How to Cycle On a Hill

Video Transcript

KEVIN LIVINGSTON: Hi. I'm Kevin Livingston. Now we're going to talk about starting on an uphill or beginning your ride on a hill or you could have been on a group ride or maybe you just needed to stop for a breather. Even this happens to the pros. You'll see in some of the big races with the steep climbs that a rider falls over and they have to stop and then start again. So there's a certain technique to starting again on a hill. The other option is walking the rest of the time up it. To get started here, you're going to want to make sure you're in the proper gearing. That means gearing down. So I may just manually shift my bike into some easier gears and set it up so I'm ready to go once I start on the hill. Now that my gearing is all set, I'm going to get on my back. If I'm not using clipless pedals, I'm just going to put my foot in, I'm going to set the pedal off at about the 2 o'clock position, I can push down this way I have momentum, I can drive the bike forward as I push down, get some momentum, find the other pedal and begin pedalling. With clipless pedals, I'm going to first get engaged in my pedal and I maybe, just standing over the bike, for example like this, I'm in the proper gear, I slide back on my seat, I'm leaning gently to the left balancing on my left foot, I'm going to bring that pedal to the 2 o'clock position, and I'm going to drive down and begin pedalling. Again, it's very important that you continue to pedal even if you don't engage the other foot immediately. You have to continue pedalling to get some momentum on the hill. Gently search for that other pedal but it's okay to push on the pedal even if it's not engaged and to keep you moving up the hill. You will find that pedal get engaged and be on your way.