"World's steepest road" challenge

[Wowbagger]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jan/10/bricks-dont-usually-roll-welsh-town-harlech-worlds-steepest-street

That's very interesting - FAGVOI. It seems that Dunedin use their street as a tourist attraction and don't want the Harlech hill to upstage them. Certainly, the sign at the top tells the road user "40%".

[vorsprung]

Maybe during the next BCM I should take a diversion to ride up it

[LittleWheelsandBig]

The world's actual steepest street is in Pittsburgh and is cycled up every year by the Dirty Dozen event.
http://www.dannychew.com/dd.html

[Exit Stage Left]

The world's actual steepest street is in Pittsburgh and is cycled up every year by the Dirty Dozen event.
http://www.dannychew.com/dd.html

Specifically Canton Avenue.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton_Avenue

[JennyB]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jan/10/bricks-dont-usually-roll-welsh-town-harlech-worlds-steepest-street

That's very interesting - FAGVOI. It seems that Dunedin use their street as a tourist attraction and don't want the Harlech hill to upstage them. Certainly, the sign at the top tells the road user "40%".

I never tried cycling up Fford Pen  Llech. I tried cycling down it once, but had to give up when my back wheel kept lifting.

[zakalwe]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/jan/10/bricks-dont-usually-roll-welsh-town-harlech-worlds-steepest-street

That's very interesting - FAGVOI. It seems that Dunedin use their street as a tourist attraction and don't want the Harlech hill to upstage them. Certainly, the sign at the top tells the road user "40%".

I never tried cycling up Fford Pen  Llech. I tried cycling down it once, but had to give up when my back wheel kept lifting.

Is "give up" a euphemism for "crash"?  If not, how did you stop with your back wheel in the air? 

[Kim]

I never tried cycling up Fford Pen  Llech. I tried cycling down it once, but had to give up when my back wheel kept lifting.

I've cycled down it successfully, but on a recumbent, so the effect was somewhat akin to standing up.

It's probably for the best that going up it is verboten.

[Basil]

I've walked up it.  That was quite enough thank you very much.

[DuncanM]

The world's actual steepest street is in Pittsburgh and is cycled up every year by the Dirty Dozen event.
http://www.dannychew.com/dd.html

Specifically Canton Avenue.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton_Avenue

But the Guinness record is measured over a 10m stretch.  Which is why Canton Avenue doesn't get the Guinness record.

[Palinurus]

That is the only hill I've had to walk going down.

[Redlight]

Maybe during the next BCM I should take a diversion to ride up it

You'll have to do it under cover of darkness - it's a one way street, downwards.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

The world's actual steepest street is in Pittsburgh and is cycled up every year by the Dirty Dozen event.
http://www.dannychew.com/dd.html

Specifically Canton Avenue.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canton_Avenue

But the Guinness record is measured over a 10m stretch.  Which is why Canton Avenue doesn't get the Guinness record.

Why would anybody care about what Guinness says? I didn't refer to the Guinness record.

Both Baldwin St and Canton Ave are straight two-way roads. The Welsh road is one-way and measured around a corner, so vehicles can always use the wide line to reduce the gradient.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I feel I should put in a word for Vale Street in Bristol, supposedly Britain's steepest residential street. Not as steep as the road in Harlech though.
https://www.dangerousroads.org/europe/england/7309-vale-street.html

Here's a crappy youtube phone vid of a woman being urged to cycle up it:
https://youtu.be/GaDTRYYxZZ4

[LittleWheelsandBig]

If you interested in a steep climb that is more than just a few metres long, Scanuppia in Italy might be the best option. 1284m in 7.3km.
https://pjammcycling.com/climb/2.Scanuppia

[whosatthewheel]

Why would anybody care about what Guinness says? I didn't refer to the Guinness record.

There is money to be made by being able to claim to have the certified steepest road in the world, so a lot of people will in fact care a lot

[mattc]

If you interested in a steep climb that is more than just a few metres long, Scanuppia in Italy might be the best option. 1284m in 7.3km.
https://pjammcycling.com/climb/2.Scanuppia

Golly!

(they make a couple of ... brave claims there:
"The undisputed #2 most difficult bike climb in the World and the hardest in Italy" &
"We do not believe that it can be done on a standard road bike, even by the fittest of cyclist."

Well it doesn't get over 35% - they say - so I think a top Grimpeur (Yates twin or similar!) with proper low gearing would stand a good chance. But I think 7 km at average 17.7% might cause him a little shortness of breath!

_{Once I can figure out this fiendish site I shall investigate the "undisputed hardest" in the world ...}

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Why would anybody care about what Guinness says? I didn't refer to the Guinness record.

There is money to be made by being able to claim to have the certified steepest road in the world, so a lot of people will in fact care a lot

Many times, Guinness has not recognised the real 'whatever' simply because nobody had paid them the £X necessary to make the claim. The End to End record was a case in point. Guinness is not an impartial arbiter, the Guinness record organisation is a commercial enterprise.

In any case, I was referring to the real steepest street, not the Guinness-certified steepest street.

[Exit Stage Left]

Climbers are forever wittering on about how difficult they find it to ride on the flat, and presenting climbing as  virtuous. So I'm more interested in the world's flattest road, because that's obviously more challenging.

[JennyB]

If you interested in a steep climb that is more than just a few metres long, Scanuppia in Italy might be the best option. 1284m in 7.3km.
https://pjammcycling.com/climb/2.Scanuppia

Golly!

(they make a couple of ... brave claims there:
"The undisputed #2 most difficult bike climb in the World and the hardest in Italy" &
"We do not believe that it can be done on a standard road bike, even by the fittest of cyclist."

Well it doesn't get over 35% - they say - so I think a top Grimpeur (Yates twin or similar!) with proper low gearing would stand a good chance. But I think 7 km at average 17.7% might cause him a little shortness of breath!

_{Once I can figure out this fiendish site I shall investigate the "undisputed hardest" in the world ...}

You could also try looking here: https://www.climbbybike.com/most_difficult_climbs.asp

[fuaran]

Many times, Guinness has not recognised the real 'whatever' simply because nobody had paid them the £X necessary to make the claim. The End to End record was a case in point. Guinness is not an impartial arbiter, the Guinness record organisation is a commercial enterprise.

In any case, I was referring to the real steepest street, not the Guinness-certified steepest street.

Even if you don't like Guinness, you still need some sort of 'rules' for measuring streets. Otherwise how do you compare them to know which one is the real steepest street?
Do you include the full length of the street, or just the steepest section? If so, how long a section? 10m seems reasonable, it would be noticeable if you are cycling up it. Though measuring on the inside of a corner seems like cheating slightly, the road centreline would be fairer.

Also which of these streets have ever been measured accurately?
Myrddyn Phillips knows what he is doing, he has experience of using proper survey equipment to measure the heights of hills.

[rogerzilla]

Climbers are forever wittering on about how difficult they find it to ride on the flat, and presenting climbing as  virtuous. So I'm more interested in the world's flattest road, because that's obviously more challenging.

What about false flats, the bete noire of all cyclists?  Where's the falsest flat in the world?

[Exit Stage Left]

Climbers are forever wittering on about how difficult they find it to ride on the flat, and presenting climbing as  virtuous. So I'm more interested in the world's flattest road, because that's obviously more challenging.

What about false flats, the bete noire of all cyclists?  Where's the falsest flat in the world?

Ayrshire.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_Brae

[Basil]

Climbers are forever wittering on about how difficult they find it to ride on the flat, and presenting climbing as  virtuous. So I'm more interested in the world's flattest road, because that's obviously more challenging.

What about false flats, the bete noire of all cyclists?  Where's the falsest flat in the world?

A road you know.  Heading east from Bell End.  If you are unlucky and there is no westerly tail wind, you are left wondering what happened to your energy.

[quixoticgeek]

Climbers are forever wittering on about how difficult they find it to ride on the flat, and presenting climbing as  virtuous. So I'm more interested in the world's flattest road, because that's obviously more challenging.

Dunno about flattest, but longest straight is I think 90 mile straight in the Nullabor of Australia. 140km of soul destroying dead straight flat nothingness... Nothing higher than a small bush as far as the eye can see...

Closer to home my personal fear is a headwind on the Afsluitdijk. 31km of near dead straight, flat road. The prevailing wind is SW, on a road that runs SW/NE. No shelter, no let up. With a tailwind, it's rather cool, get down on the aerobars, ramp up the gears, and zoooooom. Headwind, it's like climbing a mountain, just without the reward of a great view and coasting down the other side...

Other dead straight Dutch roads that are possibly longer: the road through Flevopolder, maybe.

To give you an idea about the flatness of some of these roads, this is a ride I did from Amsterdam, out, round Flevopolder, and back again. 205km, with just 84m of climbing. Most of it is going over the bridge between the main "land" and the polder... -  https://www.strava.com/activities/1690079118

J

[Basil]

 Amsterdam, out, round Flevopolder, and back again. 205km, with just 84m of climbing.

Gosh.  You should move to Waleslandshire.