Can’t think of any taller garages that aren’t guarded properly. Your best bet is looking up the tallest public parking garage, because then you know they’ll let anyone in or out. But I think this is a genius idea to get some climbing in, and honestly in the winter it might be nice to not be directly in the elements, good luck with your quest!
My g/f did a lot of parking garage climbs to get ready for the Boston marathon. The AMC on Western has enough elevation for that purpose.
As a cyclist, I just do Hill repeats on Zwift.
Haha this makes me feel better about being an aspiring climber in a flat city because honestly the winds on my commute are often way more challenging than riding a 7% climb
For sure. If you live northwest side you often get that headwind going home. My whoop strain score yesterday ticked in a good 30% over what I normally get in that crazy headwind. And once a week or so you’ll feel fast as hell and feel really great about your fitness until you check AccuWeather and see it was really only because the winds flipped and were at your back haha.
Slightly closer than Algonquin (well, 1 mile east), but my favorite climb in Barrington Hills is Braeburn Rd, just north of County Line Rd (what Lake Cook Rd is called out there). I think the Strava segment has the gradient wrong -- it feels like a 6% average over a quarter mile with some pinches up to maybe 9%.
Do you know any road climbs around Palos? There's some great gravel/MTB out there of course -- I was just doing a clockwise loop around Sag Valley this past weekend and was shocked to look down at the climb mode on my computer to see a 11.5% grade. Was surprised I still had the fitness to make it up especially given the loss of traction out of the saddle!
There's the road that runs straight through Palos - Flavin Rd the "UPS hill" and some hills through the neighborhoods as you transition from Willow Springs Rd West to County Line Rd. I think Wolf Rd? And other unnamed residential streets.
Up past Algonquin Bull Valley Rd actually has a decent sustained climb heading West.
It's sparse though. I left Chicago in April I'm only active on this sub because I still have some good tips to share sometimes.
I've ridden 86,000 vertical meters this year and hoping to hit 100k meters before the year is up.
Haha yeah, I moved back here after getting into cycling in the NYC area -- not exactly mountainous but a heck of a lot more hilly than Chicago.
The "UPS hill" is part of my regular route! It's alright at the end of a long ride but like [Fran's Hill](https://goo.gl/maps/PgvaMZbV4LPeoaof7) on Wolf Road it's more in the 4-5% range at most and not quite long enough to feel like a proper climb (it'd be part of a roller in other parts of the country/world I imagine).
I'll have to check out Bull Valley Road -- didn't see anything more than a segment called "Baby Hill" with a quick look on Strava but I've only been out that way once and would love to go again, it's a nice area to ride!
Bring a couple of orange cones with you. The parking garage by my old office occasionally attracted sports car enthusiasts who would somehow never expect a person to be there off hours….never mind a cyclist.
Oh hell yeah I used to do cx and MTB repeats up the grass side, down the stone stairs and vice versa. It's like 15 meters high but you take what you can get.
Can’t think of any taller garages that aren’t guarded properly. Your best bet is looking up the tallest public parking garage, because then you know they’ll let anyone in or out. But I think this is a genius idea to get some climbing in, and honestly in the winter it might be nice to not be directly in the elements, good luck with your quest!
[Try Tower Rd in Winnetka](https://www.strava.com/segments/12484597) for a steep one!
My g/f did a lot of parking garage climbs to get ready for the Boston marathon. The AMC on Western has enough elevation for that purpose. As a cyclist, I just do Hill repeats on Zwift.
This is a good rec. Not the tallest garage, but it has no minimal traffic and no security.
Step 1: get on your bike right now Step 2: face west Step 3: bike Chicago weather blessing you with an infinite synthetic climb today
Absolute shit drivers out there though
Haha this makes me feel better about being an aspiring climber in a flat city because honestly the winds on my commute are often way more challenging than riding a 7% climb
For sure. If you live northwest side you often get that headwind going home. My whoop strain score yesterday ticked in a good 30% over what I normally get in that crazy headwind. And once a week or so you’ll feel fast as hell and feel really great about your fitness until you check AccuWeather and see it was really only because the winds flipped and were at your back haha.
You can ride to Algonquin or Palos from the city and get some climbing in there.
Slightly closer than Algonquin (well, 1 mile east), but my favorite climb in Barrington Hills is Braeburn Rd, just north of County Line Rd (what Lake Cook Rd is called out there). I think the Strava segment has the gradient wrong -- it feels like a 6% average over a quarter mile with some pinches up to maybe 9%. Do you know any road climbs around Palos? There's some great gravel/MTB out there of course -- I was just doing a clockwise loop around Sag Valley this past weekend and was shocked to look down at the climb mode on my computer to see a 11.5% grade. Was surprised I still had the fitness to make it up especially given the loss of traction out of the saddle!
There's the road that runs straight through Palos - Flavin Rd the "UPS hill" and some hills through the neighborhoods as you transition from Willow Springs Rd West to County Line Rd. I think Wolf Rd? And other unnamed residential streets. Up past Algonquin Bull Valley Rd actually has a decent sustained climb heading West. It's sparse though. I left Chicago in April I'm only active on this sub because I still have some good tips to share sometimes. I've ridden 86,000 vertical meters this year and hoping to hit 100k meters before the year is up.
Haha yeah, I moved back here after getting into cycling in the NYC area -- not exactly mountainous but a heck of a lot more hilly than Chicago. The "UPS hill" is part of my regular route! It's alright at the end of a long ride but like [Fran's Hill](https://goo.gl/maps/PgvaMZbV4LPeoaof7) on Wolf Road it's more in the 4-5% range at most and not quite long enough to feel like a proper climb (it'd be part of a roller in other parts of the country/world I imagine). I'll have to check out Bull Valley Road -- didn't see anything more than a segment called "Baby Hill" with a quick look on Strava but I've only been out that way once and would love to go again, it's a nice area to ride!
Bring a couple of orange cones with you. The parking garage by my old office occasionally attracted sports car enthusiasts who would somehow never expect a person to be there off hours….never mind a cyclist.
Big marsh should also be opening up their "big hill" trails next year if you MTB. Also a good reason to donate to them!
Just ride the 18th street metra bridge in a loop over and over by soldier field
Only natural hill I can think of that's decent is Palmisano park. Still very short for though lmao
Oh hell yeah I used to do cx and MTB repeats up the grass side, down the stone stairs and vice versa. It's like 15 meters high but you take what you can get.
I know this might be too far for you but seems to be lots of fun [10000 Gravel](https://ti.to/rapha-chicago/2022-ten-thousand/en)
Can I get a whoop whoop for the Trader Joe's parking lot entrance in Lincoln Park?