How hilly is hilly?

[kerndog]

Hi - So I started riding a few weeks ago and have been really enjoying it (understatement - my wife says I'm obsessed). Anyway I can feel my self getting stronger and yesterday managed a 28 mile ride. The thing is it's pretty hilly here, well I think it is, and am interested to find out what other people are riding up...

Here is yesterdays ride. This is the norm around here, no real flat areas anywhere so which ever direction I go in there are going to be big hills, which I'm learning to love and am beginning to see them as a challenge. Here is the ride:

http://app.strava.com/activities/42938538

This was 28 miles with 2865 ft elevation - is that a lot? it sure feels like it!

Soooo, show us your hills! Interested to see how much climbing others do.

ty

 

[GrasB]

The scale I've used for years

0-5m/km of climbing = flat
5-10m/km = rolling
10-15m/km = slightly hilly
15-20m/km = hilly
20-25m/km = very hilly
>25m/km = insanely hilly

Your ride was 19.2m/km

 

[kerndog]

The scale I've used for years

0-5m/km of climbing = flat
5-10m/km = rolling
10-15m/km = slightly hilly
15-20m/km = hilly
20-25m/km = very hilly
>25m/km = insanely hilly

Your ride was 19.2m/km

hi - ok so going by that my ride was hilly, almost very hilly. Felt very hilly to me.

 

[taximan]

My ride yesterday was 24 miles with a total Elevation of 1902ft. That is pretty much average around here and quite a bit less climbing per mile than your (kerndog) ride

 

[Rob3rt]

I don't think in terms of metric with regards climbing, but I seem to recal my ft/mile values being pretty close to GrasB's metric values (when converted to ft/mile) in terms of what I regard as hilly in a previous thread.

To me, basic rule of thumb, 800-1000ft per 10 mile is a hilly ride.

 

[Supersuperleeds]

I'm on positively flat ground, I did 31 miles this morning with Strava saying it was 483ft of climbing and that was 483ft to much I hate climbing

 

[Lanzecki]

15 achievements! Kudos. I wish I could do hills that well.

 

[Licramite]

there's loads of flat bits around were Iive , trouble is they all all seam to be at 45degree angles.
I have the same problem, travel in any direction I,m going up hill or down hill - there are no flat bits!.

I kick myself when I'm cycling (ussually going up hill) I used to live near holland - and I didn't cycle then !! -
I started cycling in wiltshire - its all bloody ridges , you struggle up one side to wizz down the other - totally pointless.

 

[BSRU]

there's loads of flat bits around were Iive , trouble is they all all seam to be at 45degree angles.
I have the same problem, travel in any direction I,m going up hill or down hill - there are no flat bits!.

I kick myself when I'm cycling (ussually going up hill) I used to live near holland - and I didn't cycle then !! -
I started cycling in wiltshire - its all bloody ridges , you struggle up one side to wizz down the other - totally pointless.

The advantage of the ridges is they are short, 1 to 1.5km at most and the steep ones tend to be a couple of hundred metres at most..

 

[WobblyBob]

Hi - So I started riding a few weeks ago and have been really enjoying it (understatement - my wife says I'm obsessed). Anyway I can feel my self getting stronger and yesterday managed a 28 mile ride. The thing is it's pretty hilly here, well I think it is, and am interested to find out what other people are riding up...

Here is yesterdays ride. This is the norm around here, no real flat areas anywhere so which ever direction I go in there are going to be big hills, which I'm learning to love and am beginning to see them as a challenge. Here is the ride:

http://app.strava.com/activities/42938538

This was 28 miles with 2865 ft elevation - is that a lot? it sure feels like it!

Soooo, show us your hills! Interested to see how much climbing others do.

ty

Well personally i would class that as a pretty hilly course Kerndog, specially as you've only started riding for a few weeks !!!
Good work, keep it going

 

[Licramite]

The advantage of the ridges is they are short, 1 to 1.5km at most and the steep ones tend to be a couple of hundred metres at most..

not were I live, the first ridge is 6mile wide with a rise of 750ft , ridge number 2 is 3 mile wide and rises 643ft and number3 is 6mile wide and 835ft high

I'm with Ride with GPS , gives you a really good route planner which gives a frighning cross section of the ride.

 

[Rob3rt]

The longest continuous ascent in England is less than 6 mile (Cragg Vale), so you do not encounter any continuous climbs 6 mile long in Wiltshire.

And it is easy to leisurely ride up being that it has a low gradient of just a smidge over 3% IIRC? What you refer to, 6 mile and a rise of 750ft is ofc hilly, but not continuous climbing and a low gradient. Big ring ascent!

 

[al-fresco]

This was 28 miles with 2865 ft elevation - is that a lot? it sure feels like it!

Soooo, show us your hills! Interested to see how much climbing others do.

ty

Yeah, I'd call that hilly. I did 26 miles and 2,782 feet of ascent getting to the pub yesterday - by which time I felt that I had earned a pint.

 

[Cubist]

When I worked in the town centre i had a choice of routes home. One was 4.5 miles with a total ascent of 957 feet, with only 179 feet of descent. On that route, the last 2 miles saw an ascent of 770 feet, with a respite of 6 feet of descent. The alternative route, and one which I kinda preferred was just under six miles, 933 feet of climbing, and a heady 136 feet of descent.
That second route works out at over 29 m/km, the first one nearer 40, with the last 2 miles as 67m/km. I reckon that's reasonably hilly.

 

[Licramite]

no sorry , thats the total width including down the other side, - roughly halve the distances for the up bits.
the ridges are spread over a 30mile route, so to do there and back you have to do them twice, which is a real shoot as the first one going back has an approach slope of 10miles before you hit the ridge.

the route is roughly a straight line drawn from Heytesbury (near warminster) to Hindon to Ashmore to Tarrant Keyneston near blandford forum.(nice pub - the lovers knot- )