Climbing in PBP

[Greg]

I went through the controls at http://www.paris-brest-paris.org/EN/index.php?showpage=6313,
and looked at the elevation profiles and amount of climbing. The
dumped that into http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pHuTOgUAjzVVbu5FTPa4FfQ

The total amount of climbing, as near as I can calculate, is 26,637
ft. I had heard that there was between 34,000 and 37,000 ft of
climbing. The numbers that I had heard are 40% more than what the
route says there is.

Are the numbers I'm hearing designed to get the rider ready for lots
of climbing, only to have them see significantly less, once the riders
are on the road? Or is there something wrong with my math and
approach?

As a test, I added all the ascent values and all the descent values
for the whole route, and they came to within 22 meters of each other,
which tells me that the elevation values on the PBP site are fairly
accurate.

Any thoughts on this?

Greg

[Steve Rice]

Greg wrote:

><snip>

>As a test, I added all the ascent values and all the descent values
>for the whole route, and they came to within 22 meters of each other,
>which tells me that the elevation values on the PBP site are fairly
>accurate.

><snip>
>
>
>
No, that just tells you that the numbers are consistent. They could
still be inaccurate.

Steve

[Bob Riggs]

The profiles on the official PBP site use data points every 400 m.
Higher resolution would give more accurate (and larger) numbers.

On Jul 13, 11:30 pm, Greg <greg.olmst...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I went through the controls athttp://www.paris-brest-paris.org/EN/index.php?showpage=6313,

> and looked at the elevation profiles and amount of climbing. The

> dumped that intohttp://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pHuTOgUAjzVVbu5FTPa4FfQ

[Tom Rosenbauer]

While numerical estimates of altitude gain can give you a general idea of
how hilly a course is, I have found that various altimeters and mapping
programs can vary wildly on their results. And altitude gain doesn't always
give you the complete picture: IMHO, a sustained climb of 1000 feet of gain
with a 8-10% gradient is much harder than the equivalent gain spread over a
bunch of rolling hills with 2-3% gradient.

I recall most of the climbing on PBP to be mostly rolling hills -- the only
climb that stands out in my memory after 4 years, is the long climb up Roc
Trevezel near Brest. Also, on the return leg near the finish, the climbing
seemed to be a bit steeper; but this perception was most likely shaded by
having ridden 1000k+ up to that point.

-Tom Rosenbauer
Eastern PA RBA

----- Original Message -----
From: "Greg"
> ... The total amount of climbing, as near as I can calculate, is 26,637
> ft. I had heard that there was between 34,000 and 37,000 ft of
> climbing. ....
> Are the numbers I'm hearing designed to get the rider ready for lots
> of climbing, only to have them see significantly less, once the riders
> are on the road? Or is there something wrong with my math and

> approach? .....
>

[Glrf...@aol.com]

In a message dated 7/14/2007 7:02:52 A.M. Central Standard Time, trose...@rcn.com writes:

IMHO, a sustained climb of 1000 feet of gain
with a 8-10% gradient is much harder than the equivalent gain spread over a
bunch of rolling hills with 2-3% gradient.

OTOH, a bunch of rolling hills with a 8 10% gradient packed in to a 4-5 miles stretch is much harder than a 2-3% gradient. 

 

Frank Paulo

 

 

 

---

Get a sneak peak of the all-new AOL.com.

[Peter Noris]

I'd much rather have a few hard climbs packed together (i.e., BMB) than the endless hills of PBP...this is definitely YMMV.

--
Peter

"Seeing the U.S.A. one brevet at a time"

Alabama, Colorado, Gainesville, Fl.,  Georgia, Massachusetts,  Mississippi,  New York, NW Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, British Columbia... more to come!

321-794-0500 cell
352-275-5888 home
Skype me at Peter.F.Noris

Yes, I know British Columbia is in Canada.

[Peter Leiss]

There is a lot of climbing on PBP. In fact it is almost never flat.

Peter

[Arthur Williams]

I finished PBP in 99 and after riding the hills in Tn and BMB in 98 I
thought PBP was not all that hilly. Yes, the climb outside Brest was a bit
hard, but not THAT bad. I had equipped my bike with a triple and never used
it except right at the end when the hills seemed harder than on the way out
Monday night. I don't think anyone should be afraid of the climbing. Just
enjoy the ride and eat, drink and turn those cranks. I wish I was goin'
with ya'll.

Art

Arthur Williams
5721 Edmondson Pike # 126
Nashville. Tn 37211

----Original Message Follows----
From: Peter Leiss <lei...@globalserve.net>
To: Greg <greg.o...@gmail.com>
CC: randon <ran...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [Randon] Re: Climbing in PBP
Date: Sat, 14 Jul 2007 14:46:34 -0400

[Dave Cramer]

I figure my preferences will have very little effect on the PBP course
itself! I don't have any idea what to expect, but that's part of the
adventure!

Dave

[Mark Watson]

As I seem to recall, it goes something like this. If you see a church, it
is on top of a hill. If the church is even with or below you, you will
descend to below the church and climb up to it.

There are many churches on the route.

Wish I were going .....

Mark B. Watson
770.205.8843 (W)
770.315.6390 (C)

-----Original Message-----
From: ran...@googlegroups.com [mailto:ran...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of
Dave Cramer
Sent: Saturday, July 14, 2007 6:48 PM
To: ran...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [Randon] Re: Climbing in PBP