Ever wonder how Mount Washington stacks up against Mont Ventoux?  Whiteface with Alpe d’Huez? This page will give you some insight. I hunted around on the web to find profiles of a few of the most famous climbs of the grand tours (I plan to ride these great climbs soon!).

The chart below compares Mont Ventoux and Alpe d’Huez from the Tour de France, Agliru from the Vuelta a Espana, and Passo dello Stelio from the Giro d’Italia, with New Hampshire’s Mount Washington and New York’s Whiteface Mountain.

As you can see, nothing approaches the steepness of Mount Washington. Angliru comes the closest, with an average grade of 10%. Agliru has sustained pitches that are much greater than 10%, so it is a very challenging climb.

The image here suggests a peak grade at 23.5%! Whiteface and Alpe d’Huez are also similar climbs.  Both gain ~3,500 feet in 8 to 9 miles. Whiteface is slightly steeper, but gains slightly less vertical.

Mont Ventoux compares similarly to Mount Washington when starting from the town of Gorham in terms of the average grade. However, Gorham to the auto road is only a couple percent grade, then the rest of the climb is at 12%.

Mont Ventoux stays right around a much more modest 7% grade. Passo dello Stelvio is a huge climb, a pass through the mountains, gaining just over 6000 feet in elevation. Stelvio was in several stages of the Giro.

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Mount Washington vs Mont Ventoux ClimbsRead More »

Here we have begun compiling a library of great climbing rides. Several of the rides offer over 10,000 feet of climbing in 100 miles. Low traffic back roads and great scenery are the norms. Expect to suffer at least a little.

A few of the rides entail seasonal gravel sections (closed in winter) and may not be suitable for everybody. These sections will be described in detail in each report.

The capstone of all climbing rides in the northeastern part of the country is the Six Gaps of Vermont loop. Per TopoUSA, it punishes those strong enough to complete it with 14,500 feet of climbing in 132 miles. 6-Gaps also contains the steepest paved mile known in the northeast, the east side of Lincoln Gap which averages 20-24% grade for the last mile.

Mt Greylock/Petersburg Pass: A nice loop I’ve done multiple times straddles the border of MA/NY, which roughly lies on the Taconic Crest mountain range (great mountain biking by the way).

The ride starts in North Adams, climbs over Mt. Greylock, and continues west into NY, coming back over Petersburg Pass. There’s a third climb along the way adding hundreds of additional feet of climbing.  Altogether, the ride runs about 62 miles and 5000+ feet of climbing.

The details: Park at Heritage State Park in N. Adams, MA. Climb Mt. Greylock from the north as described on the mountain climbs page. Descend Greylock on the south side, taking a right on Rt 7. Take a left almost right away on Bailey Rd.

You will climb almost 500 feet on this road at a moderately steep grade. Turn left on Brodie Mountain Rd, and left again on Rt 43. Enjoy the brief descent. Continue over the state line into NY.

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Favorite Hill Climb LoopsRead More »

Mount Equinox, VT – This course climbs Skyline Drive to the summit of Equinox Mountain. Bikes have not been allowed on this private auto road for many years. The Gear Up for Lyme race in 2004 was the first chance for hillclimbers to test their mettle on this beast.

They say the road to Equinox Mountain’s summit has a short 28% grade section, but when I raced this mountain, I never had the impression that any stretch was steeper than 15, perhaps 16%.

The climb has one brief, fast descent the prevents it from being a truly monotonic climb. For the last few years, a $500 cash prime has been offered for the first ride to pass the one-mile mark. $500 for a mile? How hard could that be? Oh, to collect the prize, you must also finish the race within a cutoff window.

The view from the summit is spectacular. Mt Equinox is steep and one of the highest peaks around, so great views abound from several vantage points, especially from the open ridgeline leading to the summit. The road is smoothly paved, tollbooth to the summit. Unfortunately, like Mt Washington, cyclists are not allowed to ride their bikes back down.

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Mount Equinox Skyline DriveRead More »