Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Road Cycling
Reload this Page >

Most Scenic Climbs (w/ pics!)

Search
Notices
Road Cycling “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

Most Scenic Climbs (w/ pics!)

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 06-12-09, 12:36 AM
  #1  
rallison
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
rallison's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Belmont Shore (Long Beach), CA
Posts: 508

Bikes: Scattante R-560 w/ Velocity Deep V rims

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Most Scenic Climbs (w/ pics!)

Ok, so I started basically the same thread in the SoCal sub-forum (because I want a checklist of rides to do!), but I think this would be a fun general thread. What are some of the most scenic climbs you have done? Doesn't matter where, all that matters is that you did it and have some pictures of it to post. Again, I'll start (these are both SoCal climbs):

Figueroa Mountain (Santa Ynez Valley):





Glendora Ridge Road (as part of a Glendora Mountain Rd->Glendora Ridge Rd->Mt Baldy Rd Loop):

rallison is offline  
Old 06-12-09, 02:38 AM
  #2  
rhys
.
 
Join Date: May 2007
Location: london
Posts: 13

Bikes: bianchi

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
France is pretty good.

Allemond


Alpe d'Huez
rhys is offline  
Old 06-12-09, 02:45 AM
  #3  
rallison
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
rallison's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Belmont Shore (Long Beach), CA
Posts: 508

Bikes: Scattante R-560 w/ Velocity Deep V rims

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by rhys
France is pretty good.

Alpe d'Huez
Number 1 on my to-do list when I get out to France for some cycling. Looks like the perfect climb. How tough was it?
rallison is offline  
Old 06-12-09, 06:41 AM
  #4  
n00bL35
=microburst=
 
n00bL35's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Oklahoma City, OK
Posts: 424

Bikes: Giant OCR3

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Awwwwww. Those pics are so awesome!! Damn, I want to go to Europe.
n00bL35 is offline  
Old 06-12-09, 06:49 AM
  #5  
aham23
grilled cheesus
 
aham23's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: 8675309
Posts: 6,957

Bikes: 2010 CAAD9 Custom, 06 Giant TCR C2 & 05 Specialized Hardrock Sport

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5 Post(s)
Liked 5 Times in 4 Posts
i will get back to this post in two weeks.

later.
__________________
aham23 is offline  
Old 06-12-09, 06:52 AM
  #6  
BillyD
Administrator
 
BillyD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Hudson Valley, NY
Posts: 33,001

Bikes: Merlin Cyrene '04; Bridgestone RB-1 '92

Mentioned: 325 Post(s)
Tagged: 2 Thread(s)
Quoted: 11969 Post(s)
Liked 6,646 Times in 3,483 Posts
Originally Posted by aham23
.

later.
later.
__________________
See, this is why we can't have nice things. - - smarkinson
Where else but the internet can a bunch of cyclists go and be the tough guy? - - jdon
BillyD is offline  
Old 06-12-09, 07:08 AM
  #7  
Lamp-Shade
Bulimic Arsonist.
 
Lamp-Shade's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Flagstaff, AZ
Posts: 393
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Someone with a camera, please tell me you've climbed Snowbowl Road in Flagstaff, AZ and taken pictures!
The ride is beautiful. Almost enough for me to drop 300 on a nice camera to share with you guys and never buy a new bike ever.
Lamp-Shade is offline  
Old 06-12-09, 07:17 AM
  #8  
Hammertoe
A Little Bent
 
Hammertoe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Struggling up a hillside in Vermont, USA... ..........................................
Posts: 2,858
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Whiteface Mountain...






Mt. Washington...







__________________
Hammertoe is offline  
Old 06-12-09, 07:48 AM
  #9  
teterider
On the Move
 
teterider's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Massachusetts
Posts: 1,219

Bikes: Lots

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
2005. Briancon Valley
Looking down south side of Galibier 1 day before Tour rolled through. They descended this side this year.


Looking down north side - 4 hours till riders come thorugh



Yep, this is the top. (weather went from sunny to cloudy over and over)

Last edited by teterider; 06-12-09 at 08:21 AM.
teterider is offline  
Old 06-12-09, 07:50 AM
  #10  
umd
Banned
 
umd's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Santa Barbara, CA
Posts: 28,387

Bikes: Specialized Tarmac SL2, Specialized Tarmac SL, Giant TCR Composite, Specialized StumpJumper Expert HT

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times in 2 Posts
Onion Valley


Whitney Portal


Gibraltar Road



Figueroa Mountain (same as OP)

umd is offline  
Old 06-12-09, 09:13 PM
  #11  
dark13star
Mountain Goat
 
dark13star's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 2,244

Bikes: Cannondale Synapse 3 Carbon

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Mt. Evans, Colorado















Some BF members were going to do this ride tomorrow, but the weather is still horrible up high this year.
__________________
"I would be an historian as Herodotus was." Charles Olson
https://herodot.us
dark13star is offline  
Old 06-12-09, 09:24 PM
  #12  
gabdy
Senior Member
 
gabdy's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2005
Posts: 1,485

Bikes: Trek, Giant, PoS

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I don't have scenery like you guys, this is as good as I've got pictures of. The descent down to the last pic is very steep and quite technical. They were using motorbikes to pace people. You can also see where the old road used to be against the cliff face but there was too many rock falls and the had to build a new road over the water.







__________________
Courage
Skill

Last edited by gabdy; 06-12-09 at 09:33 PM.
gabdy is offline  
Old 06-13-09, 07:49 AM
  #13  
orcanova
Senior Member
 
orcanova's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: NOLA
Posts: 2,200
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Tantalus, Oahu


Sierra Madre del Sur, between Oaxaca and the Pacific Coast


Skyline Drive, Sheandoah National Park, in the evening looking west over the Shenandoah Valley


More Skyline Drive






__________________

Last edited by orcanova; 06-13-09 at 07:52 AM.
orcanova is offline  
Old 06-13-09, 08:35 AM
  #14  
ckelly49
MANANA.
 
ckelly49's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: new jersey
Posts: 325

Bikes: '06 Trek 5200

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
From the top of Bear Mountain



ckelly49 is offline  
Old 06-15-09, 05:09 PM
  #15  
Matt Gaunt
Senior Member
 
Matt Gaunt's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: London, UK
Posts: 2,304
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18 Post(s)
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Shameless link to my Pyrenees thread here.

I think it was a pretty awesome climb in terms of scenery anyway
__________________
Matt
2018 Enigma Excel Pic|| 2010 Kinesis Decade Convert2 Pic || 2008 Kinesis RC2 Pics || 2007 Kinesis Pha5e Pics || 2005 Kinesis RC Pics || 1996 Raleigh Max Pics
Matt Gaunt is offline  
Old 06-15-09, 05:13 PM
  #16  
fauxto nick
Cat 3 Meter - Don't Care
 
fauxto nick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 3,893
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
I just went from 6 to midnight.
fauxto nick is offline  
Old 06-15-09, 05:31 PM
  #17  
KiddSisko
Has coddling tendencies.
 
KiddSisko's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Topanga Canyon
Posts: 8,360

Bikes: 2008 Blue RC8 w/ '09 Rival

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5 Post(s)
Liked 59 Times in 8 Posts
Mt Palomar, CA


Mt Wilson, CA
KiddSisko is offline  
Old 06-15-09, 05:42 PM
  #18  
jppe
Let's do a Century
 
jppe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 8,316

Bikes: Cervelo R3 Disc, Pinarello Prince/Campy SR; Cervelo R3/Sram Red; Trek 5900/Duraace, Lynskey GR260 Ultegra

Mentioned: 59 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 651 Post(s)
Liked 879 Times in 408 Posts
Mt Lemmon-Tucson, Az









jppe is offline  
Old 06-15-09, 05:48 PM
  #19  
jppe
Let's do a Century
 
jppe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 8,316

Bikes: Cervelo R3 Disc, Pinarello Prince/Campy SR; Cervelo R3/Sram Red; Trek 5900/Duraace, Lynskey GR260 Ultegra

Mentioned: 59 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 651 Post(s)
Liked 879 Times in 408 Posts
Grandfather Mountain



The Park Rd to the Top of Mount Mitchell

jppe is offline  
Old 06-17-09, 10:39 PM
  #20  
rallison
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
rallison's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Belmont Shore (Long Beach), CA
Posts: 508

Bikes: Scattante R-560 w/ Velocity Deep V rims

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by orcanova
Sierra Madre del Sur, between Oaxaca and the Pacific Coast
That looks too sweet. How was the road itself? Good condition? Traffic?
rallison is offline  
Old 06-17-09, 10:50 PM
  #21  
TMonk
Not actually Tmonk
 
TMonk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 14,132

Bikes: road, track, mtb

Mentioned: 140 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2638 Post(s)
Liked 3,151 Times in 1,658 Posts
UMD - Can you post some pictures of that 7-hour leisurely century you did through the local mountains? Im a student who just moved in to Goleta for the summer to do some intership work at UCSB and I would like to know what kind of riding im getting into this summer

Also is it possible/legal to ride on the 101? I would like to ride a loop from Goleta to Refugio/Cielo/San Marcos downhill pretty soon but I don't know if this is viable.

BTW If you do the ROCO/Sunday Worlds rides I should get a chance to ride with you once or twice this summer. Ill do it every weekend that im not racing or recovering, so it should be atleast 3-4 times. (Im here for 10 weeks). Im gonna do it next weekend (27/28) for sure.
TMonk is offline  
Old 06-18-09, 04:44 AM
  #22  
botto 
.
 
botto's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 40,375
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 15 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 27 Times in 12 Posts


campolongo. not a huge mountain, but the view from midway is divine.



stelvio. the most beautiful climb there is.



mortirolo. not the most stunning views going up (if you're even capable of noticing), but there's some nice views on the crest/descent.



aubisque...? unfortunately the weather wasn't cooperating.

Last edited by botto; 06-18-09 at 04:52 AM.
botto is offline  
Old 06-18-09, 05:22 AM
  #23  
cyclezealot
Senior Member
 
cyclezealot's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: Fallbrook,Calif./Palau del Vidre, France
Posts: 13,230

Bikes: Klein QP, Fuji touring, Surly Cross Check, BCH City bike

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1485 Post(s)
Liked 73 Times in 64 Posts
Our most recent climb.. Mt. Ventoux.. Looking east after making it as far as the Simpson Monument. All photos during our Ventoux ascent. Last photo from the east approach from the village of Sault. 27 Km to the east.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg
100_2581.jpg (100.6 KB, 218 views)
File Type: jpg
100_2583.jpg (99.6 KB, 210 views)
File Type: jpg
100_2584.jpg (99.9 KB, 203 views)
File Type: jpg
100_2588.jpg (100.3 KB, 205 views)
File Type: jpg
100_2586.jpg (100.3 KB, 201 views)
File Type: jpg
100_2580.jpg (100.7 KB, 220 views)
File Type: jpg
100_2579.jpg (99.3 KB, 202 views)
__________________
Pray for the Dead and Fight like Hell for the Living










^ Since January 1, 2012
cyclezealot is offline  
Old 06-18-09, 11:13 AM
  #24  
orcanova
Senior Member
 
orcanova's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: NOLA
Posts: 2,200
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by rallison
That looks too sweet. How was the road itself? Good condition? Traffic?
That was in 1993. The road was mint, new aspahlt, nice, banked switchback turns...absolutely perfect road and minimal traffic. No idea what its like now.

The entire trip, from Mexico City to Guatemala City, roads were good, drivers polite, people very nice and hospitable in all the pueblas along the way. The only problems with congestion, pollution, drivers, bribes, was Mexico City. We actually finished the trip in Panachel, Guatemala, on the shores of Lake Atitlan, because we were warned the roads sucked between there and Guatemala City.
__________________
orcanova is offline  
Old 06-18-09, 12:24 PM
  #25  
merlinextraligh
pan y agua
 
merlinextraligh's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Location: Jacksonville
Posts: 31,303

Bikes: Willier Zero 7; Merlin Extralight; Calfee Dragonfly tandem, Calfee Adventure tandem; Cervelo P2; Motebecane Ti Fly 29er; Motebecanne Phantom Cross; Schwinn Paramount Track bike

Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1447 Post(s)
Liked 727 Times in 372 Posts
Backside Col de Galibier (2003 TDF)



Climbing Col de Galibier



Izoard



Saint Apollinaire ( Beloki crashed on the descent)



Snowshoe West Virginia

__________________
You could fall off a cliff and die.
You could get lost and die.
You could hit a tree and die.
OR YOU COULD STAY HOME AND FALL OFF THE COUCH AND DIE.
merlinextraligh is offline  


Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.