Crest the Hill

“Don’t stop peddling! Don’t stop! Don’t stop…pedal…pedal…CREST THE HILL!”

Ugh. Flop. Crash.

I have been teaching my 10 and 8 year old how to ride up hills on their bikes. They love to come out on the beautiful Trans-Canada trails cycling with me, and I love the experience of being able to teach them safety, etiquette and technique.

The hills create dread in them both. As they become more and more familiar with where we are on the trail, they realize that a particular hill will be looming large, and they begin to adjust their cycling style to reflect its imminence. Usually this is where mistakes are made.

They are not scared of getting hurt, although I am sure that was part of the concern in the beginning, what they are most concerned about is the repeated failure. I recognized their concerns and embarked on a campaign to help them to understand how to master any hill – even if it is a mountain.

“Hills,” I told them, “Can always be mastered; never beaten, but always mastered.”

“Huh?”

“You have to remember that the hill will always be there, and you can come back to it time and time again. If you think you have beaten the hill you will get lazy and make a mistake.

“The hill doesn’t know you exist, it is just there. It is a tool, like a hammer or a saw or a drill – a tool. It is your skill and your knowledge that allows you to ride up the hill and to ride over the top.

“The hill doesn’t want to see you fail. The hill isn’t laughing at you. The hill can’t suck your strength from you; it is your skill, knowledge and experience that make the difference. It’s all you.”

There is a mechanics to getting up the hill, and I had to figure out for myself how to explain it. For me, like in most things in my life it was trail and error, but I sought advice and researched to determine the best way to make it happen.

I explained to my kids that to get up the hill you can undertake different approaches. First, you can gain speed, get your legs pumping and ready to go, pedal like a maniac hoping your momentum will make it to the top before gravity teaches you a lesson.

A second way would be to drop your bike into a lower gear, put your weight forward on the bike and chug your way up the hill. I tell them it isn’t pretty, and the more accomplished bikers will blow past you, but they will always admire your determination and cheer you on (etiquette). It is only when you don’t try and walk your bike up the hill that they will just blow past you.

The most important lesson I was able to impart about making it up any hill, was the need to never stop pedaling until you crest the hill. Invariably people will attack a hill and when their line of vision becomes level with the crest…they slow down thinking they have made it. The problem is, their eyes are where they need to be, but their bodies are still chugging up – and gravity is pushing down.

You must crest the hill, be on top of the hill, and only when gravity takes away your need to pedal can you relax and take a breather before moving forward. Don’t stop pedaling until you crest the hill. Simple.

An easy way to focus on cresting the hill is to plan it at the bottom, and manage your energy until gravity is once again your friend. Vision is important, but vision isn’t action; so do not stop pedaling until you crest the hill.

The first time one of my children crest the hill with the help of my advice, he excitedly turned to tell me he mastered the hill…then fell off his bike because he lost focus. But that is a lesson for another time.