Commuting - New commute route: rate how difficult it is

Ok these are pretty general descriptions, but here goes:

1.5 miles very flat road
.5 miles moderately steep hill (maybe 30 degree incline)
.5 miles slight up/down (almost flat)
1.5 miles downhill (maybe 20 degree decline)
1.5 miles uphill (maybe 20 degree incline)
.5 miles slight up/down (almost flat)
.5 miles moderately steep downhill (maybe 30 degree decline)
1.5 miles very flat road
Total trip one way 8 miles
8.5 hours on the job
Then do it again.

On a scale from 1-10 one being a cake walk and ten being hardcore, what does this rate?

And be honest! take into account that I'm new at this though please.

[QUOTE=campkevOn a scale from 1-10 one being a cake walk and ten being hardcore, what does this rate? [/QUOTE]

If you're out of shape like a lot of the people that are new to bike commuting, that's pretty hardcore.

If you're used to running 4 miles a day, it's a piece of cake.

I'm guessing if you consider 30 degree inclines as "moderately steep" that it will be easy for you.

Not as hardcore as my commute ;)

lol, just kidding

That's an incredibly hard commute by my standards. I have to suspect that you don't really have any roads that long and steep. 30 degrees for a half-mile would be an elevation gain of about 880 feet.

I live in East Central Illinois where the highest and lowest altitude in the county have only about a 100 foot difference in elevation. It's flat here, so I don't have any perspective on those grades.

I live at sea level near the canadian border in Washington state. Since I live on the water and travel inland, everything is a long slow uphill grind. As I said, these figures are estimates, as I do not have a bike computer or a degree in advanced mathematics. As you said you live in Illinois, which I have driven through and I know is flat as a pancake. Sorry you don't believe me, since I have no reason to stretch the truth even a little because life is hard enough to believe without making things up. Anyway, it's all good. If some think this is a 10 on the tougness scale, I'm feeling better about myself. By the time I get to work, I need a hot shower, and a good half hour recovery time.

P.S.
I am willing to admit that I am wrong about the 30 degree figure. I can look at a 30 degree angle and sort of visualize it in relation to the hill, and it appears fairly accurate. Like I said it's an estimate. I'll ask around my neighborhood, and see what other people think. Maybe they'll say "Oh dude that's like an eighth of one half a percent of the square root of an isotoner triangle! Nowhere near 30 degrees" And I'll be all "oooooops"

My commute is 6-7 miles (also no computer) each way, mostly flat but lots of traffic. Then I work 12 hour shifts, ride home sleep, wake up, repeat.

The commute isn't the hard part, the rest of my day is.

Phil

Ok these are pretty general descriptions, but here goes:
.5 miles moderately steep hill (maybe 30 degree incline)
On a scale from 1-10 one being a cake walk and ten being hardcore, what does this rate?

And be honest! take into account that I'm new at this though please.

for me, the difficulty of the commute always seems to come down to which bike i'm riding and how much crap i'm carrying with me.

on my fixed with a full bag, that commute would get my heart rate up and the legs burning. its the downhills that would get me.

on geared bike that could coast? cake unless i was totally hammering the whole thing.

It's not anything crazy.. You may find it rough at first, but youll quickly adjust. Pace yourself and start off slow, give yourself an hour.. you'll quickly find the pace that is right.. (not too much sweat)

~Steve

Best bet: try it on a non-work day. See how you feel when you get there, and how long it took. Keep in mind that if you decide to stick with it, it'll get shorter, easier, less strenuous, more trouble-free over time.