The Wall is a
wonderful term of endearment given to parts of
Lyceum Avenue and Levering Street in
Manayunk, a section of
Philadelphia. It is arguably one of the most challenging ascents in any cycling event. Every year in
June the
USPRO Cycling Championship, the longest-running (20 years), richest and most prestigious professional bike race in the United States, takes place; the men ride 156
miles while the women ride 57.6 miles. By the end of the race, the men will have ascended the Wall
10 times. The reason The Wall is so
infamous is because of its 17%
grade. What does that really mean? Well, grade is defined as the vertical climb divided by the horizontal distance. So a 17% grade for the Manayunk Wall means that the road rises 275 feet in about one-third of a mile. Let's put this into
perspective.
Find a four-story building near you and stand about a hundred yards from the base. Now look straight at the roof and imagine riding your bicycle up the imaginary ramp that result. Continue past the roof until you've ridden for a total of twelve stories1. Now you can see why anyone who dares utter the words "That doesn't look so hard" will be promptly pelted with a barrage of jeers, angry words, and empty beer cans by Philadelphia sports fans partying on the porches of Manayunk. Having scaled The Wall myself a number of times I can safely say that it is not a feat I can imagine performing ten times in six hours at the breakneck speed those pros pedal without hurling, grimacing in pain, crying, and falling over at the top with a will to die.
1. http://www.batonrougecycling.com/Articles/Jon_Anderson/Indian_words.htm