If it's that steep, the best bet is either to walk to the top, or back down to the bottom and try again. It's tough to get back on your bike (as you've discovered) and makes the climb 100x tougher if you don't get a good start to it.
Yes!. I should have remembered to put that in my post as well :crazy:skullcap said:1. Grab and hold the brakes.
This covers almost anything I would have said, and a bit more.:thumbsup:jeffj said:If I think I might be able get started again, I have a couple choices depending on the situation.
If I can find a rock or if the trail traverses somewhat across the face of the hill, I try to find a place where I can get onto the saddle and still have a foot on a rock or on the uphill side of the trail. On the opposite side of the foot that is down on the rock or uphill side of the trail, I rotate the crankarm just forward of straight up and simply start (smoothly) pedaling up the hill.
Sometimes I can reduce the steepness of the hill by starting at an angle across the face of the trail if it's wide enough to get corrected as I get started.
If there is no place to get a foot onto something elevated from the trail surface it is going to be a little trickier to get started. As I am straddling the bike, I rotate the crank so it is straight up and down and put one foot on the downward pedal. I get up on my tiptoe and try to get a little bit up onto the front of the saddle (as far as I can) and still have my toes of one foot on the ground. Now, I have to have good balance and timing as I push the bike forward, then quickly lift my down foot onto the other pedal and try to get onto the front of the saddle all in one smooth motion.
Once I get going, I can adjust my position on the saddle. It's all a sort of balancing act, but it gets better with practice.
Like mentioned above, if it's simply too steep, you will have to get to a flatter spot to get going again.