It is understandable that some bike riders dislike hills, though they define a landscape. So why not discover how to ride hills and discover the landscape on your doorstep?
1. Use your gears
Making appropriate use of your gears will make hills easier and stop your legs from fatiguing on longer rides. So chat to your cycling buddies and learn how to use them.
2. Seriously, use your gears
Your bike may have 3 cogs at the front and 9 at the back and that means you will be changing gear alot over changing gradients
3. Cornering
Get into the habit of having the inside pedal up when turning a corner as this will stop the inside pedal catching the ground on uneven surfaces and causing a fall
4. Cornering downhill
If descending with some speed, look ahead and brake before any corner so you can navigate the corner without braking especially critical where gravel, ice or rain create a slippery surface.
5. Centre of gravity
When cornering, your outside pedal will be down. If you put more pressure on that outside pedal, you will move your centre of gravity to a more stable position.
6. Pedal downhill
When on a longer ride, you will save your legs if you ride up hills slowly and then keep pedalling and changing up the gears as you crest the hill and descend.
7. Pace yourself on effort
Rather than trying to maintain 10mph, try managing your speed by the effort you put in. That means sticking to a 3/10 effort up hills and down hills.
8. Outer limit screw
If your chain regularly comes off, consider adjusting one or both of the outer limit screws. This is easy to do at home, especially if you watch a YouTube video or two.
9. Change down early
As you approach a hill start changing down earlier than you think is necessary and certainly before pressure on the pedals and your effort level increases.
10. Be patient
As you ride and develop bike fitness, your skills will develop too. This may be counted in years rather than months so enjoy your riding and practice when opportunities present themselves.
11. Develop good habits
Most of the riding we do doesn't require these hill skills. However, if you practise them on every ride, you will benefit as the rides get hillier and as you enjoy the landscape more.
12. Safety first
Do not try to keep up with a group uphill as you only tire yourself. Definitely don't try to keep up downhill; stay within your own safe and comfortable limit