in Hank Schiffman's analysis of road inclines he mentions Alpine Road (police station). is he referring to what we call River Road? also, when he measures the incline is he measuring from the boat basin or from the roundabout? thanks
hill gradient
Wed, 05/19/2004 - 8:55am
Wed, 05/19/2004 - 10:31am
#1
1 mile
Alpine Hill or Sheriff's Hill is a little over 1 mile from the roundabout. It's the northernmost hill of River Road (Henry Hudson). I believe that is what Hank lists.
The basin adds about .2 - .3 of a mile.
I use the boat basin generally when I do repeats - going down adds a few more moments of recovery before you climb again.
Wed, 05/19/2004 - 11:24am
#2
Alpine Hill, Police Hill, Sheriff's Hill....
I measured it from the start of the hill at the boat basin. And it is the last hill on River Road.
You can take it all the way to 9W for the full length but it loses its grade a few tenths before the turn off to the police station. Let's just say, nobody has to tell you when the grade gets easy...
Wed, 05/19/2004 - 2:08pm
#3
How does his hill repeats compare to ours?
"
http://sports.yahoo.com/sc/news?slug=reu-dc&prov=reuters&type=lgns
>""As usual the Texan studied the major stages of July's Tour, especially the Alpe d'Huez climb on which a potentially decisive individual time trial will be held shortly before the finish.
Belgian Bruyneel said Armstrong rode the famous hill a dozen times and tested a new bike on it. The American won a stage at the top of the Alpe d'Huez in 2001.""
"
Thu, 05/20/2004 - 4:23am
#4
Don't Have to Go That Far
One can go to the Adirondacks and do Whiteface repeats; it is virtually identical to Alpe d'Huez in grade and distance. Stunning views from the summit too.
Wed, 05/19/2004 - 3:18pm
#5
good stuff
hank,
this is great stuff. i race in CRCA so am quite familiar with River Road as well as others on your list. kind of surprised about Closter Dock being only 4% as it always seems so much tougher.
as an engineer by degree i am always trying to figure out these different gradients.
Wed, 05/19/2004 - 5:45pm
#6
More Precise Stats
My calculations show the Alpine climb as 1.2 miles, 6.8% from the boat basin to park HQ; total gain 433 feet.
The important thing is not gain, grade or distance but time. As an ardent proponent of power-based training, optimal VO2 Max training, the type that is appropriate for the Alpine Climb, is in the 5-6 minutes range. Pick a part of the climb the allows this; more is not better if your power drops.
Wed, 05/19/2004 - 6:42pm
#7
Closter Dock
Alpine Hill is a fairly constant grade but Closter Dock is not. Therefore you have an average grade which represents neither the steepest nor the flater sections.
