What constitutes a "hilly" route

[Vorpal]

My commute is about 100 ft per mile. My alternate route is shorter, and more like 130 ft per mile.

It certainly seemed hilly when I came here, but I've gotten used to it, and I cycled a few hillier places in the autumn, so my perspective seems to have changed a little.

But that hill to work will be hard when I can get back on the bike.

[Ayesha]

A 'Hill' has to have an average gradient of greater than 4%.
A 4% hill becomes a Category 4 climb when its length is 2 km. Cat 3 is 3 km. Cat 2. 5km, Cat 1 10 km and HC at 20 km.

As the gradient steepens, the qualifying lengths for each Category shorten.

Given a points system of 1 pt for a Cat 5 to 5 pts for a HC, within 100km distance, if there are 5 points, its 'hilly'.

[Vorpal]

A hill could be nearly any non-zero grade. Programs that categorise climbs like Strava and mapmyride use 3% as a minimum, but that doesn't mean a 2% hill isn't a hill; only that Strava doesn't categorise it.

[Geoff.D]

My commute is about 100 ft per mile. My alternate route is shorter, and more like 130 ft per mile.

It certainly seemed hilly when I came here, but I've gotten used to it, and I cycled a few hillier places in the autumn, so my perspective seems to have changed a little.

But that hill to work will be hard when I can get back on the bike.

I found that I got acclimatised, too. After 15 years in the relative flat central Warwickshire area, the Cotwolds seemed quite daunting, with long drags (350ft/1mile to get out of my village) and many steep banks of 0.5 mile with gradients of 15% + (according to OS). This was exacerbated by riding a recumbent, which I've always found harder work uphill than an upright.
But, I've got used to it. I think it was very much a "mind" thing, as you say.
I still call it "hilly", though!!!

[BSRU]

A rough guide I use:-

0-5m/km of climbing = flat
5-10m/km = rolling
10-15m/km = slightly hilly
15-20m/km = hilly
20-25m/km = very hilly
>25m/km = insanely hilly

[Geoff.D]

A rough guide I use:-

0-5m/km of climbing = flat
5-10m/km = rolling
10-15m/km = slightly hilly
15-20m/km = hilly
20-25m/km = very hilly
>25m/km = insanely hilly

If you inadvertently stray off course, BSRU, do you ever regain your sanity?

[Mick F]

22.5 very hilly miles this morning:

22.5 miles and 3,100ft of ascent.
That's 138ft per mile.
or 2.6%
or 26m per Km

[foxyrider]

Hilly for me is the 2400m in 100km that i do on a trans pennine ride - takes about five hours

[Ayesha]

A hill could be nearly any non-zero grade. Programs that categorise climbs like Strava and mapmyride use 3% as a minimum, but that doesn't mean a 2% hill isn't a hill; only that Strava doesn't categorise it.

Anything less than 4m up in a 100m stretch of road is an 'inconvenient incline', NOT a 'hill'…..

[Ayesha]

22.5 very hilly miles this morning:

22.5 miles and 3,100ft of ascent.
That's 138ft per mile.
or 2.6%
or 26m per Km

Mick.
If you finished at the same point you started, ( Home round to Home ) the average gradient is 0%.
As I just said, anything less than 4m in 100m is an 'inconvenient incline'.

If it was a round trip, it was half up and half down, so the 3100 ft was done in LESS than 22.5 miles. The exact length of the climbing can only be determined by analysing the route.

In the 3100 ft, how many Cat 4, Cat 3, Cat 2 etc hills did you climb?

[Mick F]

22.5 very hilly miles this morning:

22.5 miles and 3,100ft of ascent.
That's 138ft per mile.
or 2.6%
or 26m per Km

Mick.
If you finished at the same point you started, ( Home round to Home ) the average gradient is 0%.
As I just said, anything less than 4m in 100m is an 'inconvenient incline'.

If it was a round trip, it was half up and half down, so the 3100 ft was done in LESS than 22.5 miles. The exact length of the climbing can only be determined by analysing the route.

In the 3100 ft, how many Cat 4, Cat 3, Cat 2 etc hills did you climb?

We always finish where we started, don't we?
Even on a tour, you end up back home.

The difficulty of cycling, is combatting gravity. Uphills are difficult, the flat is simple, and downhills are easy.

Say I ride up Gunnislake Hill, then turn round and come back down, my net altitude gain would be zero, but I'd still have struggled up the 12% (and much steeper in places) for a mile or more. Therefore the Total Ascent is important because it's a measure of effort, and therefore the Total Descent un-important because it takes no effort at all.

Here's my profile from yesterday. You cannot simplify it as "half up and half down" as the profile shows how complex the hills are. If you live somewhere less precipitous, maybe you can analyse it more easily. Pick the bones out of it if you want!

[Ayesha]

One of the difficulties of cycling is gravity.

According to the CTC's own PowerCalc.xls sheet ( using my bike details ), riding at 17 mph on the flat requires 150 Watts, and riding at 2 mph up a 15% slope requires 151 Watts.

Using a 22 inch gear, I wind my way up a 15% at 2 mph at just less than 30 rpm.

With this mindset, a 15% hill presents no issues.

IIRC, earlier in the thread, someone mentioned 'perception'.

[Mick F]

........ riding at 17 mph on the flat requires 150 Watts, and riding at 2 mph up a 15% slope requires 151 Watts.

The difficulty with hills is the TIME that the power is put down for.

The more 15% hills on your circuit, the longer it takes to ride the circuit. Hence the need for Total Ascent for rides comparison.

If your circuit was 17miles long and flat, you could do it in one hour at 17mph. Total consumed 150W/hrs.

If your circuit was 8.5miles at 15% slope at 2mph and 8.5miles down hill freewheeling, you would consume 151W for 4.25hrs plus 8.5miles at Zero Watts. Total consumed 641W/hrs.

[Ayesha]

I'm not disagreeing with you Mick.

I'm trying to say you're 3100 ft in 22.5 miles was more difficult than you describe.

It's of no consequence stating average % over a ride. Its more meaningful to describe the individual climbs in a familiar and understood grading system.

"I went on a 100km sportive with 1100m of climbing."
Wow! one might say, that's only just over 1% average gradient.
"The ride consisted of a load of fast flat with three Cat 4 hills and a Cat 3. The Cat 3 was a B."

[Mick F]

In the 3100 ft, how many Cat 4, Cat 3, Cat 2 etc hills did you climb?

Have YOU calculated it yet?
It means nothing to me.