Local Climbs

Recently people have been asking/ wondering how steep and long some of the local climbs that the team ride on are. So I've put together some basic info about climbs the team runs into most frequently, and then added in a couple extras to provide some alternatives.

The bone jarringly chewed up Winthrop St. incline that many of us go around campus to avoid clocks in at a gain of 79 ft in .15mi, which after some math gives you a 10% grade. Steep and short, but far too dangerous to do repeats on, to be avoided.

Starting at Powderhouse, Packard ave has discouraged many a Tufts undergrad from taking their bike to Olin/Cabot/Barnum. .3 miles and climbing

92ft (5.8% avg) this is another short one, but very convenient if you find yourself pressed for time.

A Tufts cycling classic the 1 mile long Arlington reservoir hill off of Park St. provides a 6.1% average for 322ft of climbing. quiet roads are a big plus, and the last ramp has some serious bite after the first couple of reps.

Newly discovered Ridge St. hill climbs 213ft in just one kilometer and actually drops down 23ft in the middle section, making the average 6.5% much lower than how it feels

Johnson rd. (think reservoir loop backwards) is a quick .5mi averaging 7.8% going up 207ft and also happens to be the easiest way to get to Ridge hill. If you aren't thinking it already, yes these two hills are great for combining.

Much to my surprise there are hills longer than 1 mile around these parts, as I learned on a recent adventure into the greater Acton area. Oak hill road certainly lives up to its name, after miles of rollers leading up to it this 2.5mile incline will burn despite a pretty modest 2.8% avg for 371ft gained, but it doesn't let up and ramps up to 7% in the first half and ends a 5%. A few times up this are a great addition to any long ride.

Hopefully the above is in some way informative, please feel free to to email/ write a comment with additional suggestions and or questions about how to get to any of these. Better yet, show up to our Saturday group rides at 2pm and we'll show you exactly what each of these is like.

Finally, one of my personal favorites, the easier* West side of Hurricane Mtn. Rd. This climb HURTS. 2 miles, 1020 ft of climbing, 9.7% grade that peaks somewhere around 24% on the final switchback.

*East side of the above climb is an extra .3 miles, 171 bonus ft of climbing adding up to an average of 9.8%

-keep riding

Fall Training Camp

First, a very big thank you to the Schwartz family, who have throughout the past year been there for the team in countless situations, made many of our ECCC race weekends possible, and for me personally were there in the hospital when I really needed them. This pattern of outstanding team support was continued this past week by opening their home to the team for our fall training camp.

Taylor welcomed four of us this past Sunday night; Audrey, Doug (coming almost straight from the airport upon returning from biking across Europe), Eric, and myself (Alex). Greeted by great food and warm beds Sunday quickly became Monday morning and our first ride. The skies threatened with rain but we enjoyed a dry and hilly 50 miles around the lakes of central Maine. Monday also saw the departure of Audrey and Doug for various non-biking reasons.

Tuesday began slowly, the three of us remaining sleeping in then spending the rest of the morning working on our bikes. After a brief lunch Taylor, Eric and I did a bit of exploring around Wayne and Monmouth, finding a couple good climbs and lots of great roads. Unfortunately Wednesday the clouds finally broke, and the cumulative fatigue of the days leading up to this camp and the riding itself caught up with us and we called it quits.

Thanks again to the Schwartz family and everyone who made it up for our training camp.

Eric flying up yet another hill

Alex smiling for the camera

Taylor with some apple trees

Photos by Taylor Schwartz, taken on Tuesday's ride.

Keep riding, and we'll see you in just over a week.

-Tufts University Cycling Team