First trail ride today. Do the climbs get easier??? Holy shit. I was in HR zone 4/5 my whole ride. My body said hell no. Super fun trail regardless. Did just 6.8 miles and 1000 ft gain and drop
by Soggy_Team_3994
First trail ride today. Do the climbs get easier??? Holy shit. I was in HR zone 4/5 my whole ride. My body said hell no. Super fun trail regardless. Did just 6.8 miles and 1000 ft gain and drop
by Soggy_Team_3994
29 Comments
1000ft in 3 miles is a pretty average climb here in the PNW. It does get easier with regular training, but IMO it always sucks. But it’s part of the game.
Being that long in red is no bueno, take care and be safe out there
Learn to love the “hell no” feeling. You’ll start to find flow state and stave off heart disease while your at it.
Am I the only one who scrolls through these photos and tries to figure out where it is?
Southwest – Colorado? Blue Sky?
Keep riding. Not sure your age but diet also affects things. MTB is hard. But the stronger you are the more you will enjoy it. Especially if you like to suffer
Hell ya same bike!
That’s a pretty big ride for your first ever, so I’d definitely expect it to suck less going forward! Some people even start to enjoy the climbs eventually, others just accept it as a means to an end (what goes up must come down).
Yeah it gets better. My first ride was a mess. Like stopping on small hills for a long rest that today don’t feel like anything.
It gets better pretty quick tbh. Though they say it never gets easier you just get faster which is sort of true in that hills always kind of suck.
My heart rate is still high all the time, and I’d recommend learning to spin faster rather than pedaling harder. I trained my body to live in zone 3 and 4 and it’s a problem at this point. Every climb is sitting at 170 almost immediately.
I just started out recently after no regular biking in years. Similar trail, little shorter (~5 mi)… Day one I felt like my lungs wanted to jump out of my body and I walked most of the inclines. Two weeks later (6 rides in) I was able to make a long climb up for the first time. My avg. HR went from 175 to 165 over that time … and you’ll have good and bad days. But once you’ve done it and your body says “please no, not again” you already know that you can do it and push through. Keep at it, it gets better. We earn the downhill by going up 😀
It doesn’t get easier you just go faster
Glad I’m not the only one who’s heart rate averages about 160 when riding. Used to freak out whenever it got up to 180 during climbs.
Yes. I enjoy climbing now that I’m decently fit.
Looks like Green Mountain in Morrison. This climb sucks, but it’s kinda tame for the area. Doesn’t help being in the sun the entire time. Keep pushing! It gets easier as you get stronger.
1000 gets a lot easier. Do 5 more rides and you’ll be amazed how much easier it gets
The advice I heard was that it never gets easier, you just get faster. So far this hasn’t happened for me because I’m a filthy casual but I like to pretend it applies to me because it sounds nice.
Yo when I first started I was about your age and felt the same. Give it a few rides. Most of it is probably efficiency in how you ride that you’ll figure out a long the way. Make sure your seat is in the right spot.
Best quote regarding MTB: It doesn’t get easier, you just get faster.
It does get better just takes time in the saddle. Just don’t do the white ranch climb from the bottom until you work your way up. That’s the worst climb I’ve done on the front range and it’s not really close.
It doesn’t get easier. As soon as it’s gets easier you will push harder and go faster and you will still be in the same range.
That’s the fun of the sport. At least for me.
It doesn’t get easier you just get faster
Yes they do. Push yourself (not too much) and eventually those impossible climbs will be a walk in the park. It’s a great feeling to conquer an incline you’ve failed a dozen times
I’m on ride 66 since May. First 10 days are pretty hard. Some days I’m climbing casually, some days my brain is screaming at me to just walk, or stop or something!
If you were to do this ride every Saturday for a month. Then look back at your first time riding it. You’d be surprised at the results. Don’t give up.
Remember the faster riders have been doing it longer than you. They suffer too. Also faster riders don’t suffer less, they suffer just as much, but in a different gear.
Biking is different, you’ll get faster
I just tell myself I’m a fucking idiot for doing this the whole climb to the top and the reaffirm that on the way down while going at unsafe speeds with minimal protection. Then repeat.
Yes and the progression is such a big part of the appeal. you are in way over your head though on that trail based on your zones and you should aim for a flatter beginner trail to acclimate. or force yourself to go slower on that trail and watch your hr like a hawk. over reaching is going to make you feel exhausted and you’ll start your next ride tired.
Gotta endure the up to enjoy the down!!
It gets a lot easier over time, just don’t give up. When I started, I started with a climb that is way too steep, because I had hiked it in the past and it was close. My whole ride was huffing and puffing up 20%-50% of the climb and then giving up, riding down and going home. Nowadays, the climb is just 10% of my typical ride and I’ve done an XCO race where you do the main part of this particular climb like 7 times as part of the circuit. It’s still a hard climb, but it’s not the impossible climb it was for me just a few years ago.
1k feet in 3 miles is a lot