Fifteen miles. Six percent.
As soon as the ride begins, so does the climb. It’s only fifteen miles.
People who ride tend to toss grade values around. One hears them. “It’s a ten percent grade for miles.” Sounds intimidating. “There’s sections that are over fifteen percent!” Wow.
There is one group of folks, here locally, who speak of a two mile long grade at a whopping ten percent. It’s supposed to be over near Luthersville. I find that interesting. Two miles is 10,560 feet. If there were a 10% grade of that distance, it would rise 1,056 feet. Add to that the general terrain elevation in the area, and it should stick up to an elevation of around 1,800 feet. For purposes of comparison, Stone Mountain has an elevation of 1,686 feet. I’d think the “Luthersville Mountain” would be visible. Odd that I’ve never seen it.
The number 6% doesn’t sound like much. That’s an elevation change of only six feet in a distance of 100 feet. Hardly sounds like much. But at a mere 12 miles per hour, a cyclist will cover 100 feet in 5.7 seconds. To do that, on a 6% grade, the cyclist must lift the bike and rider 6 feet in that same time. Not that tough. The first time. But it keeps going on. That’s like picking the bike up and climbing stairs. To maintain the same effort as a 6% grade, at 12 mph, the climber must go up one complete story, two flights of commercial stairs, every ten seconds. And keep doing it. A 6% grade is steep enough to make one know that it’s a climb. It’s hard. It’s not super hard, or terrible. The bike isn’t in danger of stalling or tipping over. But it takes an effort to make it go forward.
From the south end of Waynesville, North Carolina, the climb starts the moment the bike is mounted. It goes to six percent immediately. The grade continues up to Balsam Gap, and from there onto the Blue Ridge Parkway, heading south. For fifteen miles, from Waynesville to Water Rock Knob, that grade is a relentless, steady, consistent six percent. It will rise 4,752 feet in those 15 miles.
As the climb progresses, the rider will notice that breathing becomes more difficult. This isn’t imagination. The very air is thinning. Half of the atmosphere is below 5,000 feet. Ten miles into the climb, when the legs are really starting to burn, there is only half as much oxygen per breath.
It’s 15 miles long. The grade is a constant 6%. The rider will gain 90% of a mile of elevation.
Is it worth it? The view is spectacular. The descent back down is exhilarating. Is it worth it? A car could do it in a half hour. A rider takes more than twice that long going up.
No comments:
Post a Comment