10 Hardest Climbs in the US
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White Mountain climb is much harder when you include the dirt section.
Big Pine to White Mountain summit
Big Pine to White Mountain summit
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White Mountain climb is much harder when you include the dirt section.
Big Pine to White Mountain summit
Big Pine to White Mountain summit
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Big John, Onyx Summit from the Mill Creek Visitor Center looks like a must do. Looks like Hwy 38 is cyclist friendly according to previous threads. Thanks for the suggestion.
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I did it on a cheap hardtail in 2005, but I turned around at about 13,500 feet (bonked earlier and ran out of daylight). The climb isn't terrible, the killer was the descent on washboard dirt road. My hips were sore, my ankles were swollen, and my feet were bleeding. I never rode a mountain bike again—until today in Whistler.
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There are other good climbs in that area.
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I did it on a cheap hardtail in 2005, but I turned around at about 13,500 feet (bonked earlier and ran out of daylight). The climb isn't terrible, the killer was the descent on washboard dirt road. My hips were sore, my ankles were swollen, and my feet were bleeding. I never rode a mountain bike again—until today in Whistler.
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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.
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.
Where are you riding?
#33
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- Mark
#34
Banned.
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?
Where are you riding?
I have not climbed Lookout Mountain which is close to where I ride around all the time. I have jetted down it, but never climbed it. I know I can, and I know what that visual looks like, but I have no real understanding of the numbers around it. So I was just looking at this, and this says it's 5% grade is that correct? So that means it's a 5% vertical climb? I would of assumed that Lookout Mountain was like I-70 coming down, and more along the lines of over 10%. So it shows you how clueless I am. If lookout mountain is 5%, then I am not touching anywhere close to 12%, and I don't want too then either. I see a lot of road bike folks on Lookout mountain all the time, and that seems to be as difficult in many ways without getting up to major mountains and passes as it gets. Perhaps I am underestimating what Pikes Peak is really like then. It's been 20 years since I have been there even though I can see it out my window but in a far distance.
I am just trying to understand the numbers so I know what folks are talking about more, and also so I can plan routes ahead of time and instead of knowing the miles, I might know how much climbing or descending I have, can visualize it ahead of time, and plan appropriately. Currently, the best I can do is look at a map on Google and see the mileage. In Colorado depending on which direction you are heading, that can mean two drastic different types of riding.
Last edited by Bike Jedi; 08-23-19 at 11:00 PM.
#35
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- Mark
#36
Banned.
I think I-70 going up to the Eisenhower Tunnel maxes out at 6% or so. There are some non-standard grades on interstates that are somewhat steeper, but interstate highways are generally engineered to stay under 6%. Some of the non-interstate paved passes in CO might go up to 8% or so.
- Mark
- Mark
#37
Senior Member
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.
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.
Last week we did a 5 mile climb that averaged 6% (in the Catskills in New York). One section of 1.3 miles averaged 10.5%, and as I was climbing that looking at my GPS I saw it hit numbers of 17.5% to 18%. At those points I was down to under 4mph, and almost had to resort to criss-crossing the road to keep going.
I think I had a point here...haha. I guess it's that until you get out and ride and have some objective measurement in real time, it's very hard to go back later and correlate your ride to a map online. When someone tells me they rode an average 10% hill for a few miles, I take it with a grain of salt especially if they don't use a GPS for real time observations, and later have available mapping data (again, none of which is perfect/infallible). As a rule of thumb, if a cyclist tells you they rode 10% for 3 miles, assume they rode 5% for a mile. If a skier tells you they skied a 50% grade for 1000 vertical feet, assume it was 30% for 150 vertical feet (unless they have the cred to back it up).
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#38
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Whistler is great this time of year. The road cycling is pretty limited, but the trails are all very nice. And it hasn't been hot at all (I should have brought knee warmers).
Affordable, too. The exchange rate is in the US favor, Canadian dollar is at about $0.75 USD. Hotwire lodging deals are also really good right now.
Schools start up again after Labour Day (their spelling), so there's still an ideal quiet time in September before it starts getting too cold.
Affordable, too. The exchange rate is in the US favor, Canadian dollar is at about $0.75 USD. Hotwire lodging deals are also really good right now.
Schools start up again after Labour Day (their spelling), so there's still an ideal quiet time in September before it starts getting too cold.
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#39
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So if I go do Pikes Peak, does that make me a stud in the bicycle world in some way? Just curious.
If it is something I need to notch on my bicycle bed post since I am so close to it just for bragging rights, do I need to go do it now? I never had a huge desire to ride over it on my bicycle as is, but after seeing that it is arguably the 4th hardest climb in the world, wouldn't I need to go do it now "just" for braggin' rights?
I don't really process things well like the other humans, so I am wondering why I suddenly have this tug to go climb something I see every day out my window, when I had not had the desire to do so prior to reading this.
What do the other humans do in situations like these?
I wouldn't have guessed that Hawaii would contain half of the top ten, but that doesn't surprise me I guess. I would have thought for sure there is more climbs to pick from, but I am not familiar with that kind of stuff.
Does anyone know, would Pikes peak pretty much just be like climbing Lookout Mountain, but for much longer, or something similar to it? Anyone climbed both? What is it like to climb Pikes Peak versus say Lookout mountain in terms of a comparison of a vertical climb? If I could climb to the top of Lookout Mountain or climb to the top of the table tops, is it much more technical or harder than that? I am assuming it's just really long versions of that kind of stuff. Am I wrong? I know altitude is a factor, I am not thinking about that part of equation though. I am just curious about the terrain and how steep it really is. Wondering how much of a challenge or how hard it would really be for me too outside of altitude problems.
If it is something I need to notch on my bicycle bed post since I am so close to it just for bragging rights, do I need to go do it now? I never had a huge desire to ride over it on my bicycle as is, but after seeing that it is arguably the 4th hardest climb in the world, wouldn't I need to go do it now "just" for braggin' rights?
I don't really process things well like the other humans, so I am wondering why I suddenly have this tug to go climb something I see every day out my window, when I had not had the desire to do so prior to reading this.
What do the other humans do in situations like these?
I wouldn't have guessed that Hawaii would contain half of the top ten, but that doesn't surprise me I guess. I would have thought for sure there is more climbs to pick from, but I am not familiar with that kind of stuff.
Does anyone know, would Pikes peak pretty much just be like climbing Lookout Mountain, but for much longer, or something similar to it? Anyone climbed both? What is it like to climb Pikes Peak versus say Lookout mountain in terms of a comparison of a vertical climb? If I could climb to the top of Lookout Mountain or climb to the top of the table tops, is it much more technical or harder than that? I am assuming it's just really long versions of that kind of stuff. Am I wrong? I know altitude is a factor, I am not thinking about that part of equation though. I am just curious about the terrain and how steep it really is. Wondering how much of a challenge or how hard it would really be for me too outside of altitude problems.
It's unlike anything I've climbed anywhere else in the state. Gains more than Evans in much less distance. Gets as steep as old stage in Boulder, for miles. Take three Hardscrabble passes and that would be easier.
Some rides I am well aclimated, others I'm dizzy from the halfway point up. I've always theorized that I could climb the grade at lower elevation. Yet with a 34/30 granny I can barely keep my cadence over 40. It's hard. It's hard not to stop or turn around. It's awesome this year because the shuttles have greatly reduced traffic.
One of the best rides I've done.
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After watching the Tour of Utah, I am surprised some of the climbs in that state didn’t make on the list. Guys were riding mid cage derailleurs and 34 tooth cassettes.
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