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The longest, hardest climbs are in North Georgia
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North Georgia is pretty rugged.
The comment section of bikepacking.com's write up of the Trans North Georgia route is full of people surprised at the elevation here. Stuff like, "Holy moly, that's steeper than the Colorado Trail...and it's in Georgia." and similar. https://bikepacking.com/routes/trans...-georgia-tnga/ -Tim- |
That does look tough. The only gravel climb over here that I've done which has a similar amount of altitude is NF-18 (Segelson Road), which takes you from the valley floor to this:
https://i.imgur.com/aEdFVu1.jpg It's steadier than your climb, though. Lower back pain is a real threat on Segelson... if you get into too steady a climbing form and forget to loosen up on the shallower spots, you can end up starting to hurt in steeper spots where you can't get out of the saddle as easily, heheh. We've got some decently scary 1000-2000 foot hills, though. The ride I did yesterday covered only 28 miles, but it included three ~mile-long stretches that each averaged 12-13%: https://i.imgur.com/3OAo9df.png Even though we all brought sub-1:1 gears, we were grinding horribly on the steep spots. We hadn't ridden the final climb before, and there are lots of roads around it to check out... maybe that'll be the focus of another ride. It heads up one of Mount Pilchuck's southern buttresses. The views from that road didn't photograph as well as I'd hoped, but they were fantastic. https://i.imgur.com/gptKQ9O.jpg |
That is quite the climb for gravel. Not real steep overall, but a few mighty steep sections.
I tend to look for paved road for climbs like that!! We've got a few 10 to 20 or more mile long climbs around here, but mostly paved. I can think of a few gravel logging roads that I've mostly driven on, and there'd probably be more if one looked. |
There's one about 20-minutes from where I work that's real popular with the locals.
Mix Canyon Vacaville ? The Diabolical Duo ? Mix Canyon & Gates Canyon (Super Steep) Hill Climbing It's not all gravel but some of the gravel sections (not captured in those photos at the link above) are real brutal. A co-worker, 2-3 years ago chose it as his hill for one of his many Everest'ing challenges. I've done the climb once, last fall and I did a lot of hike-a-bike. But my perceived fitness absolutely did not align with required fitness. |
White Mountain, California
The climb from Big Pine (3988’) to White Mountain Peak (14,252’) might be the most vertical in the US.
I did it on a hard tail in 2004, but didn’t quite make the summit (didn’t bring enough food). It was a slog. https://www.tourofcalifornia.org/201...-peak.html?m=1 |
I'll bet that would flatten out quickly if you heard some banjo music!
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Make the grade higher and add some virtually unrideable mudbogs to your climb and it might be as tough as this one: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/29626799
And then there's this one, which is next-level: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30234764 I knew I was in for a long day when I saw all the people on MTBs. |
Originally Posted by terrymorse
(Post 21060215)
The climb from Big Pine (3988’) to White Mountain Peak (14,252’) might be the most vertical in the US.
I did it on a hard tail in 2004, but didn’t quite make the summit (didn’t bring enough food). It was a slog. https://www.tourofcalifornia.org/201...-peak.html?m=1 |
Originally Posted by shelbyfv
(Post 21060371)
I'll bet that would flatten out quickly if you heard some banjo music!
-Tim- |
OK, each to his own, but I'm gonna wear my "I'm not Ned" safety vest if I ride down there.;)
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I don't normally go looking for gravel roads.
But here is one I tried once just because it is the steepest road within easy riding distance. Narrow as hell, and loaded with ruts from snow/rain drainage. Lickskillet Road, near Boulder. It runs between Lefthand Cyn, and the town of Gold Hill, and is one mile long. Note the gradient chart at the bottom of the image: https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c562c4f91d.png |
Originally Posted by Spoonrobot
(Post 21060031)
Anyway, my thread prompt was I saw a couple riders I follow on Strava (Erik Newsholme & Brian Toone) did Pikes Peak but I've given to understand that's been paved.
When it was gravel, cyclists were prohibited. Since it has been paved, cyclists are allowed. |
Originally Posted by terrymorse
(Post 21060215)
The climb from Big Pine (3988’) to White Mountain Peak (14,252’) might be the most vertical in the US.
I did it on a hard tail in 2004, but didn’t quite make the summit (didn’t bring enough food). It was a slog. https://www.tourofcalifornia.org/201...-peak.html?m=1 |
White Mountain, California
Originally Posted by dgodave
(Post 21060450)
It does look like a grind tho.
The worst part was the pounding on the body during the descent on washboard surfaces. That beat me up pretty badly, a hardtail was probably not the best choice. It took days to recover from the beating. Here are my notes: Ride day: 82.7 miles, 12,480 feet, 9 hours 21 minutes; bonked (dummy), sore ankles/wrists/back Next day: drive home, sore & tired Next day: rest day, still sore and tired Next day: 43.9 miles, 3540 feet, 3 hours 10 minutes; recovery ride, left hip still sore Here's the route on ridewithgps EDIT: Photos of White Mountain — some taken during the ride. |
Originally Posted by Spoonrobot
(Post 21060713)
I'll take a few longer climbs over several shorter rollers like that. Here's a new event this year that I'm waffling on, steep gravel rollers are so much more mentally taxing than just pointing the bike straight up for an hour+.
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I was on one of these climbs a few years ago at night when my dynamo stopped working.
That was the night the lights went out in Georgia. |
Originally Posted by Spoonrobot
(Post 21060880)
That's awesome. What are the altitude effects like doing it as one ride?
How you feel at altitude and how you're performing may not match up. When I rode up Mt. Evans on a road bike, I felt really strong towards the summit. Later, I checked my stats. My climbing rate wasn't anything to write home about, the road grade just wasn't very steep. |
Originally Posted by terrymorse
(Post 21060678)
It is definitely a grind, more so because there is no water on the route. We hid some water near the Schulman Grove visitor's center the day before.
The worst part was the pounding on the body during the descent on washboard surfaces. That beat me up pretty badly, a hardtail was probably not the best choice. It took days to recover from the beating. Here are my notes: Ride day: 82.7 miles, 12,480 feet, 9 hours 21 minutes; bonked (dummy), sore ankles/wrists/back Next day: drive home, sore & tired Next day: rest day, still sore and tired Next day: 43.9 miles, 3540 feet, 3 hours 10 minutes; recovery ride, left hip still sore Here's the route on ridewithgps EDIT: Photos of White Mountain — some taken during the ride. (So.... I'm not ready to agree that the longest hardest climbs are in Georgia.) |
Originally Posted by Spoonrobot
(Post 21060031)
But I'm curious what y'all have in your areas.
Down here we got the Cohutta, the best climbs of which are just south of the Tennessee border. Did this yesterday, it's a monster. Entirely gravel with varying surface, short sections of smooth dirt, a ton of embedded rock, loose crusher run, lots of washboard and dozens of punchy 9-11% sections - that are also loose and chunky. It ate up a ton of riders, I passed several that were riding strong until mile 7-8 and then ended up walking after a seriously steep loose section. Guy ahead of me stopped, sat on the ground and when I asked if he was ok he said "I just can't climb anymore right now" with a thousand yard stare into the trees. The future as a chunky gravel road stretching up into the sky you climb but it never ends. https://drandalls.files.wordpress.co...1.jpg?w=700&h= Anyway, my thread prompt was I saw a couple riders I follow on Strava (Erik Newsholme & Brian Toone) did Pikes Peak but I've given to understand that's been paved. So I was genuinely curious who has access to the longest unpaved climb. I suspect it's out in Colorado or Washington somewhere. Or even *gasp* California. Even if it is longer I bet it's not as hard as our stuff, Georgia gravel is the best. Unless I move somewhere else then that gravel'll be the best :D Dave |
Originally Posted by bonsai171
(Post 21061284)
Suspension with drop bars?
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Originally Posted by Spoonrobot
(Post 21060031)
So I was genuinely curious who has access to the longest unpaved climb. I suspect it's out in Colorado or Washington somewhere. Or even *gasp* California.
The hardest gravel ride I did had 10 miles of chipseal at the beginning, probably disqualifies it. Involves 4,200' of vert, and drop dead gorgeous scenery. Maybe the most impressive 100 % gravel ride I've done is Slate Peak, from Dead Horse Point. That was also about 4,200' of vert, over 10 miles, with sunshine at the bottom and icy trees at the top. This is the highest road in Washington. A thru-hiker who had just spent the spring, summer, and early fall walking from Mexico to Canada was seriously impressed that a person would want to ride a bike up that mountain. https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/2023537925 https://live.staticflickr.com/4425/3...0f61cf_o_d.jpg The road goes right through a meadow. https://live.staticflickr.com/4450/3...5f6de6_o_d.jpg I'd been wanting to do this ride for years, but the yellow trees are what I came for. It was the bike equivalent of a larch march. https://live.staticflickr.com/4401/3...72c837_o_d.jpg |
How about Mt. Kilimanjaro?
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Surrounding area of Paris is pretty flat. Single track and fire roads are smooth and soft. It's a dream. Coming from Salt Lake City, Utah, where it's either straight up or flat into the desert. Paris is a gravel cycling dream for me. I'm back in SLC for the summer and can't wait to get back to ride in Paris.
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Originally Posted by Spoonrobot
(Post 21061566)
Is that this climb? If it is man that looks like a real butt kicker
But that segment is the "correct" route for a ride like that, it starts and ends at the Mazama Store where you can get some great pastries and coffee. |
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