Originally Posted by
Jeff Neese
He may be right. It depends on how much of that 8 miles is at a 15% gradient. That's steeper than most of the "hellish" climbs in the TDF. 8 miles if it's all 15% would be almost superhuman. I know I couldn't do it (and you probably couldn't either), but we can probably both ride 100 miles on a cute little bike path made for kids and grannies.
The math says that not much was 15% in his 8 mile ride...and he walked. If he's a real person, and actually rides bikes, he's new to riding, and that's okay. We all had to start somewhere, and sometimes that includes making ignorant assumptions about things we have never experienced.
What makes climbs "hellish" in the Tour is mostly the ridiculous pace they ride.