Caminho do Comboio from Funchal

I immediately admit: I am a cheater because climbed with an MTB with 32-51 gear. Otherwise I would never have made it because think of the steepest metres of the Keutenberg - and then 2 kilometres in a row. Simply awful. Thereby in the first part quite busy and with sometimes mediocre asphalt. Further on it does get much nicer (more green) and the Tobbogan (the famous mandsleds) approach you - on the right-hand lane and you are supposed to drive on the left on this section.
From the start, the climb gets steeper and steeper to those absurd percentages - which, because of intersecting roads, sometimes flattens out completely which gives air for a moment. The cobbles at the end give relief rather than extra heaviness as the gradient finally flattens out.
How to judge? The climb is one big physical punishment (even on an MTB so you can guess what it will feel like on a road bike) and mentally gruelling because of sometimes longer straight and absurdly steep sections. On the other hand, unique because where else can you tackle over 1,000 climbing points within three kilometres? For enthusiasts 5 stars, others are better off avoiding it (or else only tackle the upper, nicer part).