I need help to not suck at bikes but I'm not sure what to do. We live in the Hollywood hills and many of our roads are really steep grades, like 33% for the main artery taking you in or out of the neighborhood.
So my go to "stay at home" exercise has always been running but I suck at running. It's the worst. I hate it. I hate people that post a picture of their fitness watch after a 10 mile run and make statements like "Oh what a refreshing run!". I hope they get arthritis. Well, not really but in that moment…
So what I have always done and been good at is biking. Part of my daily exercise routing used to be a stint around the 8 mile loop at Busse Woods and then later on I upgraded to a mountain bike and did back trails at the forest preserve in Kildeer.
The trail riding was definitely more difficult and required better balance, short bursts of power, etc but I didn't have a problem with it. It was doable.
So fast forward to now. I nix the running and go out to buy myself a bike. I find a gem on Craigslist. A carbon fiber/ aluminum hybrid racing bike. It's perfect. And then I go out… And it sucks.
You see to get out of my neighborhood I need to go either down a 33% grade for 1.5 miles or up a 33% grade for 1.5 miles. The longest I'd do a 33% grade in Kildeer would be maybe 20 - 30 feet. This is a sustained 1.5 mile ascent. Here's the problem: I get to a point where I need to stop every 300 - 400 and rest for a minute or two because I'm spent.
So then I make it to Mulholland (top of the hill) where it's largely flat and now I'm just wasted from going up this 33% grade out of the neighborhood. So even though it's flat, the lightest incline at this point is burning me out.
On the trip back home the problem is reversed. Now the incline is so steep and the bike so fast that I can basically coast for 2 miles right up to my door. So that part of the ride isn't effective at all.
This bike was a commuter bike down in the flat part of LA. Because of that the previous owner converted it to a single front chainring and put a larger one on. This made the bike torquey but impossible to go up hills without immediately burning yourself out. So I swapped it out for a smaller front ring which would be perfect for around town and is 100% better on the hills but I'm still burning out.
So if you got this far, here's my question:
Is a 33% grade 1.5 mile ascent something that a reasonable rider would be able to eventually work through and incorporate into their daily routing or am I putting unrealistic expectations on myself here? It's pretty discouraging. I have this bad ass bike that I borderline can't use because I just completely exhaust myself.
So my go to "stay at home" exercise has always been running but I suck at running. It's the worst. I hate it. I hate people that post a picture of their fitness watch after a 10 mile run and make statements like "Oh what a refreshing run!". I hope they get arthritis. Well, not really but in that moment…
So what I have always done and been good at is biking. Part of my daily exercise routing used to be a stint around the 8 mile loop at Busse Woods and then later on I upgraded to a mountain bike and did back trails at the forest preserve in Kildeer.
The trail riding was definitely more difficult and required better balance, short bursts of power, etc but I didn't have a problem with it. It was doable.
So fast forward to now. I nix the running and go out to buy myself a bike. I find a gem on Craigslist. A carbon fiber/ aluminum hybrid racing bike. It's perfect. And then I go out… And it sucks.
You see to get out of my neighborhood I need to go either down a 33% grade for 1.5 miles or up a 33% grade for 1.5 miles. The longest I'd do a 33% grade in Kildeer would be maybe 20 - 30 feet. This is a sustained 1.5 mile ascent. Here's the problem: I get to a point where I need to stop every 300 - 400 and rest for a minute or two because I'm spent.
So then I make it to Mulholland (top of the hill) where it's largely flat and now I'm just wasted from going up this 33% grade out of the neighborhood. So even though it's flat, the lightest incline at this point is burning me out.
On the trip back home the problem is reversed. Now the incline is so steep and the bike so fast that I can basically coast for 2 miles right up to my door. So that part of the ride isn't effective at all.
This bike was a commuter bike down in the flat part of LA. Because of that the previous owner converted it to a single front chainring and put a larger one on. This made the bike torquey but impossible to go up hills without immediately burning yourself out. So I swapped it out for a smaller front ring which would be perfect for around town and is 100% better on the hills but I'm still burning out.
So if you got this far, here's my question:
Is a 33% grade 1.5 mile ascent something that a reasonable rider would be able to eventually work through and incorporate into their daily routing or am I putting unrealistic expectations on myself here? It's pretty discouraging. I have this bad ass bike that I borderline can't use because I just completely exhaust myself.
I hate you all.
