Dam Hills

In his Spinervals DVD The Uphill Grind Coach Troy exclaims, "Hills, you either love 'em or hate 'em!" He then proceeds to lead you through an intense 45 minute simulated hill climbing workout together with several top female athletes. After completing this DVD several times over various offseasons Coach Troy's advice provides the optimism needed to tackle hills with confidence, technique and power to spare.

With Spring finally in full-swing here on the Northern Great Plains you can enjoy the real thing and Pierre, located at elevation 1410 on the banks of the Missouri River has plenty of hills. Nearby summits like Snake Butte east and south of Oahe Dam top out at nearly 1900 feet while the two main hills west of the dam summit at about 1800 feet. With the road across the dam registering about 1630 feet and the valley below the dam traversed by Power House Rd. at 1460 feet, multiple climbing workout opportunities can be found to match practically any rider's ability, desire and time constraints.

To maximize a hill climbing workout, which by-the-way qualifies for one of your two weekly Intensity workouts as described in yesterday's blog search out a series of hills, or, rollers, short enough to allow near maximal effort without becoming completely anaerobic.

One of my favorite hill climb routes here in the Pierre area combines a series of five climbs in an out & back format on wide shoulders among resplendent scenery, plentiful wildlife and extremely low traffic. The route starts at the junction of the Power House Rd. and, what locals refer to as, Stilling Basin Dr. and, as you spin up the first hill a 140 foot climb known affectionately as Little Ass Kicker ponder the patience, perseverance and power it took to build Oahe Dam, the largest mainstream dam on the Missouri River. Be sure and look both ways at the stop sign and follow 1806, named for the year Lewis and Clark returned on their Voyage of Discovery, up Recovery Rise, a short steady easy spin climb.

Continue on the flats through what we call Refueling Region and prepare nutritionally, physically and mentally for the next two hills -- Gut Check and Big Ass Kicker. The three main hills, LAK, GC and BAK all have about the same amount of climbing, nominally 140-160 feet, but different steepness. At the summit of Big Ass Kicker, the only true 10% climb in the immediate Pierre area, turn around and rocket back down crossing the Emergency Spillway and climbing GC on the way back to the starting point.

Repeat this route two or three times, logging about 525 feet and 8 miles per lap, on one of your intensity training days and, eventually, as the season progresses expect to love hills not hate 'em.