Road Cycling - Name your climb!

Ogden Road, Ossining, NY

First thing in the morning after very little warmup, going up that wall on my way to work is a killer! The pavement is horrible, the road is narrow and I'm still half asleep. :D Plus I'm 50lbs heavier than I was in college!

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ReedZ

Name a climb, in Maine? That's like asking an M&Ms employee to name a individual M&M. I spent a long morning pushing my bike
up Long Hill Road in Sebago once. They weren't kidding when they named it. It's a nice area though. I can reccomend some old fashioned cabins to stay at nearby in Long Beach if you ever tour the area.

Name a climb, in Colorado? That's like asking an M&Ms employee to name a individual M&M.

Are you a musician?

ReedZ

Is the Pope Catholic? Dude, you see my username, right?

Anyway, I thought it would be amusing to have a thread where you name a particular climb you consider your nemesis. My whole commute up in Westchester is up and down, but that one road is a menace to society. :cry:

name a climb, in DC? That's like asking a friend of an M&Ms employee to name an individual M&M even though his friend lives in Colorado and he lives in DC where there are no M&Ms.

I think I'm going to crawl back into my no0bish shell and stay there. You guys are too much!

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:D

I just did mt. graham on monday. 20 miles uphill, switchbacks, average grade of over 6%, 5400 feet of climbing, max of 13% at some points, maybe .5 miles of level or slightly downhill. I did in just under 2 hours. Only 7 minutes off the winning time last year at the hill climb for cat. 5's. It's not a local climb, it was about 2.5 hours away but it was the closest I have ever come to doing anything the pros would do. That was a 'hors categorie' climb no doubt about it. My local climb though is South Mountain, really not that bad except the pavement condition (bumpy and extremely cracked/worn) make the climb a 'joy'.

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Ever been to the 3 (4?) story M&M store in Vegas? I think there are more than 21 (but don't quote me on that)...

Ever been to the 3 (4?) story M&M store in Vegas? I think there are more than 21 (but don't quote me on that)...
I know where I'm going on my next vacation!

Mountain Rd (how imaginative) in North Granby, CT. I don't know how to determine the grade but it is very steep and very long.

Bear Mountain Road NY and Skyline Drive NJ and some other reeeeeally long hill near Nyack NY that I cant remember the name of

Hines Gap Road in Pine Mountain, GA. It was a category 3 climb in the 2004 Tour De Georgia. Another is that steep hill out of Warm Springs, GA. The one with the runaway truck ramp in between the north and southbound lanes. Another TdG KOM climb.

I've done tougher climbs, but these climbs I can do with a little gusto.

As another poster said, Mt Graham is an incredible climb. You go from low desert to high pines in a couple hours. Very little traffic too. One heck of a climb. I like to ride Mt Lemmon (in AZ) too, but there is a lot more car traffic.

I guess these aren't really "climbs", more like all-day uphill events. :)

Palomar Mountain, in So. Cal. Lance uses it to train up when he's in the area, and of course Floyd does since he lives here.
The best way to do it is to start around Escondido, climb Wolford first, decend into Pauma Valley and then do the front side of Palomar (11mi. 7-8%). For extra miles, head to Lake Henshaw and go up the East Grade route, less steep but longer.
From Vista I've done it in 4.5 hrs.
It's a test that'll kick you into shape pronto.

I live in San Francisco, in the Diamond Heights area, this is at the base of Twin Peaks, the elevation is at 550 ft, not too bad, but have to ride up after a long day of work. :)

King's Mountain (http://www-graphics.stanford.edu/~lucasp/grade/kingsmountain.html) is my favorite climb, and my benchmark to see how well I'm feeling. Fastest time up has been 22:45.

I'll vote for Kings Mountain Road as well as Old La Honda and Tunitas Creek Road.

Ogden Road, Ossining, NY

First thing in the morning after very little warmup, going up that wall on my way to work is a killer! The pavement is horrible, the road is narrow and I'm still half asleep. :D Plus I'm 50lbs heavier than I was in college!

Shackleford Ridge Road up past Edward's Point...there are longer climbs, but this 3/4 mile wall is the one that grinds me down

Another vote for King's Mtn here. 22:45, huh? I went up it today in 30:00 and was taking it easy for most of the way. I guess I could shave 3-4 minutes off it if I lost those last 10 lbs. and went all out. On my way up, I passed the Jet Fuel Coffee Racing Team who were training for the T-Mobile International. (Oh, did I mention I was climbing and they were descending? :D ). I saw them again later at Peet's. :eek: Their sponsor better not hear about this!

anybody know of any real back-breaking climbs in about a 30 mile radius of raleigh?

Glacier washington to Artist Point Mt. baker. 24.5 m elevation climb of 4169 ft. There's a mass start TT tomorrow morning. Last year's best time was 1:27. I'm going to try and beat that. My first race, OUCH!

Mt%20Baker%20Hill%20Climb%20Profile

Vista del Lago, Mission Viejo, California. Steepest part of 1984 Olympic road racing course.

Palomar Mountain, in So. Cal. Lance uses it to train up when he's in the area, and of course Floyd does since he lives here.
The best way to do it is to start around Escondido, climb Wolford first, decend into Pauma Valley and then do the front side of Palomar (11mi. 7-8%). For extra miles, head to Lake Henshaw and go up the East Grade route, less steep but longer.
From Vista I've done it in 4.5 hrs.
It's a test that'll kick you into shape pronto.

i'd like to try palomar one day...but for now, i'm heaving going up genesee from the I5 offramp to torrey pines golf course...also the backside of the golf course on torrey pines road from the beach :/

I'll vote for Kings Mountain Road as well as Old La Honda and Tunitas Creek Road.

Old La Honda is a nice climb as well, I've just done Kings the most, and I can really gauge my performance the best on it. However, you must be insane to think that Tunitas is a nice climb. :D It would actually be really good if the pavement was a bit better.


Another vote for King's Mtn here. 22:45, huh? I went up it today in 30:00 and was taking it easy for most of the way. I guess I could shave 3-4 minutes off it if I lost those last 10 lbs. and went all out. On my way up, I passed the Jet Fuel Coffee Racing Team who were training for the T-Mobile International. (Oh, did I mention I was climbing and they were descending? :D ). I saw them again later at Peet's. :eek: Their sponsor better not hear about this!

Only 4 minutes to shave off until I reach Billy Innes' time (works at Chain Reaction and was in the winning/record setting RAAM relay team. Pro racer of course). After my ride today I'd also like to add Highway 9 to my list.

...Billy Innes' time (works at Chain Reaction and was in the winning/record setting RAAM relay team.Was he riding a recumbent? Because I think the RAAM relay team record is held by recumbents. One of the guys in the club was on a team trying to break the record this year and they were riding 'bents. They didn't break it, though.

Was he riding a recumbent? Because I think the RAAM relay team record is held by recumbents. One of the guys in the club was on a team trying to break the record this year and they were riding 'bents. They didn't break it, though.

I think they have different categories for recumbents (Human Powered Vehicles (HPV's) they call them ) and "regular" bikes. I really liked his quote about it as well.. "I didn't have anything to do this week so I decided to do RAAM." http://www.velonews.com/race/dom/articles/6371.0.html

Yeah, I remember when our club guy showed up on one of the rides and talked about it. Utterly insane just to finish.

anybody know of any real back-breaking climbs in about a 30 mile radius of raleigh?

There's some really good climbing here near the North Carolina Zoo at Asheboro. Also some breathtaking descents with sharp corners at 45 mph. These aren't the really long climbs you'll find in the mountains(more like .25 to 1 mile) but you'll think you've been there. All within about 7 or 8 miles from my home. If I get a chance tomorrow I'm going to head out that way. It'd be a good chance to try out the 12-23 I just put on.

But it's more like 50 or 60 miles from Raleigh I think.

Name a climb, in Colorado? That's like asking an M&Ms employee to name a individual M&M.

It is not particularly hard, compared to many, but it is extremely scenic. And I just LOVE the look I get when I arrive at the visitor's building at the top. All of the fat, cigarette smoking people from Nebraska and Kansas, in their Buicks, sort of gawk as they see this mid-60's guy peddle up the trail just like there wasn't even a hill (I am dying inside, but I keep a smile on my face). Then they say - "Did you ride ALL THE WAY UP?" I say yes, all the way from Frisco. Then they look at me strangely. It really makes my day.

And I did ride all the way up - I wasn't one of those who got ferried up in a van so they could ride down. It is even better when my wife is with me!

VAIL PASS, COLORADO, of course!

DnvrFox is a total badass! Did you ride over Swan Mt. Road to get to Vail Pass? Does your wife ride? If so, I didn't know that.

Have fun tomorrow on the Park-to-Park ride! I'm getting out of town, gonna mtb instead.

I rode through Salt River Canyon (AZ) on US 60 once, a good little climb. Also a 17%(!) grade for ~1/2 mile in the middle of (of all places...) Ohio. Had a bout with the mountains 23-30 mi south of Hazleton, PA too.

I'd like to shoot Wolf Creek Pass some day.

I think I'm going to go call a friend and see if they go for a climb tomorrow...

Smuggler's Notch in Vermont. At the top, single lane with house-sized boulders on either side.

Smuggler's Notch in Vermont. At the top, single lane with house-sized boulders on either side.

Yea, that's a killer. Thought my chain was going to break. Took to doing switchbacks in the road just after those boulders. Nice decent to Jeffersonville though!

Palomar mtn. 10miles of climbing(not sure of the grade) with the crazy motorcycle riders racing up and down the mtn. at 60+ mph.

M & M hill in Dundee Oregon. With peanuts.

55/Rad

My nimisis climb is always the one I'm slugging up at that point in time! Being in Montana, there are many and they are often. :D

Into bed. I love it.

DnvrFox is a total badass! Did you ride over Swan Mt. Road to get to Vail Pass? Does your wife ride? If so, I didn't know that.

Have fun tomorrow on the Park-to-Park ride! I'm getting out of town, gonna mtb instead.

Wife has been chronically sick for several weeks - sinusitis, allergies, generally run down, can't go outside much due to extreme pollens this year, so no P2P this year!.

We both did the Swan Mountain thing, but not in conjunction with Vail Pass. However, we have done Vail Pass from the west side, which is much steeper. Did you kow they are going to build a multi-million dollar trail on Swan Mountain, connecting with the rest of the trail system?

Here are pics of Nora at age 64 on Vail Pass a couple of years ago. The middle one is at the top! She was never supposed to ride again after her back injury the previous year.

In Italy, just northwest of Bassano del Grappa near The Italian Bicycling Center, the Foza climb. 21 numbered switchbacks...

In Italy, just northwest of Bassano del Grappa near The Italian Bicycling Center, the Foza climb. 21 numbered switchbacks...

Those pictures are JUST NOT FAIR....

The middle one is at the top! She was never supposed to ride again after her back injury the previous year.
Very cool! I'm glad her back is doing better! CO is like a fountain of youth. Last season, these three women, I'm guessing mid- to late-70s and we got to chatting on the ski lift. They offered to show me some trails... I lost them a couple minutes into the run, just couldn't keep up. Old people rock!

Very cool! I'm glad her back is doing better! CO is like a fountain of youth. Last season, these three women, I'm guessing mid- to late-70s and we got to chatting on the ski lift. They offered to show me some trails... I lost them a couple minutes into the run, just couldn't keep up. Old people rock!

She woke up this am feeling better. So we are going to Wash Park (less weeds) where we will do the loop a number of times.

Mountain Rd (how imaginative) in North Granby, CT. I don't know how to determine the grade but it is very steep and very long.

I used to live a mile from this climb and it was a major element of my road training in the 80's. Once did it 3 times in one training session after a 20+ mile warmup. That was 20 lbs and 15 points of resting heart rate ago ;-) I scrolled down the rest of this thread looking for the Mt Washington climb. It's a brut!! Raced it twice in the 80's. My toughest 8 miles on a bike. The fog with zero visibility at the top made it all the more interesting.

Some other climbs of memory but kinda out of the way:

- county road hill in Passumpsic, VT
- Kichel hill road in East Barnet, VT
- hill out of New Boston, CT
- series of hills out of Grandville, MA

former fanatic

Yea, that's a killer. Thought my chain was going to break. Took to doing switchbacks in the road just after those boulders. Nice decent to Jeffersonville though!

You forgot to mention that much of this road is still unpaved ;-) And most of the year, when it's not closed, the washboard is terrible.

cullowhee mtn. right behing WCU, a great training climb. its only 5 miles long but it kicks ass.

You forgot to mention that much of this road is still unpaved ;-) And most of the year, when it's not closed, the washboard is terrible.

This road is (perhaps newly) paved. It runs from Stowe to Jeffersonville.

I scrolled down the rest of this thread looking for the Mt Washington climb. It's a brut!! Raced it twice in the 80's. My toughest 8 miles on a bike. The fog with zero visibility at the top made it all the more interesting.

I'll have to add it to my list of climbs someday .

I hear that Tyler Hamilton likes to do that race.

This road is (perhaps newly) paved. It runs from Stowe to Jeffersonville.

Sorry, my bad ;-( I was thinking Hazen's Notch near Montgomery Center, VT.

Bay Area riders should try Mt. Diablo. I climbed it last week for the first time with a group of ten riders. We did the Northgate road, which is just over 11 miles from the entrance to the summit and climbs about 3,500 ft. It took me 1:29 with the first riders in our group coming in at 1:23. (Although I heard that one of the guys was dogging it and could have taken another 5-10 minutes off his time.) We started from a church parking lot about a mile from the entrance and left early (7am) which was great because they keep the road closed to cars until 8. Pavement was nice for most of the way with the last couple of miles being not quite as smooth. And the final 100 meters or so - grueling!! The pitch changes and it gets hella' steep! :eek:

Haven't done Kings Rd. or Tunitas Creek yet, but Old La Honda was enjoyable!