WMC Bike Ride Ratings
Points added to each ride rating based on these factors:
Ride Mileage: | 1 point for each | 10 | ride miles. | |
Total Gain: | 1 point for each | 1000 | feet of elevation gain. | |
Avg Gain per Mile (GPM): | 1 point for each | 100 | feet of elevation gain per mile. | |
Increase Factors: | Each factor adds | 1.0 | point. | |
Decrease Factors: | Each factor deducts | 1.0 | point. |
Note: Avg GPM uses the simplifying assumption that half the miles on a ride are spent climbing and half descending; so the formula divides Total Gain by Ride Mileage/2.
Increase Factors:
S - Steep climbs, greater than 6% L - Long, sustained climbs; or a lot of climbs X - Extreme climbs: climbs greater than 8% E - Elevation gain in excess of 5,000 feet H - High elevation: above 10,000 feet |
Note: In extreme cases, a factor can be added more than once. For example, if a ride has an especially long sustained climb, an increase factor of LL or LLL could be used. |
Decrease Factors:
Elevation adjustment factor:
Elevation gain is based on the amount of gain that Ride with GPS (RWGPS) reports for each ride. But RWGPS tends to overestimate gain; a regression analysis indicated that a reasonable adjustment would be to decrease the RWGPS figure by about 12%. Thus multiply RWGPS' gain by 0.88
Club Pace Ratings
From | To | |||
NTD | 0.1 | - | 4.0 | Not Too Difficult: Lightly Strenuous |
MOD | 4.1 | - | 10.0 | MODerate: Moderate to Strenuous |
MSD | 10.1 | - | 14.0 | MoSt Difficult: Very Strenuous, Difficult |
EXT | 14.1 | - | EXTreme: Requires strong, well seasoned riders |
Note: Each rating category can have a + or ‐ attached, indicating relative difficulty within the category. For example, rides in the 4.1 to 5.5 range would be considered MOD‐; rides in the 8.6 to 10.0 range would be considered MOD+.
Club Ratings and Point Ratings
WMC pace ratings are slow, moderate and fast. The pace of a ride can greatly affect its level of difficulty. Please take that into account when deciding which club rides to participate in. Pace translates into speed roughly as follows:
Slow: | 8-12 MPH |
Moderate: | 13-17 MPH |
Fast: | 18+ MPH |