Originally Posted by
Bike Jedi
This is going to sound dumb, but how do I learn to recognize what the grades are, what I can personally do, and eventually get to a place so that if someone mentions numbers like this, I can visualize something and know what we are talking about?
OK...I think that I am a pretty fit cyclist, but I have no idea what these numbers truly mean. So how can I look at something on the computer, like a google maps equivalent for elevation, and then go look at roads I have ridden to see what numbers this will compare to that I bike?
But I have no idea what this looks like. I think I climb roads that are 13% now, but no way for that long that I am aware of. So how do I figure out the elevation of roads I now ride to compare?
These questions are for anyone.
Mostly by experience. If you don't have electronics on your bike you can look up climbs and ride loops you do and see what the numbers are, or ask people who have done those rides while measuring gain, grades, etc. After enough of it when someone tells you a grade is 10% or a climb gains 1000 feet in 5 miles, you know how your body handles it.
Where are you riding?