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found my killer hill!

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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

found my killer hill!

Old 07-09-07, 12:09 PM
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found my killer hill!

doin a local loop around my place and i never wanted to go up this hill cuz when i go up it in my car, it wants to quit...so today i figured why the hell not...well after doing it, i suffered, badly....this was by far one of the hardest hills i've ever done...

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Old 07-09-07, 12:12 PM
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Looks like 23% over 1 mile. That is a hill!
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Old 07-09-07, 12:32 PM
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Nice. I love the hills that everyone avoids. Get back there often...
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Old 07-09-07, 12:48 PM
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Originally Posted by lvleph
Looks like 23% over 1 mile. That is a hill!
Where do you see 23% for over one mile? That would be 1,214 feet of elevation gain (0.23 * 5280), and the graph goes from just below 700 vertical to just over 1,200 vertical. That climb around the 12 mile mark looks like a barf-inducer, but it's not 23%. I'm guessing it starts from about 650 feet and goes to about 1,100 in about 3/4th of a mile, so somewhere around 11%.
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Old 07-09-07, 12:55 PM
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Originally Posted by lvleph
Looks like 23% over 1 mile. That is a hill!

UMMM. Maybe I'm an idiot, but from where I sit, 23% would be 1200 feet or so in 1 mile. Don't look like that to me.
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Old 07-09-07, 12:56 PM
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Originally Posted by KevinF
Where do you see 23% for over one mile? That would be 1,214 feet of elevation gain (0.23 * 5280), and the graph goes from just below 700 vertical to just over 1,200 vertical. That climb around the 12 mile mark looks like a barf-inducer, but it's not 23%. I'm guessing it starts from about 650 feet and goes to about 1,100 in about 3/4th of a mile, so somewhere around 11%.

and that's what I get for not hitting refresh.
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Old 07-09-07, 01:12 PM
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I assumed the bottom of the y axis was 0. And I am a mathematician, I should know better.
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Old 07-09-07, 02:27 PM
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Originally Posted by waterrockets
Nice. I love the hills that everyone avoids. Get back there often...
Yeah, I like them too. Except when I realize half way up why everyone avoids them, and why most climbers don't weigh 220lbs, and why I should eat better, and...

I start to sweat just looking at it. Good on you for tackling it!
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Old 07-09-07, 02:37 PM
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Originally Posted by brians647
Yeah, I like them too. Except when I realize half way up why everyone avoids them, and why most climbers don't weigh 220lbs, and why I should eat better, and...

I start to sweat just looking at it. Good on you for tackling it!
i weigh 205
i'm no where near being classified as a climber...i just like some hills to get my butt out of the saddle!
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Old 07-09-07, 02:44 PM
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Originally Posted by Plow13
i weigh 205
i'm no where near being classified as a climber...i just like some hills to get my butt out of the saddle!
Look for even steeper hills. You don't need that pointless weight-adding knee cartilidge anyway.
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Old 07-09-07, 09:09 PM
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Looks like about 615 feet over about a mile...is that about right? That is a steep climb...keep hitting it regularly...and make it your Holy Grail...nice work...!
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Old 07-09-07, 10:42 PM
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Heh, I weigh about 115 lbs (trying to gain weight) and just BURN up hills!!!! I'll enjoy it while I can...
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Old 07-10-07, 09:30 AM
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Below is a local hill-route around here. We are lucky to be right next to the Rocky Mountain foothills. People do this route both ways. I don't know which one is tougher. From left-to-right it takes forever, and the last hill can be brutal, and the right-to-left route is a vomit comet that is used for a couple of local tours sometimes. One of them does the big hill right-to-left TWICE! Bonk city.

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Old 07-10-07, 09:44 AM
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How did I know you were in Pittsburgh just from that elevation chat?
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Old 07-10-07, 10:21 AM
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Here you go.
GeigerGrade.gifGeiger Grade

MtRose.gifMt. Rose
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Old 07-10-07, 10:51 AM
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Originally Posted by Pinyon
Below is a local hill-route around here. We are lucky to be right next to the Rocky Mountain foothills. People do this route both ways. I don't know which one is tougher. From left-to-right it takes forever, and the last hill can be brutal, and the right-to-left route is a vomit comet that is used for a couple of local tours sometimes. One of them does the big hill right-to-left TWICE! Bonk city.

That's a very bizarre graph, as there are five hash marks on the bottom axis between "0" and "5.72" miles, indicating that each hash mark is about one mile. There are also five hash marks on the bottom axis between "28.92" and "45.21", indicating that each hash mark is about three miles. i.e., with the seemingly variable horizontal axis, it's hard to judge anything regarding the relative steepness of those climbs.
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Old 07-11-07, 08:20 AM
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Sorry about the graph. I do not have a GPS, and did it using GIS software with a digital topo map. The segments are spaced organically at the beginning and end of each major slope change (each crest, creek-bed or low-point, beginning and end of each flat zone, etc.). It is also only accurate to within 20 feet of elevation. It was what I had to work with. I don't think GPS machines work up that canyon that well either. The steep canyon slopes around here often prevent GPS machines from getting enough sattelite signals to obtain accurate elevation positions.

Later.
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Old 07-11-07, 08:27 AM
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Originally Posted by Pinyon
Sorry about the graph. I do not have a GPS, and did it using GIS software with a digital topo map. The segments are spaced organically at the beginning and end of each major slope change (each crest, creek-bed or low-point, beginning and end of each flat zone, etc.). It is also only accurate to within 20 feet of elevation. It was what I had to work with. I don't think GPS machines work up that canyon that well either. The steep canyon slopes around here often prevent GPS machines from getting enough sattelite signals to obtain accurate elevation positions.

Later.
I never experienced that even living in the Sierras. My brother is a GIS Specialist and he never had that problem when he would go GPS different items. I am going to have to ask him more about this.
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Old 07-11-07, 08:27 AM
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Originally Posted by KevinF
That's a very bizarre graph, as there are five hash marks on the bottom axis between "0" and "5.72" miles, indicating that each hash mark is about one mile. There are also five hash marks on the bottom axis between "28.92" and "45.21", indicating that each hash mark is about three miles. i.e., with the seemingly variable horizontal axis, it's hard to judge anything regarding the relative steepness of those climbs.
Haha.. I just noticed that.
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Old 07-11-07, 09:01 AM
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Originally Posted by Plow13
doin a local loop around my place and i never wanted to go up this hill cuz when i go up it in my car, it wants to quit...so today i figured why the hell not...well after doing it, i suffered, badly....this was by far one of the hardest hills i've ever done...
Congratulations on the climb. Which hill in Pittsburgh is this? They may be comparatively short, but the sheer volume of 20%+ grade hills that exist here create quite a challenge.

https://www.wpwbikeclub.org/pgh_hills.html
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Old 07-11-07, 09:42 AM
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Originally Posted by keevohn
Congratulations on the climb. Which hill in Pittsburgh is this? They may be comparatively short, but the sheer volume of 20%+ grade hills that exist here create quite a challenge.

https://www.wpwbikeclub.org/pgh_hills.html
i've seen this list before...i ride with this club a lot now...anyway this climb is Lebanon School road right off of 837 near dravosburg
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Old 07-11-07, 09:55 AM
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Originally Posted by keevohn
Congratulations on the climb. Which hill in Pittsburgh is this? They may be comparatively short, but the sheer volume of 20%+ grade hills that exist here create quite a challenge.

https://www.wpwbikeclub.org/pgh_hills.html
I've done some riding around the Pittsburgh area -- I have never seen so many unbelievably steep hills anywhere.
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Old 07-11-07, 10:25 AM
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Originally Posted by KevinF
I've done some riding around the Pittsburgh area -- I have never seen so many unbelievably steep hills anywhere.
Go to San Francisco. Some hills are so steep, I was not sure my car could make it up.
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Old 07-11-07, 11:40 AM
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We have some steep ones here in Austin too, although I think San Fran has a couple that go into the low 30% degree grade range. I think the steepest here is ~26 to 27%. Pittsburgh has a couple pretty good ones too though, which must be fun when it snows.
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Old 07-11-07, 11:58 AM
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Originally Posted by lvleph
Go to San Francisco. Some hills are so steep, I was not sure my car could make it up.
Not to turn this into a pissing contest between SF's and Pittsburgher's, but the link provided above (https://www.wpwbikeclub.org/pgh_hills.html) shows two streets in Pittsburgh that are officially measured at 30%+. I know there are sidewalks in Pittsburgh that are literally stairs. I think both cities could easily provide enough ungodly steep streets to satisfy anybody's craving.
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