On Friday, July 27, 2018 at 12:17:46 PM UTC-7, Joerg wrote:
On 2018-07-22 11:33, wrote:
I live in the flatlands and not a great climber but pretty solid
rider. I have done some climbs according to various categories that
are 3 and 4 rated. I got them ok on a 34-28 but not just easy. So I
see the Alpe D'Huez and the rating plus going up 8 % for over 8 miles
seems a bit much for me to comprehend.

Do most mortals who do the Alpe D"Huez go up without stopping during
the climb?
... One climb I do is overall about 6% and it goes on for 1.2
miles. The very last section gets to 9% or about maybe 1/4 mile. I
tell you I can get up no problem but I just cannot see keep that up
for another 7 miles. I am pretty spent the last 200 feet.


I hate climbs. The other thing is, I never know how steep something is
because there aren't any signs and even topo maps are not very useful
for finding out.


So I assume those climbing these on tours and such are pretty decent
cyclist but what gearing. Would a 34-32 really make it that much
easier to manage than say a 34-28 that I use now.


Every tooth more in back or less in front helps. Unfortuntely my current
road bike is limited to 42-32. When I was young and also weighed less I
could scale all hills with 42-21 but that was more than 30 years ago. It
is probably the reason why to this day I ride with much lower cadence
than others. Which tends to make bottom bracket bearings suffer. The BB
in my road bike has maybe 2000-3000 miles on it and already starts to
make clicking noises, despite picking an expensive one.


... They say sitting is
the best way to climb but I guess I just do not do enough of it to
really tell. I do know that when I am around more hilly terrain after
a few days I get better at climbing.


Same here but you have to keep at it at least once a week. Climbing
endurance is quickly lost.


Does the average cyclist planning to climb something like the Alpe D
Huez factor in a break of a few minutes at some point or points.


For me that entirely depends on whether there is a good saloon along the
way 8-)


... Any climbing experts in this group.


I am certainly not one. To me climbs are just a necessary evil of living
in a hilly area. It's always a net 1200ft coming back from the valley
with lots of ups and downs in between. Unfortunately it is not always
possible to let'er rip on the downhills to gain momentum.

You should get a Garmin or ride with someone who has one to see what the real elevation gain is between Sacto and Cameron Park. Saw-tooth climbs count extra, probably 50%.

I did 1,200 feet of climbing in about three or so miles to get home after work last night, most of that after stopping at a work shindig in the lower West Hills. 16% climb to get to the gathering, then after leaving, about a 45% climb on stairs to get to a connector street. https://tinyurl.com/yc5pukmy And then various grades for the next few miles and then down to my neighborhood. Climbing advice: don't sit around eating pizza and beer and gin-and-tonics and then go climb. That's why I don't get the whole sitting around at pubs thing. I lose all desire to ride after drinking.

-- Jay Beattie.