Ascension Drive & Anacapa Drive, Los Altos Hills map

Statistics:

Max. grade: 17% (22% inside sharp right turn)
Main climb:
Avg. grade: 9.6% (elev. gain/dist)
Length: 0.55 miles (0.88 km)
Elev. gain: 280 feet (85 m)
Entire profile:
Avg. grade: 9.6%
Length: 0.55 miles (0.88 km)
Climb: 280 feet (85 m)
Descent: 0 feet (0 m)

Description:

Together, these two short roads climb from Francis Rd. (off Fremont) to Viscaino. Ascension has one steep turn to the right that hits 22% on the inside for a few meters, but only 17% on the outside. Anacapa has a straight run of about 100 yards at a steady 17% grade.

Altimeter altitude

(Altitude linearly interpolated from altimeter samples, and smoothed with a 0.04mi gaussian.)

Each horizontal line is 100 feet. Each vertical line is 0.2 miles.

Gradiometer grade

(Grade linearly interpolated from gradiometer samples, and smoothed with a 0.04mi gaussian.)

Each horizontal line is 2% grade. Each vertical line is 0.2 miles.

Altimeter grade

(Grade linearly interpolated from altimeter samples, and smoothed with a 0.20mi gaussian.)

Each horizontal line is 2% grade. Each vertical line is 0.2 miles.

Comparison of grades

(Green grade is from the gradiometer, magenta grade is from the altimeter, and white is where they overlap.)

Each horizontal line is 2% grade. Each vertical line is 0.2 miles.

Overall (averaging my first 20 hills), the gradiometer grade averages 0.63 (% grade) higher than the altimeter grade, with a standard deviation of 4.5 (% grade per road). This error may be due to:

In the end, though, I think that each individual sample is accurate to within about 2% for that instantaneous segment of road. My results may not always agree with my altimeter, but they are generally repeatable within 1%. I think that I just need to take more samples to generate more accurate graphs.

Raw Data:

Dist    Grade   Alti.   Location
----    -----   ------  --------
0.00     4%     240	start - Concepcion Rd.                   
0.08     6%     270	26491 Ascension - getting steeper        
0.14    13%     300	26451 Ascension                          
0.18     8%	320	before right bend  
0.21    15%     340	before sharp right turn                  
0.23    17%     360	26444 (sharp right) 22% on inside        
0.25    15%     370	flattening out                           
0.29     2%     390	before turning onto Anacapa              
0.31    17%     400	26390 Anacapa (straightaway)             
0.36    17%     440	end of steepest section of straightaway  
0.41    13%     470	easing slightly                          
0.46     9%     500	flattens here                            
0.55     0%     520	top - Viscaino                           


Back to Lucas's cycling gradiometer page.