North East Cycling – Mountain Biking

Six Gaps

The Six Gaps Bicycle Hill Climb Vermont

Whether you’re up to the challenge of your life or are just looking for a smaller one, you’ll find it all here in Vermont’s Green Mountains.

The Vermont Six Gaps is a ride that you can accomplish in one day or you can decide to do different parts of it instead. Most of it is paved and it has become extremely popular for bike enthusiasts from around the nation.

The air is fresh and crisp in this part of the country with spectacular mountain views and breathtaking scenery at every turn. Here is a brief description of the six various gaps.

You can check out various magazines and brochures about the area and the climb (though some are so complicated that you must really be good at understanding English grammar), but to truly appreciate them, you don’t need magazines, you’ll need to travel here yourself and ride these roads.

Lincoln

This is the big one. This is the gap that separates the highly skilled cyclists from the beginners. This is among the most challenging climbing trails in America and includes a 16% grade section that’s lasting for over a mile.

It is more than 4 miles long with an elevation spanning up to 1,800 feet with a sustained grade of 24% rearing its head at one point along the route.

Cycle Touring Ireland

This year, we took a trip to Ireland with our Northeastern bicycling buddies. The Emerald Isle: a fitting name for a place that gets nearly 55 inches of rain per year, just shy of the 68+ inches that would classify it as a rainforest. Although we came expecting rain and were content with a little … Read more

Mount Washington vs Mont Ventoux Climbs

Ever wonder how Mount Washington stacks up against Mont Ventoux? Whiteface with Alpe d’Huez? This page will give you some insight. I hunted around on the web to find profiles of a few of the most famous climbs of the grand tours (I plan to ride these great climbs soon!).

The chart below compares Mont Ventoux and Alpe d’Huez from the Tour de France, Agliru from the Vuelta a Espana, and Passo dello Stelio from the Giro d’Italia, with New Hampshire’s Mount Washington and New York’s Whiteface Mountain.

As you can see, nothing approaches the steepness of Mount Washington. Angliru comes the closest, with an average grade of 10%. Agliru has sustained pitches that are much greater than 10%, so it is a very challenging climb.

The image here suggests a peak grade at 23.5%! Whiteface and Alpe d’Huez are also similar climbs. Both gain ~3,500 feet in 8 to 9 miles. Whiteface is slightly steeper, but gains slightly less vertical.

Mont Ventoux compares similarly to Mount Washington when starting from the town of Gorham in terms of the average grade. However, Gorham to the auto road is only a couple percent grade, then the rest of the climb is at 12%.

Mont Ventoux stays right around a much more modest 7% grade. Passo dello Stelvio is a huge climb, a pass through the mountains, gaining just over 6000 feet in elevation. Stelvio was in several stages of the Giro.

North Dakota Bike Trails

Summer is almost here and it’s time to hit the trails, wouldn’t you agree? If you want to check some other great regions in the U.S., consider North Dakota.

The state is a fine destination in summer, but also in winter, North Dakota is a great place for skiing and enjoying the great outdoors!

North Dakota bike trails cut through the Midwestern region of the United States. From the northern portion of the Badlands to the Missouri River, the state consists of hilly great plains.

The state also has man-made lakes, trees (usually in central North Dakota), and wetlands. Browse through the trails below to find more information about bike trails in North Dakota. And of course, enjoy your ride.

You should also be aware of the bicycle shops and bike dealers where you travel just in case you need to pick up some new gear. For a list of North Dakota bike shops and dealers, please visit the North Dakota Bike Shops page on US Bike Trails.