how to cycle much faster up hills

A memory of my old cycling days today.

One Saturday morning I met a mate for a 100 mile or so fast training ride around Carmarthenshire, taking in some lovely single-track roads safe in the knowledge that seeing a car was a very low prospect.

As we rode along one such lane, which then started to get progressively steeper, Jeremy informed me that one of his training partners lived along the road just a bit further up.  He couldn't remember his name but said that he had some invaluable advice on climbing steep hills at speed.

get back here or I'll bite yer legs off

As we rounded a corner, he was there waiting.  Or she.  I couldn't tell because this hill-climbing specialist wasn't a cyclist, or even on a bike - but instead took the form of a grizzly old farm dog.  On seeing us, the dog bided its time until we passed by before unleashing a terrifying sprint.

It's surprising how quickly you can  climb a 20% gradient when the alternative to going quickly is having a chunk taken out of your calf muscle!

After what seemed like forever, and in a great deal of pain which made me think getting bitten wouldn't have been such a bad idea after all, the chase was off and our canine coach returned to his position outside his farm gate no doubt waiting for his next victim!

So, no need for expensive coaching sessions or dodgy "supplements".  If you just want to climb faster head for the Carmarthenshire lanes where I'm sure this dog's offspring still provides the same, excellent service.