Originally Posted by
Machka
I use the Paris-Brest-Paris as a comparison. The 1200 km Paris-Brest-Paris route has approx. 32,000 ft of climbing ... and I found that fairly challenging.
Therefore a comparable 100 km route would have approx. 2666 ft of climbing (32,000/12).
If a 100 km route has more than that amount of climbing ... then it is a hilly route.
We did a 100 km route a few months ago with something in the neighbourhood of 5000 ft of climbing, and I found that extremely challenging. I wasn't sure I was going to make it at a few points along the way.
Mixing feet and KM is confusing. Your 100km ride is about 62 miles or about 80 feet/mile which fits well into the scale posted above as "hilly".
Originally Posted by
johnny99
My club's ride difficulty rating (based on average elevation gain per mile of a loop ride):
0-25 = flat
25-50 = rolling
50-75 = moderate hills
75-100 = hilly
100+ = mountainous
That's a pretty reasonable rule of thumb.