On Bicycles, and.... what else is there?

I first discovered the particular joys of Bohlman-On Orbit-Bohlman in 1995 when I rode Bill Bushnell's spectacular "Mr Bill's Nightmare", then part of the Sequoia Century. I don't think there's more than a handful of harder climbs at its distance in the US. There's three major ways up the hill: Stay on Bohlman : this is clearly the easiest route. Don't take it for granted, however, as it's still brutally steep. Take the On-Orbit "shortcut" : a substantially increased dose of pain. On Orbit is truly brutal. 13.2% over 2 km, 14.2% over 1 km, 15.9% over 500 m, 21.8% over 200 m, 24% peak. Which of these numbers speaks more to the pain? I don't know: I think all, actually. 21.8% over 200 meters is a much different experience as part of a longer climb than it would be, for example, as a few steep blocks in San Francisco, although that would also be tough. I rode Filbert Street , which is 32% over 68 meters. I think the two segmen...