AlanE said:
I ride a lot in that area, but I was unfamiliar with Lodi Hill. I found it on the map, as it turns out I've passed it several times while riding up Red Cliff. TopoUSA shows some sections as steep as 30%, so absent common sense and any other plans, off I went ito tackle it. The 30% figure was probably an over-statement, but it was definitely tough. I think Uhlerstown is steeper, but Lodi's dirt is probably an equalizing factor. And as luck would have it, midway up a car comes up the hill forcing me to pull over and unclip. Took a couple tries to clip back in and finish the climb.
A great thread. A big part of climbing really steep stuff is technique and relaxation, which comes from experience. I've watched Alan glide up some really steep stuff on his fixie.
There's steep, then getting back to the 13% question, there's long and steep. For example, Godfrey Ridge Rd., or State Rt. 191, south of Stroudburg, PA, is a pretty constant 11-12%.
A couple of years ago, I did that 1000' climb over two miles in 17 min. 30 sec., so about 3,430 ft/hr (if you're talking VAM, or vertical ascent in meters per hour, about 1,045). For comparison, top pros can have VAMs approaching 1,800.
Oh, and riding at a high intensity on flat roads is not the same as climbing at a high intensity. Ask anyone who rides on flat roads all the time and then tries to do a really hilly ride... There
is something "special" about hills. Use of slightly different muscle groups will gut a flatlander when he hits the hills.
