Is this a flat route?

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

I'm not being flippant when I say that if I did that distance on our local canal towpath....I'd probably gain more height. That is about as flat as a ride can get.

 

[bozmandb9]

I'm not being flippant when I say that if I did that distance on our local canal towpath....I'd probably gain more height. That is about as flat as a ride can get.

That canal must leak a lot!

 

[GreigM]

As a newbie too, 300 feet feels hilly to me

 

[fossyant]

100 feet per mile we class as lumpy in the Peaks. 2500 feet in 15 miles (167 ft per mile) is bloody hilly - recent club run where one of the lads took us up just about every unclassified road he could find (read farm tracks).

 

[Rohloff_Brompton_Rider]

That canal must leak a lot!

Nope...just lots of locks.

 

[Andrew_P]

Hi there, as a newbie, I find any incline hard work, on my 11 mile route I seem to have an altitude gain of only around 300 feet, which I'm guessing is pretty much nothing.

Here's a link to one of my rides, feedback welcome:http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView?id=4243867

It all relative to fitness and how long you have been cycling to a newbie it may well feel quite tough. Just keep at it. It won't happen overnight but you will start to find it less of chore and at that point maybe add a bit more hills.

 

[HLaB]

Lol I just plotted (with RWGPS) my 5.5mile commute this morning and there was a whole 116ft of climbing and that was probaby the railway bridge and the town river bridge

Edit:

Even my 18-22mile comutes, early in the year only had 500-600ft of climbing, now that is what you call flat

 

[tincaman]

I work on the principle of 1000ft per 10 miles for resonable hilly, easy figures to remember

 

[Rob3rt]

I tend to use the above as a guide also.

 

[Paulg04]

Hi there, as a newbie, I find any incline hard work, on my 11 mile route I seem to have an altitude gain of only around 300 feet, which I'm guessing is pretty much nothing.

Here's a link to one of my rides, feedback welcome:http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView?id=4243867

As a fellow newbie, I will say ignore them. 300 feet is a border line mountain. My climb is 171 on my commute home and at points I feel like stopping at the next bus stop for a lift home. Going by smeggers scale my ride is a 32 which I think is hilly haha.

Can't wait for the next few months, when I think my ride home is a breeze and not literally an up hill struggle and I'm sure you will be the same.

 

[BAtoo]

Hi there, as a newbie, I find any incline hard work, on my 11 mile route I seem to have an altitude gain of only around 300 feet, which I'm guessing is pretty much nothing.

Here's a link to one of my rides, feedback welcome:http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView?id=4243867

Ha! I grew up in Brightwell, head NorthWest and go over Whittenham Clumps and back and you'll find it a bit hillier !!!

 

[oldfatfool]

Don't believe in calculations over entire rides, this ride comes out at double smeggers limit at app 162 :http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView?id=4257321

but was considerably easier than this ride :http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView?id=4257311 that comes in at a meagre 146

Give it a couple of years

 

[Nigelnaturist]

Don't believe in calculations over entire rides, this ride comes out at double smeggers limit at app 162 :http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView?id=4257321

but was considerably easier than this ride :http://www.brytonsport.com/mapTrackView?id=4257311 that comes in at a meagre 146

Give it a couple of years

Things can be deceiving, I have a number of things in the spreadsheet, avg for the year is about 46ft/mile but ride length also plays a part as to the difficulty of the ride although a minor one compared with climbing.
All elevation data is from RWGPS (which may be higher or lower than actual, but is consistent from ride to ride)
Yesterday I popped out and did a few circuits of a local loop and totalled 29 miles @ 15.37mph with 1840ft, 51.61ft/mile about as much as I do unless off west from here.
Using the climbbybike formula this gave a difficulty of 6405.58 (which I divide by 100 for a usable figure) so 64.06 if this is then divided by the miles it then gives an indication how difficult each mile was on average. yesterday being 2.21, i did a similar distance last week 29.7 with 51.96ft/mile and a difficulty of 65.9 or per mile of 2.22, those two rides for all intense and purposes are the same but I was 0.64mph slower yesterday @ 15.37.
Today I have done 53.2miles @ 16.47mph with 34.57ft/mile and a difficulty of 49.82 (so 13.2 miles further than yesterday) but the difficulty was 14.24 less or 22% less difficult but over half as difficult per mile at 0.94/mile compared with yesterday at 2.21/mile, but then the wind had a hand to play today.
This can be totted up to give weekly and monthly figures.

This shows that whilst my average daily ride difficult is trending up as I ride further, per mile its been trending down, ft/mile does tend to follow difficulty per mile, but it is quite the same, there is also some correlation with difficulty and avg speed as there is between cadence, gear " and difficulty, when the rides are more difficult the gear " goes down and cadence goes up, but this is masked some what by my overall increased fitness.

 

[psychology]

I'm a begginner as well and found hills very tough. But as everyone says they get easier. I made the mistake of trying to keep up with some friends who are both experienced cyclists and found myself having to stop for a rest on hills. I now just get up the hills at my own pace and don't have to stop anymore, and the fitter I am getting I find hills that I would have struggled up 4 months ago I can get up fairly easilly. As i want to do the Way of the Roses in the spring I am actively seeking out hills, and on August bank holiday managed to cycle from Beddgelert to the start of the Pen-Y-Pass which has a gain of 255m.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

I'm a begginner as well and found hills very tough. But as everyone says they get easier. I made the mistake of trying to keep up with some friends who are both experienced cyclists and found myself having to stop for a rest on hills. I now just get up the hills at my own pace and don't have to stop anymore, and the fitter I am getting I find hills that I would have struggled up 4 months ago I can get up fairly easilly. As i want to do the Way of the Roses in the spring I am actively seeking out hills, and on August bank holiday managed to cycle from Beddgelert to the start of the Pen-Y-Pass which has a gain of 255m.

I know that hill (parked at the CP at the bottom to do the South Ridge of Snowdon etc) and that is a damn good effort getting up that - steep and goes on a fair bit so good for you.