Originally Posted by
Machka
A 60% paved road?
YEAH RIGHT!!
Tell us another story.
In North America, most of the roads do not have anything greater than a 15% grade. And 15% is a fairly steep grade. (A few in the east will have steeper grades because the 15% grade guideline came in after some of those roads were built.) In Europe, you'll find some 1 in 4s (25%) and 1 in 3 (33%) but not more than that. I've ridden (and walked) up a couple 25% grades and let me tell you, that is a very steep grade.
The steepest [paved] road in the world is Baldwin Street in New Zealand at 38% ... that's 1 in 2.9, or in other words it goes up 1 metre for every 2.9 metres of horizontal distance. It's in the Guinness World Book of Records. A friend of mine cycled up it ... he's a very strong cyclist, and a very strong climber and he had quite a time getting up.
http://www.bikereader.com/contributo...ley/hills.html
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog...0000/tpod.html
I believe the Waipio Valley access road (per the OP) has taken that record since it has been paved. I guess it depends whether you are refering to the steepest section vs. the steepest total, though.
One site (
http://www.geographylists.com/list17y.html) claims Baldwin St. is really "only" 35%:
"Dunedin, New Zealand claims to have the steepest street in the world (Baldwin Street). However, recent measurements have found the grade to be 35%, not 38% as had been previously thought. Thus, Canton Avenue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (Beechview) could make a claim with its 37% grade. Honokaa-Waipio Road, near Waipio, Hawaii, could also make a claim with its reported (albeit brief) 45% grade, but traffic on that road is restricted to four-wheel-drive vehicles, despite being paved, so it's not the same type of "thrill-ride" that one can take in a normal passenger car."