Elevation question

[MartianDestiny]

I would argue that feet climbed isn't really the main issue (other than at some point you are going to hit an endurance threshold and just get tired).

Feet climbed per mile (ie: GRADE) is the main issue.

I believe mapmyride will allow you to view an "elevation profile" with % grade (do this by clicking on "Show Elevation" in the "info and tools" box in the map window (right hand side)).

It will map your ride out into average gradient chunks and is even nice enough to color code them to give an idea of difficulty.

For instance attached is a screen cap of one of my long, but basically doable by anyone climbs. Maximum grade is 4% (and is marked in an orange color) which you definitely feel after an hour of climbing, but not what I'd classify as painfully hard.

5-6-7% is where things can start getting pretty darn difficult if you aren't used to it and/or geared for it.