Originally Posted by
Mondo734
So I have been riding for bout 3 years consistantly and thought I might try riding an event. I have been reading about different events and noticed that they always have something saying elevation gain. I am aware that this is used as an indicator of how much climbing is involved but lack the understanding of the specifics of what elevation gain is. Any and all info pertaining to elevation gain is appreciated; please help demistify this subject for me.
Probably repeating much of what has already been said here but might have something new.
Elevation gain can be thought of as total ascent, as opposed to total descent which might be called elevation loss. So if you start at 1000 feet, climb a steady hill to 2500 feet and then turn around and go back to the beginning your overall elevation change is nothing but your total ascent is 1500 feet, as is your total descent.
If you've got a 100 mile ride with 5000 feet of elevation gain that doesn't tell you whether you're going over gently rolling hills the entire time or have 95 miles of perfectly flat terrain followed by gaining all 5000 feet in 5 miles of truly brutal climbing that would test the Tour de France riders hard. That's where grade comes in.
As to what is "steep" and what isn't, that's something you'll find for yourself based on where you are right now and where in the ride a hill appears. A hill that's a 20% grade for a mile might be doable when you're freshly warmed up ready to go but at the end of a long ride might be more than you can cope with.