Adam's rib
Did you go up your hill?
" What? Haven't you done the coast yet? Marco looks Adam straight in the eye and laughs no more. Well supported on the handlebars of my mount, I attend the duel of friendly insults (more colorful than what I report, say) between my two training partners. "It's that...it's the start of the season and I was planning to take it gradually," Adam retorts. "Man, it's June. June. Worse, it's your rib, it's you who introduced me to it; aren't you going to wait until the end of the season to climb a damned hill that always takes just eight minutes max to climb? You don't have a race at Tremblant soon, do you? I really want progress in training, but if you want to progress one day... and if possible before your competition. It must be said that Marco, a pure cyclist, is often exhausted by the training sessions of his triathlete friends. And especially when Adam enters the scene. He's a bit of a sissy, Adam. Often at rest, always analyzing and comparing his statistics (and those of Marco, exceptional by the way, who doesn't give a shit himself). In addition, that morning, Adam had dared to ask for the elevation of this well-kept secret of Sainte-Adèle in relation to Chemin Duplessis. Marco's response was quick: "Are we really having this discussion?" I do you know me, the cursed differences in height? You show me a hill, I climb it, Calvary! Marco is fed up with questions about the choice of bike (road or tri for this course?), the choice of wheels, the fact of constantly riding the same course as that of the upcoming race, he is fed up that we ride together but not together (in the sense of "no furrowing"), that we often go chasing after the bike, and above all, he is tired of seeing us suffocating in the heat in our aero helmets. We're exhausting it. We seem to be hard to follow. However, he is rather the one who is hard to follow; he is still well ahead of us, even without the famous aero helmet. Plus, he talks as fast as he pedals. But one day, he took the time to tell us a "real truth" by carefully detaching each syllable slowly so that we understood it once and for all: "On the flat, you get better than on the flat. By working on hills, you improve everywhere. Bang.
Best everywhere
This "real truth", I already knew it well because my girlfriend, who is also a trainer, repeats it ad nauseam to its chilly runners who would only like to wear out their sneakers on the accommodating flat. In fact, it's almost as worse on a run as it is on a bike; people don't want to climb. If on a bike they are more afraid of hurting their ego than breaking their legs, in running, it is at least the real injuries that scare them. They could take it gradually, increasing week by week the degree of difficulty, the intensity or the distance traveled on a slope, but no, instead of pushing their limits, they push the hills completely until the day when the hills will come their. And believe me, they will come. I don't know a lot of racing without hills. And on the marathon distance, there is almost always one, very slobbery, which advances at the 30th or even the 35th km... "On the flat, you get better than on the flat. By working on hills, you improve everywhere. It's as true as saying that the ribs, well, it's less flat. Says the same, huh? But it is true that time passes more quickly, that the work is more varied. After all, one of the reasons for doing intervals is to simulate difficulties…so, to also simulate hills. Why just pretend when there are dozens of workouts available for hill work on both the bike and run. Search and find these workouts. Use the ribs around you; it will serve you. If you do triathlon, you know that only the swimming portion is completely flat. If you've ever done the 70.3 of the Esprit de Montréal or worse, the 140.6 (yes, yes: there has already been a complete at the Esprit), you have understood that there was elevation differences even on this circuit upside down, but above all you have understood that it can be a long long time, the flat. The dish plays in your head like a Romanian film with Russian subtitles. Then if you like fairness, especially if you're strong on a bike, you've also understood that it's better to choose triathlons with ribs if you don't want to go crazy with cheating. And yes, on the flat, there are a lot of cheaters, a lot of athletes who stick to your wheel despite the rules prohibiting it. Uphill, it is necessarily less interesting for them. Because no offense to some officials of Triathlon Quebec, "drafting" in ribs, it is not very useful in triathlon. We are not in the Tour de France to cover 3350 kilometers in 21 stages, where there, the advantage is felt differently. A big peloton is not a big triathlete; it cuts the wind a lot more and sucks you to the top of EPO otherwise, "of Olympus" I mean.
In short, it could be a good idea for the runner to do one climb per week. Same thing for the cyclist. And if the Quebec runner officially begins his season in March, let's say that adding hills to his training at the start of winter can be a good idea if we consider that the month of November and the majority of December constitute a period more relaxed for him. For cycling, it is certainly different because the majority of cyclists have trained on an indoor training base during the winter. But if the rider has worked their business well (i.e. threshold, power, pedal stroke and good cadence variations) they shouldn't be too rusty from day 1 outdoors . Personally, I always do a "reality check" on my first outing in the spring by going for a ride on the Camillien-Houde route (it's near my house). Although this first outing rarely makes me want to go up this pleasant bump several times, I am always pleasantly surprised by my state of form. It must be said that I am a triathlete and that I run all winter on Mount Royal (as they say, one sport subsidizes the other…), but still, let’s say that it tackles this controversial route very well.
Road bike or triathlon bike?
Oh! that I will not fully enter into this debate which is a real basket of crabs (but I will slip a toe into it, anyway)! For what? For several reasons; some so-called triathlon bikes are more time trial bikes and do not display the same uphill behavior as a bike really designed for triathlon, and even less that of a road bike, then the question is also thorny because many factors come into play (the type of positioning, crankset, cassette, wheels, whether or not you are in DI2 and thus have the gears both on the handlebars and on the extensions ). In short, it is often case by case. If I take my case as an example, I have only had 3 triathlon bikes (from 3 different brands) in my life and none behaved the same on hills. And while none climbed as well as a quality road bike (again, there are all sorts of road bikes with all sorts of different vocations…), all did quite well uphill. I would even venture to say that my current triathlon bike may climb better than some road bikes. My only certainty is that if you live in Quebec and you do triathlons less than 800 km from home, I would systematically opt for a triathlon bike if you are attacking 70.3 or 140, 6. No triathlon in the area is technical or steep enough to have more gain with a road bike when you think about the overall course. We are far from Nice here. And we're not in SavageMan either. At these places, I would ask myself the question. But around? Bring some Muskoka, Lake Placid, Magog, Tupper Lake or Syracuse; all of these courses have hilly portions or ends that are flat enough to justify a triathlon bike if you own one. Think of Tremblant; if there is Duplessis which has a few quirks when you do not know it, there is also the whole section 117 and the Montée Ryan where you are very happy to ride in TT. And don't talk to me about the Côte de la Conception; first, you have to go down first and on this point the tri bike wins, then, when you go up it, well it's done in a straight line all the way, nothing very technical. For my part, my road bike is too nervous to be fast on a highway; I opt for my sorting. Now, if you do a sprint or an Olympic...it's something else, especially at Tremblant. But here I'm talking to you about me, my races, my bikes and my abilities, I don't know your mounts or your calves, and above all, I don't know your knowledge of climbing technique because, between you, me and the couch is where it all happens. The choice of wheels? We'll talk about it again, it would take too long to do it in this article, but basically, the ideal wheels for climbing are less profiled, lighter and stiffer. Your rear 90 millimeters won't be of much use to you when you're climbing a hill at 22 km/h; it's heavy for nothing and moreover, when you ride like a dancer (forget the flat jokes; I've heard them all), it risks rubbing (I told you to let my uncle's flat jokes do!) all the time on the brake pads (unless of course you have disc brakes) because it's a little soft, your $4,000 wheel (yes, there are truths that hurt).
Technique above all
Riding a hill well, you can learn that. It can be learned, but you have to want to learn. I won't tell you the number of couples' bickering that I've seen on the side of the roads at the foot or in the middle of the hills... But I can tell you that your spouse is not always the best person to show you how to attack this territory. It is often worth reserving the advice of a real pro to learn. Often, it only takes one good session to completely change your view of things. Worse, don't trust too quickly the good climber Ti-Jo Connaissant who hangs out next to you. Ti-Jo often has big calves (or even weighs 110 pounds wet) and he does everything wrong, but he's capable because he relies on his muscle mass or the fact that he has no weight to hang out. Knowing how to change gears at the right time, knowing when to get up, knowing how to rest in the work and learning to take advantage of the fall line is an art, but a very accessible art. And this, regardless of your morphology and gender.
Adam's rib
Let’s end modestly with a history lesson. You know that, huh, that Eve wasn't born from Adam's rib? This is a mistranslation of the word "bone" that has endured for centuries. It happens, translation errors, take old Joseph, do you really think he worked wood in this corner of the planet where there are fewer trees than sand? The Gospels describe Joseph in terms of "tecton» (mason, Greek word), well that, a tek thing, well it could be a mason as well as a carpenter. Cuckold or not. To think about... In short, to come back to Adam and Eve, the bone in question would not be located at the level of the ribs but in the pelvic region. It would be, say, a kind of tail bone. Yes. So Eve, according to the bones story, would probably be the result of something a bit more common than tapping into the ribs of the Adam next door. Finally! As for me, I don't know if this Adam existed or not, but mine of Adam has a blonde who is not called Eve and who screwed up the story because she climbs a lot better than Adam (sorry man!), and all because she's got a hell of a technique. Let me tell you that Adam doesn't often invite her to our outings in Sainte-Adèle...And don't look for the famous coast, I won't tell you exactly where she is because I don't want her to become the Lac Rond des Côtes. When a place becomes too crowded, residents end up imposing rules to protect their privacy, cleanliness and safety of the surroundings. Don't go rumors, Lac Rond still welcomes Wetsuit wearers for free and kindly, but, I don't know, it seems to me that the wind could turn like a dime. The paradise of some, through a misunderstanding or a simple translation error, can become hell for others.