livedarklions

You've got to deal with Boston traffic, so we'll cut you a little slack on the grumpiness.

livedarklions

That isn't how it works--the effort you put into climbing doesn't disappear just because you went down a hill.

You're mixing up net altitude gain with accumulated effort. Average grade over any closed loop no matter how big is going to be zero. Basically, it's a useless measure. If I climb 10,000 feet in 50 miles, then ride back the same way I came, I am not getting the same workout than if I rode 100 miles of flat terrain.

Reflector Guy

What I really need is a route that looks like one of those M.C. Escher drawings.... Downhill in both directions!

livedarklions

Or you could be driven to the top of the mountain and picked up again at the bottom. People do that. I wouldn't recommend it as a fitness program.

sarhog

405,000 feet elevation over 5500 miles in 2020. I’m in my mid 50’s and i just started “serious” cycling a few years ago.

kahn

Or the reverse. Years ago, I did the Ride Across Washington (RAW). We noticed one guy seemed to always have an issue with his bike or a knee or whatever when we got to the top of a pass and he's sag DOWN. Finally, his admitted he did not like fast descents and rather bike UP but sag down! Most thought that a bit odd. But it takes all kinds.

rsbob 

As the comic Steven Wright used to say, “I’m not afraid of heights. I’m afraid of widths”.

OldRailfan

I find that very odd! Do all the climbing and not enjoy the downhill?
How much vertical? good question but I don't really keep track of that. I just know when it's time for a ride on the flat Rail Trail to balance things out. Last two rides came to 4725 ft much of it around the 10% mark.

Does it get easier? Yep, on the downhills.

kahn

Probably two to three thousand. There was 10,000 feet gain over the 400 mile in six days.

I recently did one of those passes again. But got dropped off at the top by car (we were going to eastern Washington) and did the descent - hit 45mph at one point. Wowie!!!!!!!!!!!

livedarklions

If downhills get too steep, I lose my confidence in the ability to spot road obstacles (potholes, bumps, debris, etc.) in time to do anything to avoid them. My reflexes are ok, but my vision is not great. When you're colorblind, some things fade into the background. I tend to limit my speed to 35 mph as a result, and if I have to ride my brakes to do that, it's not a lot of fun.

mschwett 

i find it really unsatisfying when you do a super tough climb, and then the conditions on the downhill are such that you can’t let it rip. i get most rattled by gravel or sand on the road, super bumpy pavement, heavy fog or dew, or of course traffic. such a downer after a long sweaty slog uphill!

Cyclist0108

I do that, and as far as i know, there is nothing wrong with my vision.

livedarklions

I flew over the handlebars in SF upon discovery that you can't really tell when a black manhole cover downhill from you hasn't been raised to the grade of the blacktop road. It hurt.

Hypno Toad

I'm 52 years old ... from on VeloViewer, since I started tracking rides with Strava, I'm riding 4,000 to 6,500 miles per year.



And because Minnesota is flat (hard to find a climb over 100ft), my annual elevation gain is 100,00 to 250,000 feet. My old commuting route was rolling and really added up the elevation, but I work a home-office these days and can wimp-out for a rail-trail day when I don't feel like climbing.



And to keep the 'post a Bianchi pic' trend alive ... My Infinito at the summit if Alpe d'Sabo

Riveting

Not me but a friend of mine, she, ~52 yrs old, has these numbers:
2021, 7,049 miles, 501,693' (lousy numbers due to hip surgery, didn't start riding until Apr)
2020, 12,500 miles, 1,016,000'
2019, 10,605 miles, 799,032'
2018, 12,353 miles, 1,087,000'
2017, 13,938 miles, 1,018,986'

Riveting

Those gumwalls look great on your murdered out bike!

livedarklions

That's insane. She must be incredible.

ChamoisDavisJr

Amazing!

(as long as none of it is Zwift)

Riveting

She's a pathological randonneusse, with two Everesting Hall of Fames (both in CO), but super humble about it, so I'll do the bragging for her.

Riveting

lol, I don't think she even owns a trainer.

The Chemist

This year so far I'm at 5300km with 16600m of climbing. Shanghai is flat - pretty much the only climbing I do is up onto bridge approaches.

downtube42

Last few years I've been around 5k miles and 200k feet.

My last year living in Indiana, 2016, I averaged 14.8 feet per mile.
2017 living in west Texas, it was 18 feet per mile. That's pretty skewed, though, by a ride in Scandinavia with 30k feet of climbing.
Contrast to this year in Oregon at 45 feet per mile.

rsbob 

Maybe was afraid that going downhill would negate the amount he climbed. Stranger things have happened.

bargo68 

In 2020-
6429.4 miles, 241,859 ft elevation.

for 2021 so far-
6275 miles, 248,659 ft elevation.

53 years old.

kahn

Are you holding up the bike with your (or maybe, someone else's helmet)?