Defining hills and hilly rides.

This is what works for me ....

I use the following calculation: metres of elevation/metres of distance * 100.

For example:

400 metres of elevation over 40 km (40,000 metres) * 100 = 1

500 metres of elevation over 40 km (40,000 metres) * 100 = 1.25

800 metres of elevation over 50 km (50,000 metres) * 100 = 1.6

1200 metres of elevation over 30 km (30,000 metres) * 100 = 4

150 metres of elevation over 100 km (100,000 metres) * 100 = 0.15

You get the idea.


And then I rank those numbers.

... if a ride is less than 0.5 ... it is a flat ride.
... if a ride is less than 1 ... it is a little bit hilly, but doable.
... if a ride is less than 1.5 ... it is a hilly ride and will be a bit of a struggle, but I can manage it. Just.
... if a ride is over 1.5 ... it's too hilly for me right now.


This says nothing about the steepness of a particular hill or the distribution of the hills. For me, this just indicates whether or not I can do a ride within the 15 km/h time limit on randonnees.


As far as individual hills goes ... if it is under 10%, it's fine. I can do that without too much effort. If it is over 10%, it starts to become a struggle.


And yes, as you might be able to guess from this .... I am not a hill climber!!!