I like to stay in the 53 x 23 on that climb so that I save my lungs for later in the race. I have very tiny lungs.

I also read somewhere that each individual is only granted so many pedal strokes in a life time. I am trying to use up as few as possible when climbing.

Ron

Thanks for the four great sites with hill profiles - each with a different perspective. I was so enthralled, I blew off a training ride!

While I agree with Ron's comments, I would add that knowing how steep the hills are helps with gearing selection. While I consider myself a pretty good climber and know that I can ride around that loop easily enough with only a 23, I will probably bring a 27 for that race. I know that the feed hill is steep and just because I can go up that climb in a 21 or 23 doesn't mean that I should. Knowing how steep that hill is allows me to choose to bring the 27 and save my legs in an easier gear for later in the race when it matters.

You can find a few here: http://www.2450mhz.com/jfg/bikeroutes.htm

I realize there is a certain attraction to looking over the numbers and thinking about how steep something is and how you will get up it.
But here is a little perspective on racing a climb with a pack versus time trialing a climb or going for your own private PR.

Racing in a pack up a climb means the profile is pretty much irrelevant, the pace is dictated by the pack. If the pack goes slow, then the climb is easier. If the pack sprints up it, the pace is going to be hard. Knowing the profile isn't going to help you if the pace up the climb is faster than you can handle.

My advice is, read the race and your competitors, the course profile isn't what you should be overly concerned about.

Simplify:
If you can climb with your competitors, race a climby race, the profile is not the relevant factor.
If you can't climb with your competitors, knowing the profile won't help you, maybe pick races that don't have climbs in them.

Spend your time training rather than looking at numbers on a computer screen. Crunching numbers does not make you faster, training does.

Ron

Garmin Connect has a lot of them - I haven't logged stuff there in awhile but here's an old one:
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/6711968

-Tad

MapMyRide is always good.

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/15090064#climbs

Strava has several entries for the Wente RR. Or, if you'd rather draw your own route, something like ridewithgps.com does a good job.