big john

ok

Branko D

A fun thread. The steepest climb I do routinely is this:
Ulica Don Petra Cara Climb | Strava Ride Segment in Podstrana, Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia
Which is a 9,1% average 3,66km long climb, which has some bits up to about 15-16% but is generally a fairly constant climb, about 10% average for the first half and then it has some hairpins where the gradient slackens between them. It's one of my favourite training climbs when I want to do a near 20 minute threshold effort.

However, there's much worse around these parts, but these segments have one thing in common - I don't like subjecting myself to them. Here are some, in no particular order; mind you, these are mostly all parts of larger climbs, so you can't attack them on fresh legs:

Kliski Zoncolan | Strava Ride Segment in Solin, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija, Croatia
It's 14,1% average, 0,82km long with 116m of elevation gain. It's not asphalt but concrete which makes it a bit sketchy to get out of the saddle at moments. Inspired me to change from a semi-compact to a compact on my road bike. Notably KOM is held by a notorious local e-biker who refuses to budge when his rides are flagged.

Juradi - Marcenegla | Strava Ride Segment in Marčenegla, Istria County, Croatia
It's 14% average, and 0.97km long with 136m of elevation gain. What makes it particularly horrible is that the gradient isn't constant, but it has two steeper bits of over 20% and flattens out to 6% in the middle. Also, doing it 215km into a 300km race with 5300m of elevation total didn't help, either. I walked parts of it.

Veliki Uspon Strožanac | Strava Ride Segment in Podstrana, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija, Croatia
I've done this climb only thrice; the problem isn't the average gradient of 10,3%, the problem is that it has four ramps of 20-25% as part of it. I think I've done it once without any walking, on a gravel bike with lower gearing. Yuck.

Fredo76

I don't know what the steepest grade I have ridden up is. I know that I rode up the back side of Gates Pass in Tucson, AZ, in a 93" gear, sitting down, in my long-gone youth. Longest climb would be Mt. Lemmon, 29 miles, 7000 feet. Sunrise Drive in Tucson was wicked-steep, before they made cuts in all the ridgetops that it went over.

Now, in my geezerhood, there is an overpass climb that I estimate at 11% for about a thousand feet. It is a challenge now, for me at least. My lungs give out before my legs do, but I can make it on a good day with the 28/28.

rsbob 

Have grown a bit more hesitant in the bombing department these days after a pair of deer crossed in front of me while I was doing 33 MPH. If I have good visibility, no driveways or cross streets, I will still let it run. Haven’t hit 50 MPH in 15 years, but on my old tandem it was easy and Mrs RSbob loved to go fast on it. It was a mile long 8% grade which was a beoch to climb back up with her on the back. Good ballast for descending but not so much for climbing. What’s the saying?, “Some kids never grow up”.

big john

A friend's wife hit a deer while descending in the mountains. She did suffer a concussion but luckily it wasn't too bad. She stopped riding after that. Several weeks ago another friend crashed after hitting a cat. She had several injuries and fractures.

Some years ago a pro, maybe it was Bob Roll, said to see what it's like to crash during a race: First, strip down to your underwear and have someone take you up to 50mph in their car, then jump out.

rsbob 

Had Bob Roll as a guest speaker (as well as Davis Phinney) at a Seattle bike festival. Bob spoke for two hours non-stop. We were almost begging him to stop because our sides hurt so much from laughing. He did not bless us with the jumping out of a car, but he did talk about roller blading though the Milan airport with police in hot pursuit with their automatic weapons drawn.

bargo68 

I'm a newb to the world of cycling history and lore, but I remember hearing this story told a couple years ago:
Maybe NSFW???
Bob Roll is funny AF!

t2p

lol Canton Avenue

Did you use a road bike or off road bike ?

We found a nasty short steep hill in Butler County (somewhere) that was possibly close to Canton

Koyote

I used a road bike - low gear was 34-32.

My friend's bike had a low gear of 39-23; he's strong as an ox, but it still took him 5 tries to clear Canton.

Canton's not the toughest climb in Pittsburgh -- it's pretty short. It's just the steepest.

t2p

agree

I've done a few of the Dirty Dozen climbs - including Logan in Millvale

the long climb out of Brush Creek Park is a tough one - used to be part of the Wheelmen Century (North Park to Ohio) but they (eventually) removed it from the route

the long climb out of Brownsville on the Mon Valley Century was also a tough one - they removed that from the route (eventually)

at one point we were riding the hills in / near Sewickley fairly often ... that will get you in climbing shape quickly ... you learn to eat hours before you ride those hills or good chance you will lose it

at the time I ran 39-28 or 38-28 - and some were amused at the 28t cog ...some even laughed - until they saw pros at the Thrift Drug Classic using 28t cogs ... (including Motorola team / Lance Armstrong)

rsbob 

He told this one as well. The audience was dying.

SpeedyBlueBiker

I've been up a few steep hills in my life. Here's a few.

Ashford, WA to Paradise on Mt. Rainier. 1,844ft to 5,417ft over 22 miles. The first 10 miles aren't that big of a deal. It's just gets progressively steeper as you go.

Mt. Lemmon in Arizona. Start at about 2450ft and top out about 8,200ft over 29 miles.

Koh Phang-an, Thailand. The paved road out of Had Rin to the western part of the island. Road this beast back in 1999. A huge steep hill but maybe only 400m long. Steep as can be. Can't get up it when it rains as the rear tire on the mtn bike just slides out. When it is dry you have to adjust your weight to keep the front tire from coming off the ground.

Doi Suthep in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Climbed it on my road bike.
Doi Suthep climb via Chiang Mai | 18.3 km | 1575 m | 6.7% - Climbbybike

RCMoeur 

Mt. Lemmon is a true test of strength, endurance, and fitness. Phoenix Metro Bicycle Club is holding a ride there this weekend (Oct 15-16), but I'll be fixing bikes for foster kids instead.

Bob Roll's description of race crashes, especially in a pack, seems accurate. There really is almost no time to react in most cases. I remember a big pack crash in the Cat 4 race at Mining Country in 1982, where apparently a rider in the front of the pack saw an obstruction and tapped their brakes instead of calling / swerving / other action. Bikes flying everywhere, and all I had time for was "I thi" - and boom, I was on the ground with a bunch of shredded skin. And then my teammate Dave F. (not a tiny guy) runs over my bloody arm and yells "Sorry, Rich" - but at least he was far enough back to stay upright. Bike's messed up, and so am I - my day's done. So what tender mercy did I receive from the support wagon? Tossed a disposable diaper to wrap around my arm and told "You're helping with hand-ups at End of the World". And so I handed up bottles to the guys still in the race, with a bloody diaper on my arm and no painkillers yet. Finally was hauled to the medical station at the finish, and after that I had an aversion to toothbrushes for some time to follow. But I survived to race another day with no long-term damage, except to my ego.

I remember in Phoenix Criterium around that time in the Pro/1/2/3/4 race (the only time I can say I raced with {and was duly lapped by} Roy Knickman) a bike flew vertically out of the pack, and that was it - no other riders down. We probably smooshed the rider into the asphalt and they haven't found him yet.

PeteHski

For me it would be somewhere in the 25-30% range. I did a Sportive event in the Peak District (UK) last year that involved multiple 20%+ climbs totaling around 4000 m elevation gain. Seriously hard work to keep moving forward and took about 9 hours. Used a 34/34 gear which was right on my limit to turn over on those gradients.

This year I did a ride in Cheshire, involving a notorious short climb called "Mow Cop" which is about a mile long with signficant sections well above 20%. I would say it peaks well above that in places and is a brutal climb overall.

Some of our local climbs in the Cotswolds are silly steep too. Again 20%+ is not uncommon for small sections.

I've done a fair bit of climbing in the Alps too, but gradients there tend not to go much above 15% and typically average well below 10%. But they are lonnnnnnnng climbs!

canklecat

We don't have any serious climbs here, just a few short, steep-ish hillettes in the low double digits. On one of my road bikes with a 39T small chainring and 21T big cog, it feels about like doing squats for 15-30 seconds.

chaadster

I think the steepest I’ve climbed is Boltinghouse Rd. outside of Bloomington, IN, which kicks at just over 24%. I’ve done it a couple of times, and always remember that one, anyway.

bblair

On Bike Virginia a couple of years ago. Of course it was right after lunch so my stomach was full and my legs felt like over cooked linguini. My Wahoo went into pause mode a couple of times because I was going so slow but I remember seeing 35% at one time.

Was that accurate? I don't know and I don't care. It's my story and I am claiming 35%.

rsbob 

Wimp.

urbanknight

Sorry, that was a typo. I meant 31%... for 10 miles.

KPREN

The steepest I have climbed is sand dunes at maximum stacking angle on my electric fat bike. They are not super high but if you are not going to make it due to looping out, you push hard to get rid of the bike because you and the bike are tumbling back down to the bottom. As a senior citizen, I did not last long.

Dancing Skeleton

There are a few streets in my area that hit 25% - 30% for short periods,
but the steepest climb of any significant length that I've done is the Mt Washington Auto Road.
It averages 12% for 7.4 miles, never drops below 6%-8%, has extended sections at 16%-18% and hits 22% at the end.
It gains 4,678 feet in 7.4 miles.
There is a race every year in August.
Weather can be anything from warm & sunny to windy, rainy or cold with hail or snow.
It is brutal, unforgiving and incredibly rewarding at the end.