How much climbing in one day?
 

How much climbing would you consider too much for one day when doing a fully loaded self supported tour with maybe 35 pounds of gear?

9 hours of climbing in the Snowy Mountains of Australia on one particular day of my tour there in 2004, with my bicycle (27 lbs) and my gear (~40 lbs), was probably my limit.

Why do you ask?

That really depends on how fit you are, your mental attitude, how steep the hills are and the frequency of the hills..... I mean, if you have only 3 big hills in a day, you might find them exhausting and you're shattered at the end of an 8 hour cycling day.... then again, if you *had* to do 6 big hills in the same day somehow you find the energy to do them. Also I would think it's a case of what you are used to might determine your longevity.

The reason I ask is that I'm planning my first bike tour for this summer. I'm not going too far from home, just from Madison to LaCrosse, down the great river road and then back. I can take a more scenic hillier route on the way back or a more well traveled flatter route. I like cruising the itsy bitsy backroads when I'm out riding, but west of town we have a lot of hills where they have several century rides with a lot of climbing that bring in a lot of riders from out of state. If I take the backroads I hit some fairly steep climbs.

I just started riding a bike last summer and am not a very good climber yet but I've made a lot of progress, continue to loose weight at a slow and steady pace and am pushing myself to keep getting better every month.

I don't have a problem with keeping the planning rather loose and going with the flow. Since the primary divergence will come at the end of the tour, I can just see how it goes at the beginning and then if I feel I can handle twice as much climbing, and if so then go for the scenic route.

I did a roughly 40 mile climb from Murphy, NC up onto the Blue Ridge Escarpment near Asheville...it totally sucked have to climb that much in a single day. I was riding a fairly loaded ~75# total including the bike. There are some grades in the 11% range. 2.5mph uphill and 40+mph downhill:eek:

Aaron:)

The hardest climbing I ever did was riding from Placerville, CA to Kirkwood, CA in one day. The DeLorme software calculated the total climbing that day at 11,000 feet. There were long stretches where I could walk or ride the bike at the same 2.3 MPH speed.

Last year in France, I had to climb over two 1000 meter cols on the same day in the rain. I was beyond tired when I got to my destination that day but I was able to do it.

I clearly recall thinking on both of these days "Now, what is it about these experiences that I find so enjoyable?"

Unless the climbs are particularly long and steep and/or your bike's gears are not designed for loaded touring, you should be able to handle most any uphill by grinding away at it until you get to the top. If you get tired, take breaks and keep eating. The real problem comes with inappropriate time schedules, that is, trying to get somewhere without setting aside enough time given the terrain.

Clearly, the best way to know what you can do is to load up the bike and do some of the hills that are outside of town!

Ray

:thumb: to itsy bitsy back roads with lots of hills.

Get low gears, spin as much as you can, see how you go and enjoy!

I don't know that anyone else's number will be that relevant.

2,000 vertical metres was the was the greatest single, uninterrupted climb we had to do in the Himalayas (at altitude too!), and that's a pretty big day out with full luggage - I wouldn't have liked to do much more than that.

Rather than 'spinning' however, which completely kills me in about 15mins, I found the best approach to long climbs is to choose a slightly higher gear and 'plod' - turn the cranks at about walking pace. We found we could keep that up for a whole day, no sweat, even chatting along the way. You have to put more weight on the pedals but it's not nearly as intensely aerobic. AND... it's reassuring to know you've got a couple of granny gears left for technical or *very* steep sections.

It really depends on you. I have climbed all day and had a very good time. I have also suffered on relatively short climbs when I wasn't in the groove. How steep the climb is and what kind of shape you are in are factors, but as long as you have adequate gearing, it is more a matter of your mental outlook than anything.

If there's more than 5000 ft of climbing in a day I start to feel it. So I will look at my route and adjust my distance so that I don't have too much climbing.

2 km are fine, 3 km okay , 4 km of altitude the limit (long day 5 AM to 10 PM) - in the tropical area is less because of the shorter days. To be honest the 2 km are rare, the 3 km difficult to find and the nearly impossible to find... Normally I carry 35 kg.

But I don't think this helps you :D

Thomas

My rule for cycling in the Alps was 'a pass a day keeps the doctor away!" My favorite stretch over four days was the Col de L'Iseran; the petit St. Bernard; the Grand St. Bernard and then of the many named 'col de la Forclaz' back to the area by Mt. Blanc.

I agree with other panelists that it comes down to fitness, gearing, and overall grade.

My best suggestion is to let your KNEES and legs tell you how they like the climb. You will have some ebb and flow with your overall power and strength, though if you keep yourself well fed, well watered and make sure ya have alot of carbohydrates, you should be able to climb day after day.

My biggest climb was in the Andes, starting at sea level and then up to 15,000 feet or so at Agua Negra between Chile and Argentina. Was climbing for 2 1/2 days. The air was thin and I felt woozy, even after a few cups of coca mate.

roughstuff

On some tours I have gone up and down mountain passes or steep hills all day without too much trouble. But two consecutive all-day climbs in the Alps nearly did me in. I was unable to deliver power to my legs for about five days afterwards, which meant that I spent a big chunk of that holiday holed up in a hotel room.

In hindsight, I can see that I should have noticed the problem developing. But if there is a lesson that others can learn from, it is to let your body be your guide. If doing something hurts, or you find yourself hitting wall after wall, then it's time to take a break, stop, and find another way.

There is a big difference between all-day ascending and all-day ascending AND descending. Obviously, the latter is gentler on the body because your muscles have more time to recover.

Climbing from sea level to the observatory below Picacho del Diablo in Baja Norte, Mexico was close to 10000 feet of climbing on mostly soft and loose ground. A long day to cover 50 miles all up hill. [The road is now paved two thirds of the way up to the entrance to the national park.]

Once in the park I thought that I was touring in Yosemite NP although in a drier alpine granite environment. The views to the mainland and Pacific coast were spectacular. Signs warned of the danger of being trapped by heavy winter snows!! All this just 150 miles South of the US border.
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Another long climb was up the volcanic cone of Mount Chimborazo 20,720 feet the highest mountain in Ecuador. Climbing all day in fog, rain , sleet and snow from 9000 feet until stopping at the Edward Wymper Hut at 5000 meters/16500 feet in the snow after 14 hours. Very cold and below zero even in the unheated hut where I wore every scrap of clothing and wished for more. The views were marvelous and the descent carving through pumice fields like a skier was spectacularly adrenaline producing. Dropping into warmer air with each passing minute was a pleasant reward as well.

I have found that climbing is more dependent on your attitude than your strength. I just find a gear that I can maintain all day and then I think of other things while observing the environment around me. If you are driven by time constraints or goals based on speed you may have an unpleasant experience fighting the climbs.

About 3 feet short of the summit:D That last 3 feet is a killer!

Honestly, climbing is about like rain. It happens, you deal with it or you go a different direction.

60 miles @ 2% Ohiopyle to the Eastern Continental Divide on the GAP trail in PA. Not a big climb, just nags at ya incessantly :P

Don't let the size of climbs fool you. Long ones are difficult but rewarding. It's the tiny rolling hills that can kill your spirit. "It's flat all the way" sometimes means a hundred short and steep climbs requiring constant shifting with no time to recover between them... and suddenly your legs turn into jello and you wonder why.

I've only done about 3800 ft elevation gain in a day. Two conjoined passes, with 6 miles of 9.4% grade descending! It was fun. That day didn't even hurt us too bad. On that tour we did about one pass for every day on the road, it was actually quite enjoyable.

Frankly, I'd take a steep pass over a stiff headwind any day. The view's better!

we did about 2100 alti-meters in 55 kilometers from Hetauda to Daman in Nepal. Started at 7AM, beautiful sunny day, until about 6 kilometers before the pass the snow came down... arrived in Daman at 6ish PM at -Celsius temperatures. 2000 meters up is hard going under any circumstances!

The big question is, "How well do you do at altitude." My dad climbs the highest peaks in the world yet I start seeing spots when I ascend over 4000 ft in a stint.

Another vote for Kirkwood.

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Hwy 88 from Jackson (1200ft) to high of 8000ft and down to Silverlake (7250ft). At Silverlake I had my first support team waiting for me with all of my gear. Had I tried to make it fully loaded, I would not have been a happer campy.

I made great time up to about 5000ft with one stop at the Amador cafe in Pioneer. At about 5000ft I started to feel my brain synapses getting mushy. (Simple math was getting difficult). From 5.5k until 7k stops were frequent and my new 24x28 gearing came in handy. At 7k the road levels for a while until the last kick up to 8k. A quick down to Silverlake and I was done, 7 hours after I started. (I stopped a lot to take in the views, catch my breath and water.) If I tried to ride and drink I went into immediate oxygen debt.

As usual my body rebelled. I spent the next 2.5 hours collapsed in the RV. Each time I tried to raise my head a wee bit o dizziness overtook me. I was a bit creeped out with my resting heart rate it would not sink down to normal levels.

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Later on in the trip I made a climb of 4300ft at 6% rising to 8650 at Cloudcroft NM fully loaded with no ill effects.

When I flew to Moab for mountain biking I didn't go extremely high (maybe 5000'). I didn't really notice the altitude. I was very fit and younger then though (40-ish than 57 now).

On the Trans America we went W-E and topped out at 11,500 or so on Hoosier Pass. This was all fully loaded. I felt a bit of weakness when we first hit 5000' that lasted for a day or so and it returned each time we went another 1500' or so higher. It was not a huge deal though. I did have a bit of slight dizziness most of the time that we were much over 5000', but only when off the bike for some reason.

+1. This is about where my comfort level tops out at. Although it does depend on the grades and whether or not it is a few short steep climbs or a gradual long climb. I find the former can be more taxing.

Low gears are key. I'll take hilly routes over the flats any day. The varied terrain, potential for nice vistas, and fun descents makes the grueling climbs worth it (nearly) every time.

Huge difference between the longer Great River Rd and a diagonal route. You have many short climbs and easy grades on former vs. some climbs in the 500 ft area on the alternate. Try bikeroutetoaster.com for laying out your route. Shows an elevation profile, total climb and descent and estimated time, based on flat road speed and climbing gain per minute.

+1

I've always been willing to suffer the hills for the rewards. That's why I became addicted to mountaineering as well as long-distance cycling.

Considering my first long rides as a pre-teen were into the South Shropshire hills of my UK childhood, I think it became apparent early on that climbing on a bike was something to be embraced.

It took me longer however to figure out that the suffering could be moderated by using appropriate gearing!:)