The Hills of Hunterdon County

Norm

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Warning: Road Material!!!

For those of you in the Lebanon area, I found this ride today as one that some roadies use as a training tool for the Hillier Than Thou century ride:
http://www.nycc.org/rl_db/ride.aspx?id=142

This is 52 miles with about 6500 feet of vertical, which put simply is an absurd amount of climbing.

If anyone is interested in this kind of ride, I'll post up when it gets warmer.
 
Part of that ride goes right past my house. One of these days I'll get a road bike.

Need the time to ride it though.
 
Bring gears

Some of our gang have been doing this ride and variations for years now. Once we learned the roads, we began driving past Cokesbury Rd. and parking out in Glen Gardner instead. There are so many climbs out there that you can string together all kinds of loops.

You'll want to put some climbing gears on the back.

The descents are insanely fun as well.
 
I'm thinking of looping together some of the Bernardsville hills with those hills. The connector would be 512 which adds some non-climbing to the course, even if you do throw in that climb out of Gladstone and Pottersville.
 
Btw...

These hills are the best I've encountered in the vicinity for Mt. Washington Hill Climb training. Some of these grades are sustained in the 10% plus range, and they're not short. When you string several together, such as the route posted by Norm, you're getting some serious work done. Great power builder.
 
there are hills in my neck of the woods with sustainable 10%+ grades too. i've never ridden them all together but have strung a few of them into 20 or so mile rides. i hope by the end of the summer that i can pull a 50+ off and link them all. when that happens, i'll put it up on motionbased.com for all you road freaks. :D
 
Cool, thanks for the map. Although I have a hard time following routes like that while riding (paper flying away from my hand into the twilight zone... Another time me ending up in a ditch from trying to read...).

If you push further west there is the Delaware valley with some sick grades also. Plus it's purdy.

I'd still rather be riding trails.

Maurice
 
Ideally I'd prefer to drive it first. I grew up sort of in the area so it's not totally strange to me.

If I have to use cue sheets I prefer a plastic CD holder and fold it up in there. Then clip it to the bars if needed.

You could also steal one of those trucks that paints road lines and preride the course in that.
 
I believe this is the same route as the "Lebaon 52" that I picked up on several years ago. It's a great route with one punishing climb after another. They're not long, just steep as anything. Most were over 20% at some point...ouch. Great training and cool roads!

If you're into this route, I suggest the Frenchtown 70 as another great road ride in that same general area. Fiddler's Elbow is like a kick in the teeth!
 
B.L. said:
If you're into this route, I suggest the Frenchtown 70 as another great road ride in that same general area. Fiddler's Elbow is like a kick in the teeth!
Click to expand...
Right on! It's killer going up, but on one of our last trips up there, we rode down Fiddler's. Super-fun. Anybody who is "bored" by road riding should try a dose of something like that. All the adrenaline you need.
 
I hit 49.6 mph on green pond road. I do NOT want to go any faster then that. And acually I cant now that i went to compact gearing.
 
fastest i hit on the road bike was 43 mph last year coming down the hill by flanders valley golf course. pretty good considering i'm on a trek 970 w/ road slicks.

i, however, DO want to go faster.
 
B.L. said:
I believe this is the same route as the "Lebaon 52" that I picked up on several years ago. It's a great route with one punishing climb after another. They're not long, just steep as anything. Most were over 20% at some point...ouch. Great training and cool roads!

If you're into this route, I suggest the Frenchtown 70 as another great road ride in that same general area. Fiddler's Elbow is like a kick in the teeth!
Click to expand...

It is indeed the Lebanon 52.

I tried to find cue sheets for the Frenchtown 70 but could not. It used to be on Sandiway Fong's website (probably a name you NJ roadies know, otherwise known as "that Asian guy with legs of granite"). But his site has long since gone the way of the dodo. There was a rough map of it that seemed to have it going well into PA.
 
I don't own a road bike, but considering I live in the dead center of the lebanon route, I probably should. It's kind of like living in a ski town, but you don't ski. Anyone have a 50" decent road bike they want to sell?
 
Well said...

dmc123 said:
I don't own a road bike, but considering I live in the dead center of the lebanon route, I probably should. It's kind of like living in a ski town, but you don't ski. Anyone have a 50" decent road bike they want to sell?
Click to expand...

That's pretty much the exact analogy I was looking for living in that area as well.
 
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