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Cycling

Video: The Impossible Route - Worlds Hardest Gravel Climb

Kevin Curry

Kevin Curry

— 2 min read
Video: The Impossible Route - Worlds Hardest Gravel Climb
The Vegan Cyclist takes on the gravel road which winds its way to the top of Mauna Kea, the world’s largest volcano. The paved climb up Mauna Kea is perhaps the hardest climb that can be conquered by bike climbing from sea level to 13,803 feet in one go. But on the other side of the mountain is a gravel route that also goes to the top. Pierce and Jeremiah Bishop decided to take that route on and dubbed it ‘the world’s hardest gravel climb.’ The route starts with two miles at 20 per cent gradient and continues mostly on steep gravel roads from there.
The Impossible Route is a cycling documentary that covers the story of Jeremiah Bishop and The Vegan Cyclist as they ride bikes up the world’s hardest cycling gravel climb. Mauna Kea is the world’s largest volcano and has the objectively the hardest road climb up to the top. This cycling documentary looks at the gravel road up to the the top, which had never been done before. What makes this route so difficult is the combination of all factors. Distance, elevation gain, elevation peak, gradient, and road surface. With a peak elevation of 14,000 ft, the oxygen is only 12% at the top. The first 2 miles avg at 20% gradient on the USA’s steepest paved road. The road cycling climb up Mauna Kea is objectively the worlds hardest climb, but many have accomplished that challenge. The impossible route is almost entirely on gravel roads, making this cycling adventure, the hardest one day route in the world. Big Island Bike Tours was the biggest support on this cycling documentary as they were the sag and helped get some of the great footage you see. Big Island Bike Tours took an entire week to help Jeremiah and myself realize this amazing adventure. If you are ever on the big island, look up Alex at Big Island Bike Tours and have him show you around. Canyon also played a huge roll in this project, getting me a bike, helping with the budget, and the overall support was top notch. With my whoop, I was able to plan the best day to make this attempt. The data I was able to collect and use to predict peak fitness is what made it possible to complete this climb.

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