Old La Honda Bike Climb, CA
Old La Honda Rd., a classic climb on the SF Bay Area Peninsula.
Many cyclists on the SF Bay Area Peninsula (i.e., Palo Alto/Woodside/Los Altos region) seem to know their best time up Old La Honda Rd., as it provides some measure of one’s climbing aptitude (both relative to your previous self, and to others).
Course Description
The official start of the hill climb is the stone bridge (I presume it is the leading, and not the trailing, edge of it); the end is the stop sign at the top of the intersection of Old La Honda and Skyline Blvd.
The course record, according to various posts on USENET newsgroups, is a few ticks under 15 minutes (14:50 or so), and is either owned by Dr. Eric Heiden (the Olympic speed-skating champion who lived 2/3rds up Old La Honda), or a guy named Mike Murray.
The Western Wheelers even has a “rider category system” based on a rider’s times up Old La Honda. (This helps match cyclists with Western Wheeler rides of his or her appropriate level of difficulty). The system is as follows:
- Category A: total novice
- Category B: it takes the cyclist 40-60 minutes to go up Old La Honda
- Category C: 30-40 minutes
- Category D: 25-30 minutes
- Category E: 20-25 minutes
- Category F: under 20 minutes
This is how Western Wheelers matches cyclists to rides:
Western Wheelers Hilliness Ratings (Definition)
Approx. Hilliness Ft./Mi. Rating --------- --------- 0-25 1 25-50 2 50-75 3 75-100+ 4
Average Speed (MPH) vs. Hilliness and Ride Category, Typical
1 2 3 4
--------------
A 10 8 6 NA
B 12 10 8 6
C 14 13 12 11
D 17 16 15 14
E 20 19 18 17
F 23 22 21 20
Climb Statistics
- Distance: 3.37 miles
- Elevation gain: 1290 feet
- Average grade: 7.2%
- Max grade: 15% (18% inside switchbacks), never very long
1995 Low-Key Hill Climb Series Results
October 29, 1995 (Sun)
These are results from the 1995 Low-Key Hill Climb Series (now defunct, sadly), that you can also compare your times with. Again, I found this from a USENET newsgroup. Presumably, the people who entered the series were typically “above-average” (or at least, enthuasiastic) hill-climbers.
Rider Team Sex Category Time ------------------- ------------------- --- ----------------- ----- Connelly, Dan Stanford/Wheelsmith m 4 17:22 Hawley, Lorin Apple/VeloXS m Mas 4 17:47 Lillard, James West Coast m 3 (Jr) 18:34 Waltjen, Lance None m Any 19:48 Herms, Richard Team Adventure m 35+ 20:00 Bell, Jeff Alto Velo/ALEVE m Mas 4 20:07 Anderson, Mark Alto Velo/ALEVE m 5 20:40 Blair, Steve Alto Velo/ALEVE m 40+ 20:45 McGorman, Frank Bergmeisters Bicycl m Bikes & Brewsters 20:55 Miller, Ed None m 55+ 21:15 Alafouzos, John NA m 40+ 21:30 Hargrove, Val Bergmeisters Bicycl m Bikes & Brewsters 21:30 Fulton, Dick NA m Old bike,old body 21:36 Crockett, Richard Apple/VeloXS m 45+ 21:51 Leary, Brendan Alto Velo/ALEVE m 5 22:11 Hopping, Damien NA m None 22:31 Benishin, Liz Alto Velo/ALEVE f 3 22:34 Nix, Mark Team FRED m Idiot 22:40 Reddy, Achut Alto Velo/ALEVE m 4 23:00 Bone, Richard Western Wheelers m 28-yo English 23:15 Petroski, Pete Western Wheelers m Beyond 23:15 Hurkmans, Henry Fremont Freewheeler m 4 23:30 Smith, Wayne Alto Velo/ALEVE m 4 - unplugged 23:49 Sewill, Rick Apple/VeloXS m 4 24:15 Gellin, Gary Team Hermes m Runner 24:29 Tedder, Ron NA m Old bike,old body 24:39 Heney, Kevin None m 43+ 25:00 Mansour, Dean Alto Velo/ALEVE m Bionic 25:08 Maurer, Joseph Apple m 44+ 25:12 Hutchinson, Marcia Alto Velo/ALEVE f 3 26:21 Pereira, Lucas NA m 200+ (gross wt) 29:08 Fisher, David Alto Velo/ALEVE m 5 ????? Paulsen, Anne Western Wheelers f None ????? Chang, John NA m None ?????
From the Logbook
September 8, 2002 (Sun)
Excerpts from an email I wrote my friend Adam Tow who got me interested in doing an OLH hill climb, 8 years after I had last been timed on this hill:
Ok, today Mike Barron and I went up Old La Honda and timed ourselves. My time… (drumroll please):
21:33
That, I think, is about the same as your record! Dang, you were in really good shape back in ‘97!
I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t break 20 minutes (and actually wasn’t even really close), which was my goal. However, I take solace in that I was 4 minutes faster than my last timed OLH climb (in ‘94), and I think I can do a bit better by doing things differently.
First off, I think Mike and I stopped too long before starting the climb, as I had really cooled off by then. As I consistently notice when doing hill repeats on Morrison Canyon Rd., I climb significantly worse on cool legs (usu. for the first time up).
Secondly (and probably most importantly)… I started out going way too fast. At the bottom, I was going like 15mph, and just sped by some other cyclists who started like 5 minutes before Mike and me. By the middle of the climb I was already hacking my lungs out. I was really not well and had to take a slug of water every minute or so due to the hacking. I never really recovered, though I’m happy that I managed to keep a pretty consistent pace for the last half of the climb despite the suffering.
Thirdly, when I get to know the climb better, I would ideally start speeding up sooner at the end (e.g. go anaerobic at that point). I started sprinting when I saw the mailboxes, but that’s a little too late.
And finally, ideally I would do this on a cooler day… today was not bad, a little on the warm side for something like this.
By doing all of these things, I might be able to make up 1.5 minutes…
Almost wish I hadn’t gotten into this, though… riding a hundred miles felt a lot more enjoyable than those 3! But it’s good training… kind of a different mindset than I’m used to, which is to keep well within myself and avoid going anaerobic (otherwise one would be hard-pressed to finish 200 miles). I now have full appreciation for the record of 15 minutes or whatever (that’s like 33% faster than us!)
Roy West said:
This is a nice page. One missing item that would be nice to include is the distance from the stone bridge to the stop sign at the top, the grade, and the elevation gain. But thanks for what’s here.
mark deines said:
The top time listed for the OLH hillclimb….14.833 min. works out to a vam (average ascent speed) of about 87 ft./min. this is actually very good, however to put it in perspective the vam for the 5360 vertical ft. of Mt. Ventoux in France is about 96 ft./min. set by Iban Mayo a few years back.
George Mueller said:
Yeah, OLH Road. I’d stopped riding for 15 years, then started up again summer ‘05. First time up: 38m. Now at 24.5m. I love this climb; know the house #’s, names of the horses in the corrals, real estate prices, Upenuff you’re almost there, that lousy rough patch at the top (WHY hasn’t it been repaved??) etc. Great job on this website!
Kamikaze said:
We did this climb all the time back in 76-85 or so….it was the beginning of the long rides done twice a week with the Palo Alto Crew. I remember Eric H.going on the ride sometimes, but the stalwart climbers were Kieth Vierra and Sterling McBride…sometimes Dave Faust (Fausto) and daveyMac would be going good, as well.The guys always said that Boyer and Ritchey probably were the fastest but that was all related “legend” wise…not actual times…Hard to believe anybody but LeMond could climb it better than Boyer…I remember us going up it in about 20 minutes every time…but we were younger and fitter then…lots of mist and bumps..dogs sometimes…
Introspection » Blog Archive » A Cycling First said:
[…] me ascending Woodside’s Old La Honda Road. A quick use of google and I found a nice summary of what Old La Honda is like. I didn’t plan on tackling a major hil […]
Craig Swarthout said:
For those interested LKHC has started up again and your chance to beat the clock up OLH is this Saturday 21OCt06 see attached link for more details.
http://www.lowkey.djconnel.com/
Fritz Knochenhauer said:
Regarding: OLH fastest times…I rode OLH regularly in the late 70s and early 80s. It was definitely the benchmark time trial climb for Category 1/2 USCF riders. It was the stuff of legend to hear times of sub-17 minutes during those days. I can vouch for only three riders in that category (myself included) and believe that Eric Heiden’s time was to his house NEAR the top and not all the way to the stop sign. I remember riding with a small group and we did the OLH/Skyline/84 “circuit” three or four times one morning. I recall my times being sub-19 for each “lap.” Considering how much lighter bikes are nowadays, I’m surprised that times haven’t improved much beyond the high 16-minute marks I’ve seen. Does anyone have a definitive list of “best OLH times?” I’d be curious to know.
Andrey Revyakin said:
http://www.lowkey.djconnel.com/2006/week2/results.html
These are the results from the 2006 low key series. I did it in 17:01, an I am just a local no-category hill climb enthusiast. My understanding is that any Cat2 rider should be able to do it under 17.
Hillclimb Times said:
These LOW KEY HILLCLIMB results are helpful, although not comprehensive.
My hopes were/are that someone has put together a list of BEST TIMES up OLH, King’s Mtn., Hwy 84, etc.
I can personally vouch for 16:27 up OLH, 18:54 up King’s (from the split), and 12:35 up 84 from the base of Portola Rd. (at the hairpin).
Takers?
Andrey Revyakin said:
The problem with the best times is that they are often not documented, and are anecdotal. The only way to get semi-official data is from race results like Low Key.
The Stanford cycling team has a race up OLH in December (?), and I’ve never seen the best time crack 16 min. I personally know 3 people who can crack 17, and know of noone who can crack 16.
Perhaps, if the LOW KEY series survives for a number of years in a row we will have a decent statistical data. Perhaps you should join the race thus year? With 16:27 (is that self-timed?) up OLH you could win (or even crack 16 min and set another PR?).
Old La Honda climb « Cycling the Bay Area said:
[…] Much of the following borrowed from: http://felixwong.com/ […]
East Coaster said:
http://www.paloaltobicycles.com/Flash_maps/oldlahonda_map.swf
This map at Palo Alto Bicycle states the record time is under 14 minutes. Given that Basso climbed Ventoux at 96 vertical feet per minute that is consistent with what a top pro could do. 90 VFM = 14:20, 96 VFM is under 13:30.
East Coaster said:
Using the calculator at Gearing for Wisconsin Hills ( http://www.danenet.org/bcp2006/gearing.html )
A rider and bike weighing 170 lbs pedaling at 80 rpm expending 380 Watts up a 7.2% grade would need 63.64 gear inches (42-18 = 63 gear inches). The rider would be climbing at 15.14 mph which would climb OLH in 13:21. This is from someone who had trouble getting up OLH with a triple I rented at Campus Bike Shop in August and was toast on the road up Mt. Wachusett (Massachusetts) in June pushing a 42-24.
Memorial ride for fallen cyclists - Cult of the Bicycle said:
[…] Sunday at Five Rings Cycling Center, 297 N. Amphlett Blvd. in San Mateo.Also Sunday, the annual >Old La Honda Time Trial, a famous 3.7-mile bike climb near Woodside, will be open to the public, with cyclists invited to […]
A Mudworm’s Thoughts » Blog Archive » Road Riding: My Collection of Hill Climbs said:
[…] references: FelixWong’s blog , [1] , […]
Jim Thurber said:
“Discovered” Old La Honda last year, riding it on a 30 x 27 Zurich. Nice ride but it took me at least 35 minutes to the top (age: 56). Several weeks ago I started riding up on my fixie (39 x 20) and shortened my time substantially. Of course, I find myself standing up quite a bit!
Old La Honda is an absolutely wonder on a fixed gear bike, as long as you switch to freewheel before coasting down to Alice’s and back to Woodside. What currently “works” for me is a 39 x 23 — and it just rocks!
Chris said:
This site inspired me to give it a spin with my teammate from Godspeed last week. Is the hillclimb series still going on? Someone on Webcor said it was, informally. I’d love to try it in some sort of competition. Friendly or unsanctioned. Whatever. And the descent is lovely too.
andrey revyakin said:
the descent down 84 is way better than OLH. I find OLH too narrow going down, with too many blind curves.
kristen said:
i am a complete novice biker, and i love OLH (36ish min for me … trying to get into the low 30s this season).
what i love even more is to cool down by heading west on 84 afterwards and coming back up the backside of OLH … it’s a left turn about 3 miles out on OLH and it’s a beautiful, easy 2.5 mile blip up.