Originally Posted by rm -rf

...For instance, this ride up and over Big Walker Mountain in NC: link to ridewithgps map has a 1150 foot climb, then a valley ride with small rollers, and a 700 foot climb back up. That's 1150+700=1850 feet, but ridewithgps reports 2356 feet. The valley section of the ride didn't feel like climbing to me. The first climb is 1150 feet in 4.0 miles, or 287 ft/mi (5.4%). That's steep but I can pace myself on a long climb of this grade, and handle it OK...