Since 1955, the Guinness Book of Records has been a source of facts, trivia, and entertainment for millions. Many a middle-aged Brit will tell you that they spent hours, when still children, leafing fascinated through its hundreds of pages, learning about the biggest, smallest, smartest, and oldest.
Some of its records are exemplary of the very pinnacle of human achievement, for example, the heaviest bench press or the highest measured IQ, while others are plainly just included to entertain people. Let’s face it, the world record for balancing spoons on the body (88) is hardly something many people will be rushing to break any time soon.
Despite being the most famous guide to the superlative, the Guinness Book of Records doesn’t have staff available to check every last thing in every corner of the globe, which means that they depend on people to report things to them.
The Steepest Streets
The steepest street in the world is officially listed as Baldwin Street, in Dunedin, New Zealand, with a road in the Welsh town of Harlech placing second. The latter thoroughfare, known as Ffordd Pen Llech, had previously been awarded the title in 2019, only for the residents of Baldwin Street to launch an appeal. This led to their own street being reinstated in first place.
The measurement is made by calculating the average gradient over a 10-metre distance where the street is at its steepest, with the data taken from the centre of the road rather than the kerbs. As a result, New Zealand currently holds this record, and the award clearly means a lot to the locals, as it did to the Welsh when they displayed the coveted certificates to the many photographers sent to cover the story.
Gerry Brookes, who owns the shop Seasons and Reasons in Harlech, said:
“It’s fantastic. We’ve got the castle, the record, the views. You can’t beat us!”
Was he right, though? And should the thousands of cyclists jetting over to New Zealand be re-planning their trips and heading to Kazakhstan instead, to make sure that the items on their bucket lists are ticked off correctly?
Does Almaty Have the Steepest Street?
In the Medeuski District of the southern Kazakh city of Almaty, a handful of brave mountain bikers occasionally turn up onto Turksibskaya Street on their way to the forest trails in the mountains. The entire length of the street is approaching two kilometres, and while the first 500 metres would be manageable for an average rider, once they pass the opening bends, they are met by the sight of a colossal slope looming up ahead, with no end in sight.
The official steepest street in the world boasts a maximum gradient of 34.8%, the top ten then populated by other roads with slopes between about 31-34%, most such sections only extending for 80 or so metres in their entirety.
Turksibskaya Street, lovingly referred to as The Climb to the Four Tanks by anybody who’s ever tried to pedal up, has a stretch which tips the scale at 44.9%, according to the sports app, Strava, with its sophisticated map and route functions. The road has a short flat section above the main climb, but to get there, you have to negotiate a quarter of a mile of road at possibly 40% gradient or more, which even quality cyclists may need ten minutes to ride. That is, if they don’t just get off and push.
Ultimate Cycling Challenge
Anybody heading up there on two wheels is immediately assumed to be on an e-bike. Passing motorists involuntarily glance at the frame, and, on verifying the absence of a motor, react as if you are some kind of superhuman – or possibly insane.
Yevgeniy Yakovenko from Almaty rides about 10,000 kilometres a year in and around the city (definitely not on an e-bike), and always has to dig deep to get up to the Four Tanks in one go.
“This street always tests you to your limits; there’s just no room for error. It’s maximum effort all the way up, or you’re off balance.”
The Guinness Book of Records requires any street to satisfy very strict criteria to be placed on its list. Strava was not designed for this purpose, so the information given above is for interest only, yet it leads to some compelling questions, one of which became the headline of this article.
The fact is, unlike Baldwin Street or Ffordd Pen Llech, Turksibskaya Street is not a sacred pilgrimage for thousands of hardened cyclists, and perhaps its few hundred residents would prefer it kept that way.
Who can blame them?
But by the same token, who can blame the cyclists who have made it to the top for wondering whether they have indeed conquered the steepest street in the world?
They certainly have a strong case, as well as a strong pair of legs.