Road Cycling - nyc riders - where can we go for some climbing?

so there are the "hills" in prospect and central park, each offering about 5 minutes of climbing. there's the ride up route 9 which has some hills, but nothing difficult.

it's been a while since i've had a good 30 minutes of straight climb-till-you-feel-like-dying kind of riding.

is there someplace within a reasonable distance (i.e. not the catskills) with some good hills?

so there are the "hills" in prospect and central park, each offering about 5 minutes of climbing. there's the ride up route 9 which has some hills, but nothing difficult.

it's been a while since i've had a good 30 minutes of straight climb-till-you-feel-like-dying kind of riding.

is there someplace within a reasonable distance (i.e. not the catskills) with some good hills?

check this out:

http://www.nycc.org/regional_grades.html

interesting (and somewhat discouraging!)

i mean. i know we don't live in the mountains, but i was hoping for something a little better, at least. rockland and ulster counties are far away... boo.

agreed. there is not too much out there apparently. i don't have a car, and don't have time to bike out to these places. however, i'm getty really bored with the park scene too.

i'm told staten island has some good hills, but as for 30 mins of climbing i'm not too sure. if you do find any, let me know.

Heres a killer hill. Skyline Drive in oakland NJ. Its off of West Oakland Ave and goes between Bergen and Passaic counties.. Oakland is about 25 mi west of NYC. do a mapquest for Oakland NJ, choose the bergen county one, zoom in a bit and search for the bergen/passaic county line.. you'll see skyline drive.. be afraid!!! This is right on a little state park land so there are places to park your car and hike the woods or just hop on your road bike and start the punishment. If you want to get there by car its super easy. GWB to Rt4 west, which turns into rt 208, youll see signs for Oakland (maybe 15 miles?) get off at the skyline drive exit and head up the hill. the lot will be right on your left at pretty much the base of the hill... Once you get to the top, you go down the other side!! and into ringwood/westmilford which has alot of long fast roads through woods and reservoirs...
go for it.. . .

~Steve

its not too long, but its steeep! and two sided!
~Steve

btw how long is the whole prospect park lane ?
about 10miles?

the PP loop is 3.75 miles.

Heres a killer hill. Skyline Drive in oakland NJ. Its off of West Oakland Ave and goes between Bergen and Passaic counties.. Oakland is about 25 mi west of NYC. do a mapquest for Oakland NJ, choose the bergen county one, zoom in a bit and search for the bergen/passaic county line.. you'll see skyline drive.. be afraid!!! This is right on a little state park land so there are places to park your car and hike the woods or just hop on your road bike and start the punishment. If you want to get there by car its super easy. GWB to Rt4 west, which turns into rt 208, youll see signs for Oakland (maybe 15 miles?) get off at the skyline drive exit and head up the hill. the lot will be right on your left at pretty much the base of the hill... Once you get to the top, you go down the other side!! and into ringwood/westmilford which has alot of long fast roads through woods and reservoirs...
go for it.. . .

~Steve

FWIF: I used to work in Franklin Lakes many many years ago and remember that road and was curious about its topo profile. Here's some topo info using TOPO IV about the road from the start at the southern end of skyline drive and W. Oakland Ave to the end at Greenwood Lake Turnpike.

Too bad I didn't ride back then. I'd love to ride it now.

I have ridden up Bear mountain when visiting relatives there. Good climb, the appalachian trail traverses the mountain also.

wow cool topo info!!!
TOPO v.. gotta check that out..

~Steve

wow cool topo info!!!
TOPO v.. gotta check that out..

~Steve

I use it with my Magellan Meridian GPS, to track all the goodies, especially climbing elevation. I usually include the map with the track when sending the info to my fellow cycling buddies. Nice little toy. :)

Heres a killer hill. Skyline Drive in oakland NJ. Its off of West Oakland Ave and goes between Bergen and Passaic counties.. Oakland is about 25 mi west of NYC. do a mapquest for Oakland NJ, choose the bergen county one, zoom in a bit and search for the bergen/passaic county line.. you'll see skyline drive.. be afraid!!! This is right on a little state park land so there are places to park your car and hike the woods or just hop on your road bike and start the punishment. If you want to get there by car its super easy. GWB to Rt4 west, which turns into rt 208, youll see signs for Oakland (maybe 15 miles?) get off at the skyline drive exit and head up the hill. the lot will be right on your left at pretty much the base of the hill... Once you get to the top, you go down the other side!! and into ringwood/westmilford which has alot of long fast roads through woods and reservoirs...
go for it.. . .

~Steve

I scouted it by car a week ago and what got me afraid was not the hill (rather short) but the corners and cars coming at high speed. I came back yesterday by bike this time to give it a try, I had planned a route that included this hill, started in Clifton, NJ and when I got to Skyline Drive was excited, I think it was ok but nothing bad, I completed the uphill with no problems and proceed to complete my route thru Pompton Lakes, Lincoln Pk. Fairfield, back to Clifton, what was really cool though was coming down the hill, I hit almost 50 mile /hr on my CatEye computer, WOOOOW!!!!, It was scary but exhilarating watching the cars go up the other way and thinnking, what a nut!

Note: I got there early Sunday morning, about 7:15 am to avoid traffic there.

My total round trip was almost 50 miles.

Corsaire :)

so there are the "hills" in prospect and central park, each offering about 5 minutes of climbing. there's the ride up route 9 which has some hills, but nothing difficult.

it's been a while since i've had a good 30 minutes of straight climb-till-you-feel-like-dying kind of riding.

is there someplace within a reasonable distance (i.e. not the catskills) with some good hills?

I think Staten Island has some hills but the cars are unbelivable. Why not take Metronorth all the way past the Bronx and spend the afternoon going back home? Trust me. You will find hills!

I took the Long Island railroad all the way to Oyster bay (last stop) and came back home. There are HILLS in Oyster bay! I had to walk up quite a few of them and unless you're in good condition, get prepared to use the granny gear.

I don't know how you guys can continue to go round and round in Central /Prospect park day after day. Don't you get bored? I was bored going around Central Park after my 3rd time. It's amazing how those of us in the New York Metro have the most extensive subway, commuter rail system in the world but everyone drives. Incredible. I took my bike all the way to the Jersey Shore the other day and spent the entire day riding along the beachfront.

Here's what I do. Pick up a map of the New York City Subway system at any station. (it's free) Get yourself some maps or a GPS and start exploring the entire city. Seriously. There is more to life then the loop in Central Park. Stop going to the same old parks and ride the subway to the last stop on each line. Do the same for Staten Island subway system. It will amaze at all the different communities that exist in New York City. It will give you a totally different perspective. Once you finish the subway system, start moving on the commuter rail (LI railroad/MetroNorth) to take you out even further. Start exploring NJ Trainsit and taking these trains out to the middle of nowhere while trying to get back to Newark!

You should really look into getting a GPS. This way you can get rid of all those maps and spend your afternoon just getting home! You won't worry about looking for hills because they will find you!

wow, all the info you guys gave very is very interesting, thanks. I'm a little bored riding in Prospect part every other day but that's all I know. I scare of car and hate traffic lights in Brooklyn area. Gotta try to go far away sometimes.