Originally Posted by
Andy_K
The hill heading up to my house is about a quarter-mile at 6-8% grade then it turns and goes up 12-14% for another 200 yards or so. This is definitely a workout, but I feel like I've been getting better at it. At least, I did feel that way until last night.
Last night, as I was riding up the 8% section, a woman on the sidewalk ran past me like I was standing still.
The computer said I was going 5.9 mph at the time, so she was definitely hauling. I caught up to her at the bend, but she was turning around to go back down the hill.
Has anyone else had an experience like this, or is it just me?
On extreme hill climbs, there's not a lot of difference between being on foot and on a bike. For example, there are annual bike and foot races up Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, and if you compare the winning times of both, they are in the same ballpark (typically about 55-65 minutes for a 7.6 mile climb at 12% average grade). Compare that, to say, a conventional marathon where even a casual cyclist can easily beat the time of a world class runner (about 2 hrs).
So the upshot is that the runner in your case wasn't particularly handicapped by being on foot, like she would have been on level ground. So personally, I wouldn't be any more freaked out by this than I would be if I were passed by another cyclist. It just means you encountered someone in slightly better shape, or more well-rested, or just starting out on their run etc.