Exercise and Fitness II: Exerciser and Fitnesser

[Ixodes]

I have no idea how you guys bike up hills. Even a little uphill grade destroys me, downshifting or no.

These help me on hills:

1) Cadence -- try to ride at the same cadence (rpm) no matter the topography. You use your gears to adjust resistance so you can pedal at the same rate. For me on up steep hills it must be funny watching my legs spin yet I move like a snail.

2) Conditioning -- practice, practice, practice. I have a few routes, some flat, some mild hills, some bigger hills. Work your way up.

3) Training -- can't avoid squats. Time in the weight room really helped me.

I really enjoy my roadbike. It's been one of my favorite purchases. There are some really good mountain bike trails in my area that I would love to try but that'll have to wait for an improvement in my finances to add a mountain bike.