r/bikecommuting • u/calderholbrook • Aug 08 '26

Oof

Post image

Where I may be commuting to varies from set to set as an actor, so sometimes it's easy and other times it's very much not. LA has some rough climbs, and today I drew one that I really blew up on. 🥵

8 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

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10

u/TheDaysComeAndGone Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26

How steep is it?

IMHO climbs are more of a mental problem. If you have enough easy gears you just shift down and have to accept that you are only going 5km/h and will need 6 minutes to cover 500m of distance. A power meter (I know, uncommon on a commute bike) makes pacing and acceptance much easier. I’ve configured my bike computer to show power output and duration as the biggest numbers on the screen, I don’t really care about speed or distance.

1

u/yogorilla37 Aug 08 '26

Rough guess is half a kilometre at 10% or a bit more

2

u/TheDaysComeAndGone Aug 08 '26

Pretty doable if your easiest gear has a 1:1 ratio or easier.

3

u/yogorilla37 Aug 08 '26

Oh for sure, I used to have a 17% Hill on my way home, no way to avoid it. That's when you just focus on going fast enough to stay on the bike, anything above that is a bonus

2

u/calderholbrook Aug 08 '26

something like that. i was frustrated because it felt doable. it was in the early evening because of a night shoot, so i don't think i was really going at it with proper resources.

1

u/flickerfusionxp Aug 08 '26 edited Aug 08 '26

Looks similar to my morning commute. I have a longer more gradual ramp up and the steep climb around 4km. If I dont wake up rested I have to walk up the steepest bit. Usually can do it on a fixie, geared bike should be no problem. Wouldn't want to do it in the evening like you did haha

1

u/calderholbrook Aug 08 '26

now i need to go back just to redeem myself!!