Big Bad Hills

xc62701

Well-Known Member
I know this is more of a road topic but I figured I'd put it here for the most exposure. Where are the killer(sweet) hills in and around NJ? I know we don't have too much vert but some steady climbs would be nice. I did this one this weekend and now I want to seek out the local ones http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/7764818. I'm familiar with Skyline, Sterling Forest, Mt. Peter and have heard of some stout stuff in Sussex. Where's it all at?
 

ChrisG

Unapologetic Lifer for Rock and Roll
Yea I think that number may have been a bit skewed. I was doing about 50 or less.
My Garmin once had me doing 44 mph on my fixie. I'm not sure what rpm that translates to on a 70" gear, but I'm skeptical...:rolleyes:
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
My Garmin once had me doing 44 mph on my fixie. I'm not sure what rpm that translates to on a 70" gear, but I'm skeptical...:rolleyes:

44 on the fixie, you are a machine! I remember last year one of fred's gps ride recorded in the 60's, somehow the wind f's with things sometimes...
 

mergs

Spokompton's Finest
JORBA.ORG
Yea I think that number may have been a bit skewed. I was doing about 50 or less.

the best I've ever done is 55-56 mph on the back side of skyline and that was in a tuck, pedaling the whole time, and passing a car (duh that was dumb, I know).

now if I was svelte like some of ya'll, and dropped the droopy belly, i know i could break 60 :rofl:

just some random ideas ryan:

I remember a climb up to high point and over being long and sustained. no idea of traffic or pavement quality though. keep on truckin towards the milford bridge and that sounds like a big day.

ever ridden green pond road in some sort of loop? I've really wanted to do a big berkshire valley road/green pond road loop but i think that would be a big day and you'd hit some busy roads linking them.

also, the "hillier than thou" century ride down in warren (?) always seems to have a lot of hills ;) (ya think?)
 

pixychick

JORBA: Ringwood
JORBA.ORG
Hillier than thou has fidlers elbow to my memory. Kain up by Mt Peter is killer as well as Breakneck near Hidden Valley, and Barrat. All those get up above 18 percent. Canisteer off of rt 23 is almost 8 miles long and stepped, but not super steep.
 

Maurice

New Member
the best I've ever done is 55-56 mph on the back side of skyline and that was in a tuck, pedaling the whole time, and passing a car (duh that was dumb, I know).

now if I was svelte like some of ya'll, and dropped the droopy belly, i know i could break 60 :rofl:


...

Jeff, I should think that added weight would be an advantage in such situations, although the added inertia might be bad for rim brakes, just in case they were needed. Some TDF soigneurs used to smuggle lead-filled bottles to racers at the top of mountain passes (and wine at the bottom, descending makes on thirsty) ;)

Sorry Ryan, nothing to add to the climbs already mentioned. There aren't many sustained climbs around where I ride. There is one particular route (Lebanon 52) that does kick butt however, because, although the climbs aren't too long, you're either climbing or descending for a bit over 50 miles and some of those are fairly steep. Cf. this cue-sheet.
 

Ian F

Well-Known Member
Best hill's I've found were near the Delaware River... but nothing close to that in terms of elevation gain...
 

xc62701

Well-Known Member
The Hills of Attrition look pretty cool. They can also be accessed pretty easily from Parsippany. I think I'll link some or all of that on one of my next rides. Thanks for the info!
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
The Hills of Attrition look pretty cool. They can also be accessed pretty easily from Parsippany. I think I'll link some or all of that on one of my next rides. Thanks for the info!

Let me know, maybe we could hook up. I could show you where my ride STB today. It's actually about 200 yards from where that ride starts.
 

BiknBen

Well-Known Member
Do these climbs have to be in Jersey? With a Max elevation of 1840', the climbs can only be so big.

-Route 17a between Greenwood Lake and NY Thruway. Ms. Pixy may have been referring to this one.

-Bear Mountain, NY. I forget all the numbers. From the Hudson River it is 6% for the first half. Perkins Memorial Road then continues to the top and averages 8%. The steepest stretch is 14%.

-High Point, NJ. Start in Montague, NJ and climb towards the East. Don't forget to turn into the park and go to the monument. That is where it is most painful.

I've done the Lebanon52 and it's longer brother, the 63. Hillier than thou hits many of the most brutal stretches of road in the Warren county area. There are also some brutal climbs in Hunterdon Cty, North and East of Milford, NJ.
 

Maurice

New Member
Here is a great resource for hill climbs.

http://www.roberts-1.com/b/u/nj/hills/index.htm

Most of the ones I ride are along the Delaware River near Lambertville.

Also, this page has more big climbs, mostly in New England: http://www.northeastcycling.com/NE_Climbs_main.html

Wow, that's great information in that first link, can't wait to check some of those climbs, didn't know they were there. Most are within riding distance from my house.

Riding Fiddler's elbow makes all other climbs seem less hard, now I see why. The author should also mention that the 20+% section is right at the end, definitely not a hill that you want to attack too "fast" early on. Mind you, if you start with Roxburg Hill, things are put in perspective quite nicely. It's all covered in gravel these days, which kills traction. Also, near the top, one has to put weight on the bars, the front wheel tends to lift a bit. Great place to see stars in full daylight :)
 

MEAN IRISH GUY

Horse-faced space dog
hilier than thou has fidlers elbow and im pretty sure iron bridge road too. my brother is a roadie so i hear all about these places from him all the time. he drove me up iron bridge once and that was pretty rediculous.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Cool site Jim.

You know what we need - one of those Google maps with the points for all these hills. plus a collection/databse of road GPS loops.

Actually I'm going to make this topic a sticky for reference.
 

ArmyOfNone

Well-Known Member
I have the loop Jimmy is refering to on MB. All off somerset county but Hill Hollow, Penn Brook and Claremont. A few Hunterdon county roads as well. I can pull those for ya if you would like. There are quite a few roads in this area that go without mention. There are some good ones for sure!
 
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