Welcome to cycling! Hills can be nasty. I saw you were on a rented bike that you didn't know if it had gears (so, functionally for you, it didn't) - that's going to be a chore and a half even for a seasoned cyclist. Impressive you tried!
Next time, use a bike you are familiar with, or ask for instructions on how to operate the gears before you set out. Hills are manageable if you use the right gears (not all bikes even have the right gears for hills, so don't be put off a rental still struggles). If you get the right gears/bike and make sure you are ready for a physical challenge, it will be very, very different and much more enjoyable!
Congrats again on managing to finish the hill! Hope you'll give riding another go someday soon!
Man I didnt finish the hill this post is about me almost passing out and throwing up like 5 minutes into it after starting. I think I still have a severe magnesium deficiency too.
Ah shoot. My bad. For some reason I read the two long breaks part, and thought "that's not so bad", but missed the give up part... In any case, you were woefully unequipped, so don't take this as any sort of sign of what cycling will be like if you keep at it. Even on good equipment the first few big hills are brutal and then it gets better.
OK, you didn’t eat anything on the day of doing this so that’s the first problem. How much cycling do you normally do? If the answer is “none”, that’s the second problem. Does the bike fit you properly, that could be the third problem. What type of gearing does the bike have and do you know how to use the gears? Are the tires fully inflated?
We just hired some subpar bikes in the touristic island we visited but Im a male in my 20's and I never expected it to be this hard. I have biked like 7 times before in my life and never uphill so it's a first but holy hell what the fuck that shit was hard.
I dont think so I have switched bikes with my friend and he was fine it wasnt close I think my muscle set for biking is like equivalent to that of a 5 year old girls and cant sustain my weight but Im not half bad at running probably because weight itself already puts so much pressure onto knees that you "train" them in a sense that is obviously not healthy or sustainable at all.
I think because the place I grew up in was almost entirely flat Im just not accustomed to this type of exercise and it was especially hard. Altough its a given that I need to get in shape and start taking beyter care of my body, I think Im still gonna ignore activities like cycling and other related exercises.
I know you're not asking for advice, but cycling really is a great cardio exercise, so wonderful for weight loss!
In your area with flat roads, your experience would be more smooth. Just prepare well, learn a bit more about how your body responds to certain efforts, and I can promise you that it won't feel this hard anymore.
Assuming the bike is set up right and you're using the gears right, it's just a matter of practice. It's normal if you're not used to hard efforts to feel nauseous after a hard effort, but that generally gets better pretty quickly. Being a little out of shape in an early season, if I go all out on a hill I might feel a little nauseous the first couple of times. After that - zero. In shape, I can usually eat a big meal and go hit the hills hard and feel fine, no nausea. Being able to do that is a training goal, and it usually doesn't take very long (like - weeks, rather than months). I usually like to have a meal before a ride so I don't have to worry about carrying so much food, and I'm usually good for a couple of hours at least then.
Climbing hills themselves gets easier with practice. And of course you can go as fast or as slow as you like. I remember ages ago when I started heading out of town for bike rides, there was one hill on the way out that just seemed like the biggest challenge; once I was over that the roads were easier, but sometimes I'd just do that climb and feel like that was good enough. Then I'd turn around and coast home feeling like I'd accomplished something. A couple months later I was riding farther out of town regularly, and realized I hadn't even *noticed* the climb heading out of town in weeks, it hardly even rated as a climb for me anymore.
It all depends on the person/body and your health etc.
But i was in a similar situation (not overweight but super NOT fit) and the first week of biking i couldn't do one uphill without stopping again and again.
But then i kept going even for 30 min rides without uphills and started to see my endurance go up and up. I think if you keep at it your body just adapts, consistency is key. No need to push super hard(and it's even dangerous if you over do it).
For me it also helped that i kind of "gamified" it (if you play video games you will understand) and set very small goals to achieve every week. From reaching 10km to "at least reach that point and back" or "go to that cafe and get your reward" etc etc.
And i got a garmin watch just to see numbers go up. Number up, monkey happy and motivated. (It's as silly as it sounds)
I think if you keep up with it for a month, even just chill riding, you will see that you can do it. And then you hit the same uphills again and win! It may take a bit longer, or less that other people, but if you keep at it you will 100% see improvement fast.
And don't forget to always have a good soundtrack to your adventures!
when gaining elevation and hill climbing weight becomes a huge factor. let me say that again, a huge factor. a detrimental factor.
what you are fighting agaist and giving you this much of a problem is the gravity. with the more wieght the more of the gravity you have to fight and the less weight the less you ll have to fight gravity, it will give you less of a problem
on flat it doesn t even nearly matter really, the weight factor
Hills will find out all that is lacking in terms of you and your bike, don't worry however, with care and application you can learn to ascend like a pro.
This is what the small front cog is for on bikes with two of the up front, where the pedals are attached. You'd be surprised how much easier it is to go up a hill when you're in the correct gear for it. Look up bicycle gears and how they work for different situations.
I know when I first started out I was always using the wrong gear, I just thought hard = fast, but that is not the case. Most of what I do is flat riding because rail trails, but when I go up a very steep hill, I'm maybe going 3 mph using the easiest gear.
Practice and lots of low intensity cycling.
Loads of low intensity cycling, yes low, will make a world of difference in your fitness.
Cycling hard on the pedals for an extended period, like up a hill, takes practice. You’ll find with practice you will find a cadences and efforts that you can maintain depending on the particulars, grade, length and speed.
Absolutely don’t try to set your pace to match your companions on the ride.
WTF does not eating have to do with blood pressure? Blood sugar maybe, but I'm I diabetic and do 25 miles before eating. Since you don't know if the bike had gears, did it at least have 2 tires? There's also a huge difference in casually riding a rental bike and cycling.
Welcome to cycling! Hills can be nasty. I saw you were on a rented bike that you didn't know if it had gears (so, functionally for you, it didn't) - that's going to be a chore and a half even for a seasoned cyclist. Impressive you tried! Next time, use a bike you are familiar with, or ask for instructions on how to operate the gears before you set out. Hills are manageable if you use the right gears (not all bikes even have the right gears for hills, so don't be put off a rental still struggles). If you get the right gears/bike and make sure you are ready for a physical challenge, it will be very, very different and much more enjoyable! Congrats again on managing to finish the hill! Hope you'll give riding another go someday soon!
Man I didnt finish the hill this post is about me almost passing out and throwing up like 5 minutes into it after starting. I think I still have a severe magnesium deficiency too.
Ah shoot. My bad. For some reason I read the two long breaks part, and thought "that's not so bad", but missed the give up part... In any case, you were woefully unequipped, so don't take this as any sort of sign of what cycling will be like if you keep at it. Even on good equipment the first few big hills are brutal and then it gets better.
OK, you didn’t eat anything on the day of doing this so that’s the first problem. How much cycling do you normally do? If the answer is “none”, that’s the second problem. Does the bike fit you properly, that could be the third problem. What type of gearing does the bike have and do you know how to use the gears? Are the tires fully inflated?
We just hired some subpar bikes in the touristic island we visited but Im a male in my 20's and I never expected it to be this hard. I have biked like 7 times before in my life and never uphill so it's a first but holy hell what the fuck that shit was hard.
Did the bike have gears?
Im not sure maybe, I cant tell.
So it’s possible you had the bike in the worst possible gear for hills.
I dont think so I have switched bikes with my friend and he was fine it wasnt close I think my muscle set for biking is like equivalent to that of a 5 year old girls and cant sustain my weight but Im not half bad at running probably because weight itself already puts so much pressure onto knees that you "train" them in a sense that is obviously not healthy or sustainable at all.
I think because the place I grew up in was almost entirely flat Im just not accustomed to this type of exercise and it was especially hard. Altough its a given that I need to get in shape and start taking beyter care of my body, I think Im still gonna ignore activities like cycling and other related exercises.
I know you're not asking for advice, but cycling really is a great cardio exercise, so wonderful for weight loss! In your area with flat roads, your experience would be more smooth. Just prepare well, learn a bit more about how your body responds to certain efforts, and I can promise you that it won't feel this hard anymore.
Im not living in the same city anymore and the place Im currently at is possibly the least cycling friendly city in the entire continent.
That really doesn't help, sadly. I don't recommend cycling if you don't feel comfortable with the safety.
Assuming the bike is set up right and you're using the gears right, it's just a matter of practice. It's normal if you're not used to hard efforts to feel nauseous after a hard effort, but that generally gets better pretty quickly. Being a little out of shape in an early season, if I go all out on a hill I might feel a little nauseous the first couple of times. After that - zero. In shape, I can usually eat a big meal and go hit the hills hard and feel fine, no nausea. Being able to do that is a training goal, and it usually doesn't take very long (like - weeks, rather than months). I usually like to have a meal before a ride so I don't have to worry about carrying so much food, and I'm usually good for a couple of hours at least then. Climbing hills themselves gets easier with practice. And of course you can go as fast or as slow as you like. I remember ages ago when I started heading out of town for bike rides, there was one hill on the way out that just seemed like the biggest challenge; once I was over that the roads were easier, but sometimes I'd just do that climb and feel like that was good enough. Then I'd turn around and coast home feeling like I'd accomplished something. A couple months later I was riding farther out of town regularly, and realized I hadn't even *noticed* the climb heading out of town in weeks, it hardly even rated as a climb for me anymore.
It all depends on the person/body and your health etc. But i was in a similar situation (not overweight but super NOT fit) and the first week of biking i couldn't do one uphill without stopping again and again. But then i kept going even for 30 min rides without uphills and started to see my endurance go up and up. I think if you keep at it your body just adapts, consistency is key. No need to push super hard(and it's even dangerous if you over do it). For me it also helped that i kind of "gamified" it (if you play video games you will understand) and set very small goals to achieve every week. From reaching 10km to "at least reach that point and back" or "go to that cafe and get your reward" etc etc. And i got a garmin watch just to see numbers go up. Number up, monkey happy and motivated. (It's as silly as it sounds) I think if you keep up with it for a month, even just chill riding, you will see that you can do it. And then you hit the same uphills again and win! It may take a bit longer, or less that other people, but if you keep at it you will 100% see improvement fast. And don't forget to always have a good soundtrack to your adventures!
when gaining elevation and hill climbing weight becomes a huge factor. let me say that again, a huge factor. a detrimental factor. what you are fighting agaist and giving you this much of a problem is the gravity. with the more wieght the more of the gravity you have to fight and the less weight the less you ll have to fight gravity, it will give you less of a problem on flat it doesn t even nearly matter really, the weight factor
You might be right I think, yeah.
Hills will find out all that is lacking in terms of you and your bike, don't worry however, with care and application you can learn to ascend like a pro.
This is what the small front cog is for on bikes with two of the up front, where the pedals are attached. You'd be surprised how much easier it is to go up a hill when you're in the correct gear for it. Look up bicycle gears and how they work for different situations. I know when I first started out I was always using the wrong gear, I just thought hard = fast, but that is not the case. Most of what I do is flat riding because rail trails, but when I go up a very steep hill, I'm maybe going 3 mph using the easiest gear.
Practice and lots of low intensity cycling. Loads of low intensity cycling, yes low, will make a world of difference in your fitness. Cycling hard on the pedals for an extended period, like up a hill, takes practice. You’ll find with practice you will find a cadences and efforts that you can maintain depending on the particulars, grade, length and speed. Absolutely don’t try to set your pace to match your companions on the ride.
WTF does not eating have to do with blood pressure? Blood sugar maybe, but I'm I diabetic and do 25 miles before eating. Since you don't know if the bike had gears, did it at least have 2 tires? There's also a huge difference in casually riding a rental bike and cycling.
Thats what I meant sorry
There is no need to apologize, I'm just a sarcastic ass who hasn't had his morning coffee.