most difficult road climbs - usa - by bicycle
12-07-15, 07:47 PM
#1
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most difficult road climbs - usa - by bicycle
what is the authoritative list of the most difficult climbs by road bicycle in the us?
I know pjammcycling.com had a list but it seems their website is down. what happened? now i don't know what roads to do.
I know pjammcycling.com had a list but it seems their website is down. what happened? now i don't know what roads to do.
12-07-15, 07:50 PM
#2
Senior Member
Mt. Washington Auto Road Bicycle Hillclimb | Mt. Washington Auto Road
Quote from the front page: "Deemed the Toughest Hillclimb in the World!"
Quote from the front page: "Deemed the Toughest Hillclimb in the World!"
12-07-15, 07:58 PM
#3
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i actually just found these gems half an hour ago:
CDRC (Capital District Road Climbs): Platte Clove Road- Devil's Kitchen
How to Cycle Whiteface Mountain | USA Today
CDRC (Capital District Road Climbs): Platte Clove Road- Devil's Kitchen
How to Cycle Whiteface Mountain | USA Today
12-07-15, 08:31 PM
#6
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I can't believe Gibraltar Road got on the list. That's like 15 minutes from me.
I have climbed it a zillion times. They just re-paved the top half, so it's super nice now.
Funny story. I have Gibraltar totally figured out, and will big ring to the Monastery, then dump to small ring early at the Hippie Commune to get my HR back down before that super hard left switchback, then power the last turn and Cipollini until the top.
So one morning at sunrise, I start the climb with a bunch of non local guys, kitted up and looking the part. I blow past them in my baseball cap, with a little bit of a hangover. I heard one of them laugh, and say that I was going to blow up etc. (something to that effect) the group agreed. I get to the top and had my breakfast at the water cistern. A good 10 minutes later, these guys show up. They waved in total respect.
Little did they know, I had the whole climb gamed, and basically cheated.
I have climbed it a zillion times. They just re-paved the top half, so it's super nice now.
Funny story. I have Gibraltar totally figured out, and will big ring to the Monastery, then dump to small ring early at the Hippie Commune to get my HR back down before that super hard left switchback, then power the last turn and Cipollini until the top.
So one morning at sunrise, I start the climb with a bunch of non local guys, kitted up and looking the part. I blow past them in my baseball cap, with a little bit of a hangover. I heard one of them laugh, and say that I was going to blow up etc. (something to that effect) the group agreed. I get to the top and had my breakfast at the water cistern. A good 10 minutes later, these guys show up. They waved in total respect.
Little did they know, I had the whole climb gamed, and basically cheated.
Last edited by Erzulis Boat; 12-07-15 at 08:58 PM.
12-08-15, 12:48 PM
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I don't know how hard any of the individual climbs are, but anyone that does The Blue Ridge Parkway (bonus points for adding Skyline Dr in VA) all the way has my respect.
GH
GH
12-08-15, 12:53 PM
#9
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Hey, I've done 7 of those climbs!
And I'm a girl.
And I'm a girl.
12-08-15, 01:02 PM
#11
Senior Member
12-08-15, 01:52 PM
#13
Senior Member
Observatory road above UC Berkeley. Very steep and not so short.
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Il faut de l'audace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace
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Il faut de l'audace, encore de l'audace, toujours de l'audace
1980 3Rensho-- 1975 Raleigh Sprite 3spd
1990s Raleigh M20 MTB--2007 Windsor Hour (track)
1988 Ducati 750 F1
12-08-15, 02:01 PM
#14
Junior Member
I can't believe Gibraltar Road got on the list. That's like 15 minutes from me.
I have climbed it a zillion times. They just re-paved the top half, so it's super nice now.
Funny story. I have Gibraltar totally figured out, and will big ring to the Monastery, then dump to small ring early at the Hippie Commune to get my HR back down before that super hard left switchback, then power the last turn and Cipollini until the top.
So one morning at sunrise, I start the climb with a bunch of non local guys, kitted up and looking the part. I blow past them in my baseball cap, with a little bit of a hangover. I heard one of them laugh, and say that I was going to blow up etc. (something to that effect) the group agreed. I get to the top and had my breakfast at the water cistern. A good 10 minutes later, these guys show up. They waved in total respect.
Little did they know, I had the whole climb gamed, and basically cheated.
I have climbed it a zillion times. They just re-paved the top half, so it's super nice now.
Funny story. I have Gibraltar totally figured out, and will big ring to the Monastery, then dump to small ring early at the Hippie Commune to get my HR back down before that super hard left switchback, then power the last turn and Cipollini until the top.
So one morning at sunrise, I start the climb with a bunch of non local guys, kitted up and looking the part. I blow past them in my baseball cap, with a little bit of a hangover. I heard one of them laugh, and say that I was going to blow up etc. (something to that effect) the group agreed. I get to the top and had my breakfast at the water cistern. A good 10 minutes later, these guys show up. They waved in total respect.
Little did they know, I had the whole climb gamed, and basically cheated.
12-08-15, 02:16 PM
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Hurricane Ridge, which has been on my list a while, and Mt Spokane, which I've heard is a kick in the ass, but I've never really considered because of distance. Might go check it out one day though.
12-08-15, 02:42 PM
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Just two. Mt Ashland (nice but not exciting, like a big version of Mt Diablo which I have done many times.) Not hard on 42-23 fixed. And Mt Washington twice. A serious climb.
(I rode down Alba Rd in a Pacific Ocean storm. There were rivers running across the road. Does that count?
)
Ben
(I rode down Alba Rd in a Pacific Ocean storm. There were rivers running across the road. Does that count?
)Ben
12-08-15, 02:45 PM
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Only lists two in my state, which is weird, and when you look at the map, one of them is pretty arbitrary, eg it's a big loop (40 extra miles) on the flat leading up to the climb.
Hurricane Ridge, which has been on my list a while, and Mt Spokane, which I've heard is a kick in the ass, but I've never really considered because of distance. Might go check it out one day though.
Hurricane Ridge, which has been on my list a while, and Mt Spokane, which I've heard is a kick in the ass, but I've never really considered because of distance. Might go check it out one day though.
12-08-15, 05:48 PM
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anyone knows how to calculate the gradient that one can climb? (something like watts divided by rider+bike weight and by gear ratio, factoring gradient somehow)
12-08-15, 05:58 PM
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I don't know how hard any of the individual climbs are, but anyone that does The Blue Ridge Parkway (bonus points for adding Skyline Dr in VA) all the way has my respect.
GH
GH
12-08-15, 07:28 PM
#20
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Only two so far 39 to Crystal Lake and GMR to Baldy Ski lifts, both from the house though, not from the parking area.
12-08-15, 07:58 PM
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seven down but hoping to knock out 10-12 this coming year with trips to death valley np, sequoia np west side, kings canyon np east side, kings canyon west side and tucson, az.
a kings canyon np east side trip this year got torrentially rained out (but rebounded by doing figueroa mtn & gibraltar same day) and a planned tucson trip to hit kitt pk, mt. lemmon
and mt. graham got "repurposed" into a wild west trip with a friend when i accidentally let slip i had a few days off. loose lips sink cycling trips.
a kings canyon np east side trip this year got torrentially rained out (but rebounded by doing figueroa mtn & gibraltar same day) and a planned tucson trip to hit kitt pk, mt. lemmon
and mt. graham got "repurposed" into a wild west trip with a friend when i accidentally let slip i had a few days off. loose lips sink cycling trips.
Last edited by diphthong; 12-08-15 at 08:02 PM.
12-09-15, 11:43 AM
#23
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I can't see driving around the country to do these climbs. No, I am not a saint. I rode up with teammates to My Washington for my second trip (although I covered some of that distance by bike the day before in the RR). First time, I rode from Boston. Mt Ashland was part of Cycle Oregon which I rode the bus to get to. (But it was day three of five sets of 5000' in four days. The next day, climbing out of Ashland up Dead Indian Road was a lot harder.)
Ben
Ben
12-09-15, 12:09 PM
#24
Kit doesn't match
