Thanks for that Andrjes.

I'm sorta (but not too) surprised I'm so far off. My only real sense of what a grade looks like is from what other people tell me- like this video of biking up Fargo Hill in LA (claimed to be the toughest hill in North America with a 32% grade for over 1/10 mile).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgIL6eHHgZU
That didn't look too much more terrible than the top end of Buffalo St. to me, so I was basing my estimates on that. Guess I'm not so good at estimating

By 366 in Varna (heading into Cornell) I mean the Hill between Forest Home Drive and Game Farm Road, near the Varna Auto Service.

Thanks again. I think that this sort of info might be useful for novice cyclists trying to plan which routes to take around here. For instance- I was debating trying the climb into campus via the bike path on 79 as opposed to University Ave (which is too frequented by speeding students and potholes for my tastes)- but I think the 79 route would get much worse once you turn onto 366.

Teri,
There isn't any compendium of grades, and such info is actually pretty hard to pin down. Most routes vary a lot in pitch so you can select brief bits of whatever grade you want to attach to the climb. In general, though, your estimates are way over the top.

Probably the best way to get realistic numbers would be to go out with an inclinometer. There's a common, cheap kind that is nevertheless very accurate. It's a simple calibrated bubble device (like on a carpenter's level) that you clamp on the handlebars of a bike. I have one. You have to stop the bike to get an accurate reading, but it's easily good to within 1%. Maybe we can get a measuring group together some day to ride around and record some data.

Looking at topographic software is another way to get grades, but I really don't think it's a very reliable feature. But just to put your estimates in some perspective, let me give you the numbers I get in Delorme TopoUSA.

Buffalo St: lower end ~11%, just before Eddy St. is the max around 16%

University Ave: coming up from Linn St, it's only around 5-6%, peaking around 7% at the corner. Turning east (toward the Johnson Museum) is the max, 11%.

I don't know what you mean by 366 into Varna, but there's certainly no pitch like that on 366. The generally acknowledged toughest climb in the are is Blakeslee Hill Rd (it actually has bits that show around 20% on the software).

Andrejs

Anyone know where I can find out the percentage grades of some of the hills around Ithaca (specifically, Buffalo St and University Avenue).

Whenever I talk to friends from out of town about biking up the hills here they ask me what the grade is. I guess that buffalo would be about 25-30%, University 10-15%, and 366 heading into Cornell from Varna 20-25%, but I'm not really sure.

Check out: http://nybc.net/ for information about nominations for the commuter of the year award: NYBC is seeking nominations for its annual Bicycle Commuter of the Year Award. Bicyclists of any age who are NYS residents and commute to work or school on a regular basis are encouraged to apply. Submissions should include a brief written description, in 50 words or less, of why the person nominated is worthy of the award; deadline is Monday, May 11th.

Clafication: I have already spoken with someone who is for the bike lanes and with Tim Logue, City Transportation Engineer. I am looking for someone who is against the bike lanes to make the story balanced and to present all sides of the story. Sorry, if that was not clear in the earlier post.

I'm a journalism student at Ithaca College, and I am doing a piece for a class on the new bike lanes in the City of Ithaca. I looking for someone who is against the bike lanes willing to talk to me on film about why they don't like the lanes. If someone is interested, please email me at mmoran3@ithaca.edu. I need to find someone quickly, because my project is due early Wed., April 29.

Is anyone interested in issues related to time limits for bicycles locked to bicycle rings and hoops in the City of Ithaca, such as how much time needs to pass before a bicycle is considered abandoned, who is responsible for enforcing the rule, and where are bicycles sent after they violate the abandonment rule?

http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/pdf/national_bike_month_guide.pdf

Im sure you have already seen this page on creating a bike to work event but ill post it anyway.
I dont know where the funding would come from but T-shirts might be a good way of spreading the commuting by bike message.

Just a heads up that May 15th is Bike to Work day. I thought we did a decent job of organizing various rides/routes last year. We plan to bike to school with Oliver again (hope it's a little warmer and not so wet this year).