Naismith from Florida on 10/21/2013 11:45:07 AM:
There is an elevation change from 627 to 2070 feet over the 16 miles. The grade is supposed to be never more than 1.5%, but that may be an average. And after Frostburg, there is another 8 miles before the Continental Divide.
This is part of why on our recent trip we never met another person doing the GAP from east to west. Everyone we met was going the other way.
And it is not that they were wimpy to ride that stretch up, but rather that they loved the 18 mph riding downhill into Cumberland:)
This is why we had so many conversations about the WMR train. When they found out we were riding westward, they cautioned us about how challenging that stretch would be, and we explained we were taking the train, and then they warned us it was not taking bikes in October, which isn't true.