How hilly is hilly?

[briantrumpet]

Im doing the Raid Pyrenean in July and have been told that Dartmoor where i ride just doesnt compare and that's hilly . Done the 100km Dartmoor classic route today with all the gear im taking and my god ive got an awful lot more training to do . If you see a lunatic cursing to himself ( but enjoying it really } on the high moor in the middle of winter with big red panniers then thats me . And doing it all again tomorrow .

Different sort of hilly. Dartmoor's lumpiness never allows you to settle into a rhythm, unlike the continental cols. I'd rather do 36,000ft of climbing in the Alps or the Pyrenees than on Dartmoor, though you'd probably only have to go 250 miles on Dartmoor to achieve that, compared with 400 for the Raid.

 

[nickyboy]

To illustrate the aforementioned hilliness classification, here are two local audax profiles:

Spring Into The Dales (2,350 m in 110 km, 21.4 m/km, very hilly)

Its shorter, hillier sister event - Season of Mists (2,550 m in 100 km, 25.5, insanely hilly! )
View attachment 19994

Being a bit old skool I still think in ft/mile. Your first one is about 114ft/mile which I would call very hilly but manageable. I did the Snake-Strines-Holme Moss loop Sunday and that is about 110ft.mile and that was OK. Very difficult to do less than 90ft/mile as soon as you stray into the Peak District

But the second one is more than 130ft/mile. That tips into "too difficult" for me. It is very comparable to the Staffordshire Peak Grimpeur which I did last year and the second half was purgatory

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Staffs-Peak-Grimpeur

 

[ColinJ]

Being a bit old skool I still think in ft/mile. Your first one is about 114ft/mile which I would call very hilly but manageable. I did the Snake-Strines-Holme Moss loop Sunday and that is about 110ft.mile and that was OK. Very difficult to do less than 90ft/mile as soon as you stray into the Peak District

But the second one is more than 130ft/mile. That tips into "too difficult" for me. It is very comparable to the Staffordshire Peak Grimpeur which I did last year and the second half was purgatory

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/Staffs-Peak-Grimpeur

I agree with your assessment. I've ridden the two events when pretty fit and they have been testing, but enjoyable. The last few times when overweight and unfit, they almost finished me off!

I like the look of the Staffs Peak Grimpeur for one day when I'm fit and well again.