Originally Posted by
unterhausen
I go slow up hills on the way to work to avoid sweating. I have been known to seek out hills at other times
I find that anything above 20% is nearly impossible to ride on a bike, are you sure about that number?
I don't have exact measurements, but estimating it here using visual memory of the rise, I measured a 2.5 foot rise over 7 feet, or 35.7% grade. It lasts for about 1000 feet. I have to downshift into my lowest gear, but I can make it up without leaving the saddle going about 6mph.
Let me see if I can find a source for the actual elevation change.
edit: okay, it seems my visual memory is way off. It says it's only a 56 foot elevation change, and it's over about 1000 feet, so that's a 5.6% grade.
http://www.getlatlon.com/ to get the coordinates
http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/elevation to get the elevations