The Complete Guide to Climbing (By Bike)
by John Summerson
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Book Summary Information
Author: John SummersonEdition: Perfect Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2007-07-01
ISBN: 0979257107
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: Brigham Distributing
Book Reviews of The Complete Guide to Climbing (By Bike)
Book Review: Review for Westerville Bicycle Club
Summary: 4 Stars
John Summerson's book Complete Guide to CLIMBING (By Bike): A Guide to cycling climbing and the most difficult hill climbs in the United States (Extreme Press, Winston-Salem, NC: 2007) offers a comprehensive picture of climbing in the United States. This is not a book about the technique of climbing or how to be a better climber. It is a book about where to climb, what to expect where you climb, and even when you can climb (e.g., he sites several roads that are closed to traffic until 5 p.m. or at certain times of the year, or open only during a once-a-year bike race).
What makes this book special is the wealth of knowledge. You can read about the climbs and learn where to start, when a paved road will become a gravel road and then a dirt road, what the percentage of grade is along the way, the overall length of the climb, climbs you can do back to back, and so much more.
What made the book readable, and would also serve you well if you intended to attempt these climbs, is that Summerson has ridden approximately 90% of the climbs he writes about. You can feel yourself grinding up the climb based on his details, the very things cyclists notice. He ranks the climbs, using a scale that perhaps is familiar to the climbers out there (but wasn't to me), "hors." It seemed like anything above 4 hors was a nasty climb. He expressed a certain reverence over other climbs, and when I looked, saw they all had a ranking of 6 hors or higher. Two that I noticed near the end were in Hawaii.
Then there were a few intense, .1-mile climbs, that made the book. The two I remember from that category were both in California, and boasted a 32% average grade (Fargo Street, with a max. grade of 35%; Eldred Street, with a max. grade of 33%). Egads! Early in the book, he provided a map of the US, with markings of where the climbs he included were located. Ohio was conspicuously absent from the list. Later, when I read a list he compiled of the organized rides with significant climbing, I thought it was pretty cool that I recognized names that WBC members have tackled: Blood, Sweat and Gears (NC), Assault on Mount Mitchel (NC), and The Mountain Mama Road Bike Challenge (VA). So for those of you looking for other challenges, see if what you want is on the list.
At the end of the book, Summerson provided still more data on the top 100 climbs. Using graphics, he showed the starting and ending elevation, the total elevation gain, mileage marks with a notation of the percent grade for stretches. Then there were the number of lists he provided--in addition to the one above, there were lists like "100 Most Difficult Road Bike Climbs in the U.S.," "Most Difficult Climbing Sections," "Greatest Elevation Gained Climbs" (where the minimum was 5,000 vertical feet), and "Highest Elevation Attained Roads."
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