True enough. I just got home from Tahoe City last night and managed to scuff up my 27t cog a bit. :)

I guess a third of a mile isn't really much and I'm making it too big of a deal. I've climbed longer and steeper hills with a standard crankset. I'll admit climbing is my "specialty" as a road cyclist.

The cooldown lap is a good idea. I don't think I would have thought of doing that.

I guess I'll just have to HTFU in mid-August and just do it. I'm hoping the temperatures will fall a bit by then. It's been awfully hot lately.

The worst climb on this hill will be the first time you climb it. After that its all gravy.

Maybe it's me, but i don't feel i've ever gotten used to my hill. Yes, it gets somewhat easier. But i'm glad it's on my way home (meaning i'm usually not in a rush). Though it does feel like an accomplishment i'm proud of.

Kind of sounds like mine. It's a 223 ft gain in elevation from the start of the road to my house (1 mile). The steep sections at the beginning are at an average of 11% with as much as a 17.5% grade on one short section of it. After the climb, I have over 1/2 mile of mainly flat with some slight climbing to get to my house.

Like others have said, after a few weeks of doing it, it will get easier and should be no big deal. The right gearing also makes a big difference in climbs like that.

I definitely agree with you here. Mine's definitely a bit easier than when I first started last year, but it's still a hard climb. Especially on hot/humid days, it wears me out pretty good.

My work commute takes me from 6200 feet to 6900 feet in the span of 5 miles. Its a steady climb for the most part but there is one steep hill where I feel I probably get about half the elevation gain out of the way. Everyday I tackle that hill I feel like I win (what it is I'm winning I have no idea) and its great. I'm lucky enough to be going uphill on the way back home.

Wow - my area is nothing but hills - up and down and up and down and up. . . well you get the picture.

I used to have a long, difficult hill on my commute. When I climbed it, the only thing I thought about was the climbing.

After a couple of weeks, I noticed my mind drifted to all sorts of things while climbing that hill. It was no longer difficult.

Some hills are long or steep enough that they never become downright easy, but you won't dread it forever.

Yeah, on bike cooldown lap is more important in the summer months. When I lived at the top of the hill, I'd frequently roll the bike inside and walk a few blocks for a cooldown. When it was hot out, if I stopped after the climb, I was drenched in sweat and hating it, walking it off didn't work AT ALL! Gotta ride it off when it's hot.

You've just been lucky so far to get that much of a route in Knoxville without any more climb than that. My 6-mile commutes from the East Knox to downtown range from 330 to 430 feet of climb depending on route. It's weird how quickly you adapt to the new demands. I used to ride 2 miles to Old North and had something I considered a hill on that route. Now that barely feels like a ride and sometimes I ride up and along a ridge just for the views. I know a guy who's commuting from Old North out to Cedar Bluff an hour and a half each way who probably doesn't think much of my ride anymore.

Pace yourself and get enough gears that you're spinning up that hill and not frying your knees. The upside of doing that in August is that you'll have a shower waiting for you at the end. The downside of doing it in February is that you won't have a chance to warm up before that downhill wind hits you.

You'll do fine - without the car.

My commute in to work is 4.7 miles, and about 500 feet of climbing, packed into three real hills, and a lot of flats. The first week or two it was a bit of work, but then it got easier, and now it's hardly noticeable. On the other hand, thanks to this and other climbing I do, this is one part of any race where I can usually pull ahead. The more you do it, the easier it'll get.

1/3 of a mile? ****ing walk if you have to. Guarantee it will be quicker than loading the bike on the car in the morning, driving down the 1/3 mile, unloading the bike, then doing the opposite at the end of the day.

Every ride I do ends with a one mile 300 vertical foot climb. I hate it at the beginning of the year when I'm trying to get my legs back after taking the winter off... but after a few weeks, it's just part of the ride. Having an unavoidable nice climb to end your ride whips you into shape mighty fast.

Hah, this thread finally made me post here on BF.

I started cycling to work three months ago and let me tell you: your 'hill' is just a rise in the road ;)
My entire commute is 4.2 miles each way and covers just over 1000 feet of elevation, downhill in the morning and uphill after work. The worst is 400 feet of elevation gain in .62 miles, or about a 12% average grade. That's the hill RIGHT before my house, I crest that hill and am home.
The cooldown lap is essential, I end up doing about half a mile just cooling off.
The biggest problem is when it's hot. I take an extra water bottle and soak myself down liberally to keep from overheating, sometimes several times during the climb.
Finally, if it's really too much, just get off and push. That'll happen less and less often.
I wasn't in good biking shape before I started this, but that's rapidly changing. Dropping down in the morning is a blast, though.

Where do I get data on altitude changes on the roads I ride?

We have not flats in central Mass, everything is hills.

Not a big deal. Just consider it a bonus to your commute.

Too much thinking. Just ride the dang thing.
10% for a third of a mile isn't too bad. I've done that and more on a fixed gear.

I thought it made us "Stranger". (From the Joker)

I would just ride as it is just 1/3 mile.

Enter your route on mapmyride.com, and look at the right edge of the screen for an (unchecked) check box that says something about altitude or elevation ( I can't remember which ).

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