbs, on the other hand, bores me. 

So I guess I enjoy the two extremes, smooth long climb on road, or rough climb off-road. Just not the in-between climbs that doesn't get anywhere fast. Still, I'll happily do it just to get to the good downhills. Can't figure out what to vote...


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## rueler (Jun 6, 2009)

I love to climb!


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## riverc0il (Jun 6, 2009)

JD said:


> One step closer to turn earning....


Ha! That's what I thought when I read Greg's post. :lol: Srsly.


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## AdironRider (Jun 6, 2009)

Climbing blows. Car shuttling kicks ass. And to those who think that downhill is all balls and no skill, you're clearly not challenging yourself or riding hard lines on the downhill.

That being said it does keep my lungs relatively ready for the BC in the winter, and it keeps me functioning despite my nasty cig habit. So I dont really care either way.


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## Greg (Jun 6, 2009)

riverc0il said:


> Ha! That's what I thought when I read Greg's post. :lol: Srsly.



Newsflash guys - I first started hiking/backpacking 23 years ago. Haven't done much of it the past few years, but I know all about the endorphin rush and whatnot. I totally get the appeal of turn earning and if I was positioned better geographically to do it, I'd probably be really into it. For now I prefer the descent most.


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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (Jun 7, 2009)

AdironRider said:


> Climbing blows. Car shuttling kicks ass. And to those who think that downhill is all balls and no skill, you're clearly not challenging yourself or riding hard lines on the downhill.
> 
> That being said it does keep my lungs relatively ready for the BC in the winter, and it keeps me functioning despite my nasty cig habit. So I dont really care either way.



quit the cigs before you become a customer of mine..:lol:


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## JD (Jun 7, 2009)

If you quit the cigs you might find you enjoy the up as much as the down.  I like smokers though...they're easy to beat to the freshies...


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## Greg (Jun 7, 2009)

Did almost 5K' of climbing on today's MTB ride. It just keeps getting easier. Not _easy_, just *easier*. :lol:


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## JD (Jun 7, 2009)

Wow.  5,000 vert is a good ride!


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## GrilledSteezeSandwich (Jun 8, 2009)

mad props on 5k of vert climbed!!!!  That's Whistler or three Hunters and an Xanadu


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## mlctvt (Jun 9, 2009)

My wife and I did a bit of climbing on Sunday's ride Tour De Kingdom organized ride
starting and ending in Newport VT 
104 Miles, 5670 vertical.
Three sizable climbs; a 4 mile hill to Lowell, about 5 miles up Jay from the east side and a 7 mile climb west to east on Route 105.  
This ride reviled the climbs we've done in Colorado! Eastern hills are a bit steeper but shorter than the Rockies.

Maybe we’ll try next months Climb to the Clouds Century that has a total of 7600 vertical feet of climbing


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## awf170 (Jun 9, 2009)

Greg said:


> Did almost 5K' of climbing on today's MTB ride. It just keeps getting easier. Not _easy_, just *easier*. :lol:




Lets try to crack 10K barrier.  I would make the trip down to Nass if you're willing to give that a shot. 

I really want to crack the 10K barrier hiking next winter so it would be really cool to do a summer biking version then the winter skiing one.


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## JD (Jun 9, 2009)

The J challenge used to be a 70 mile MtB with something crazy like 14,000 vert.  Big J did it i think.  Freaky.  I think 5000 vert is a very respectable workout no matter what your gear is.  Skis, Bike, Hike, that's a pretty good up.  Greg, you're ready for the Vermont MTB fest.!


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## Marc (Jun 9, 2009)

JD said:


> The J challenge used to be a 70 mile MtB with something crazy like 14,000 vert.  Big J did it i think.  Freaky.  I think 5000 vert is a very respectable workout no matter what your gear is.  Skis, Bike, Hike, that's a pretty good up.  Greg, you're ready for the Vermont MTB fest.!



You said it.  I once did a 65 mile road ride with almost 6k of climbing, and I was pooped.


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## Trekchick (Jun 10, 2009)

Just catching up on this thread......


Poll is flawed - I like what climbing does for my overall riding, but I can't say I LOVE climbing.
Greg,5k Kudos!!!
My question: Why do all the biggest climbs seem to be at the end of the ride?


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## bvibert (Jun 10, 2009)

Trekchick said:


> Just catching up on this thread......
> 
> 
> Poll is flawed - I like what climbing does for my overall riding, but I can't say I LOVE climbing.
> ...



The poll can't be flawed, I gave you the option of voting that the choices sucked, therefore it covers all possible answers.


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## Greg (Jun 10, 2009)

Trekchick said:


> My question: Why do all the biggest climbs seem to be at the end of the ride?



Poor route planning? :idea:


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## mondeo (Jun 10, 2009)

Trekchick said:


> My question: Why do all the biggest climbs seem to be at the end of the ride?


Because I live at the top of a hill?




bvibert said:


> The poll can't be flawed, I gave you the option of voting that the choices sucked, therefore it covers all possible answers.


The choices were just inadequate, they didn't suck. The only way to cover all possible answers is an "other" choice.


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## Trev (Jun 10, 2009)

Trekchick said:


> Just catching up on this thread......
> 
> 
> My question: Why do all the biggest climbs seem to be at the end of the ride?



Oh that's an easy one, the ride leader obviously doesn't want you back :-o


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## Trekchick (Jun 10, 2009)

I knew you guys wouldn't disappoint with answer to my question.
I figured it had a teensy weensy bit to do with  my fat lazy butt being too out of shape...


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## bvibert (Jun 10, 2009)

I actually think I tend to climb better later in the ride, but it's probably just the delusions of a dehydrated brain.  I'm able to to get into a zone easier later in the ride and just push it out, whereas earlier in the ride I think I tend to puss out easier.


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## Greg (Jun 10, 2009)

bvibert said:


> I actually think I tend to climb better later in the ride, but it's probably just the delusions of a dehydrated brain.  I'm able to to get into a zone easier later in the ride and just push it out, whereas earlier in the ride I think I tend to puss out easier.



I'm with you on that. Climbing before you're fully warmed up and in the zone is demoralizing. This evening was a good example. If I didn't have that long ride with lots of climbs on Sunday, I really would have been sucking wind at the start of our Penwood ride.


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## bvibert (Jun 10, 2009)

I was sucking wind throughout pretty much the whole ride.  That ride starts out kicking your ass and doesn't really let up.


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## Trev (Jun 11, 2009)

bvibert said:


> I actually think I tend to climb better later in the ride, but it's probably just the delusions of a dehydrated brain.  I'm able to to get into a zone easier later in the ride and just push it out, whereas earlier in the ride I think I tend to puss out easier.



Might be some truth to that on my end as well..  just seems that I can dig down a bit more after a good warm up..

uke:


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## Marc (Jun 11, 2009)

Well, before your body is "warmed up" it powers a hard effort almost exclusively via anaerobic muscle contraction.  The body is prompted to switch to aerobic when you've built up enough lactic acid in your msucles... once you've reached that point, the acid build up and clearing can be a pretty painful experience, but one you have to go through on every ride.  It sucks, but afterwards, as long as you keep your HR up and stay aerobic, things are less painful, and you can climb more efficiently for longer periods of time.


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