Tips for climbing easy on the commute?

self control :wink: just go easiest gear and spin it

I do my workouts in the morning before leaving for work, this way I know I have my homework and I can take it easy. (It also helps that I have to pull a trailer …)

This is the dream, but I have not yet conquered the before work workouts yet. One day!

I used to hate doing sports before breakfast, but since my daughter was born, this is really the best way to for me to integrate regular training into my schedule. This way I can get my exercise in and have breakfast with the family.

Use it as an opportunity to practice regulating a constant power over rolling terrain. I have a much shorter hill on my commute which I hit at <60% FTP. People pass me on hybrids and sit up bikes, which I then normally pass again on the flat, makes me think they must be gassing it on the hill, which is easy to do unless you rein yourself in.

For true recovery mode I’ve heard the term ‘crystal cranks’, ie imagine your cranks are made of glass or crystal and you don’t want to break them! Might be a bit unrealistic on an uphill drag but gives you an idea.

Saying that, I’ve got a 38x40 setup now on the commute / gravel / cx using a roadlink and it’s :ok_hand: for spinning!

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Gearing is another thing. Once my mountain bike gets long in the tooth, I might replace it with a commuter bike (there are no trails in the vicinity, so my fully lives the life of an SUV :cry:). In case I get a dedicated commuter bike, I’ll choose appropriate 1x gearing that also takes into account that half of the time I’ll be pulling a trailer. Going on a road bike will just tempt me to go fast.

This happens to me SO much when I’m doing Z2 rides, with riders on road bikes too. I was leading a Sunday club ride the other day, and people were complaining because I wasn’t easing off over the top of the hill. But it just comes naturally now to take the climb easy and then push on.