Below is a table of routes used recently showing the approximate amount of climbing as determined by RideWithGPS. See footnote below. This chart should give riders a rough idea of a difficulty of different routes but take it with a BIG grain of salt — average climbing is only one element of a ride’s difficulty and can be deceptive.
Note that climbing is based on the actual distance, not the “advertised” distance. Generally rides are 2-10 miles longer than the advertised (200k, 300k, etc) distance.
| Route Name | Length | Start Location | Ft/Mile | Total (Ft) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dighton Rock (MA 200k 2015) | 200k | Bedford, MA | 36.9 | 4659 |
| Overnight 200k | 200k | Lexington, MA | 41.6 | 5230 |
| Trails of Groton | 100k | Medford, MA | 42.6 | 2802 |
| Boneyard 100k | 100k | Westford, MA | 44.0 | 2933 |
| Paris-Brest-Paris | 1200k | France | 48.2 | 37073 |
| Boston-Montreal-Boston | 1200k | Newton, MA | 48.6 | 36204 |
| Sterling Populaire | 107k | Bedford, MA | 48.8 | 3322 |
| Meredith 400k | 400k | Bedford, MA | 49.3 | 12548 |
| Voluntown, CT 300k | 300k | Bedford, MA | 52.0 | 9792 |
| North Country (VT 600k 2015) | 600k | Montpelier, VT | 52.4 | 19864 |
| Oh Canada! (VT 400k 2015) | 400k | Woodstock, VT | 52.5 | 13188 |
| Green Mountain (VT 200k 2015) | 200k | Middlesex, VT | 53.0 | 6715 |
| New Boston (MA 200k 2014) | 200k | Bedford, MA | 53.9 | 6873 |
| Williamstown (MA 600k 2015) | 600k | Bedford, MA | 54.9 | 20747 |
| Sunderland (MA 300k 2015) | 300k | Bedford, MA | 56.9 | 10984 |
| Montpelier 400k (VT 400k 2014) | 400k | Montpelier, VT | 58.2 | 14473 |
| Downeast 1000k | 1000k | Montpelier, VT | 58.2 | 37401 |
| Tweedo's Revenge | 200k | Bedford, MA | 61.3 | 7729 |
| Gilette Castle* (MA 400k 2015) | 400k | Bedford, MA | 64.7 | 16769 |
| Fall Classic 110k | 110k | Montpelier, VT | 72.8 | 4974 |
| Northeast Kingdom (VT 300k 2015) | 300k | Montpelier, VT | 73.0 | 13959 |
| Piedmont Populaire | 100k | Montpelier, VT | 73.8 | 4659 |
| Fall Classic 200k | 200k | Montpelier, VT | 86.3 | 10712 |
| Goose Green | 200k | Montpelier, VT | 100.0 | 12831 |
* It has been noted that RWGPS appears to have overstated the hills of this ride as some rider’s GPSs log closer to 13,500 ft of climbing. Differences like this are common; generally mapping applications overestimate elevation, occasionally by a high margin. (Mapping software calculates based on the concours of the soil and won’t take into account bridges and road cut-outs which would significantly save on climbing.)
Simply put, the table should be seen as a extremely rough guide to difficultly. For example, an out-and-back 300k with a smooth 3% incline for 1/2 the distance and a 3% decline on the return would appear to be difficult with 15,000+ ft of climbing (81.3 ft/mile) yet most would consider it a nearly flat and easy route.