Who's in? This is a beautiful ride. The longer routes cover 3 states & lots of rolling farm land & country roads.

The 100 last year was great, but tough. Two long climbs including Mt. Washington.

Here's the link if you're interested: https://bikenewyork.org/rides/hvrr/index.html

Is there a route map someplace? I think I may have ridden part of it at one time and agree it is beautiful country.

I did the 55 last year....beautiful ride.
Not sure if I can do more than 75 this year with those killer climbs.

Steve,
I don't think they post route maps, but here are descriptions w/ elevation gains:

30 Miles/Sharon Loop: A ride along the Harlem Valley Rail Trail and then east into Litchfield County, Connecticut. Travel along scenic country roads and through the historic town of Sharon, Connecticut. Flat to rolling terrain with some hills. Riders will have the option to join a group ride led by experienced leaders. Cumulative elevation gain: 2,030 feet.

55 Miles/Kent Loop: A ride using the same route as the 30-mile ride with an additional loop south and east to Kent, Connecticut. Flat to rolling terrain with hills. Riders will have the option to join a group ride led by experienced leaders. Cumulative elevation gain: 3,920 feet.

75 Miles/Three State Challenge: An exhilarating and challenging ride through three states. A loop east through Connecticut, north into Massachusetts, and west back to Copake Falls, New York, before the return to Millerton. Riders climb through Mt. Washington Forest in southern Massachusetts and are rewarded with a breathtaking descent into New York. Includes some especially hilly and demanding terrain. Cumulative elevation gain: 5,590 feet.

100 Miles/Three State Century: Same as the 75-mile ride plus an additional 25-mile loop south and east to Kent, Connecticut. A long and challenging ride with some mountainous terrain. Cumulative elevation gain: 8,105 feet.

Were in. The G/F and I are doing the 55 mile route.

Lucy07
Do you actually climb Mt. Washington on the 75 & 100?
This is some info i found at the Mt. Washington website:
"Just how steep is the course? The Mt. Washington Hill Climb is quickly becoming known as the toughest hill climb in the world at 7.6 miles in length, has an average grade of 12% with extended sections of 18% and the last 50 yards is an amazing 22%! Sprint that to the finish!"

I think you were looking at the Mount Washington Auto Road Hillclimb which is in New Hampshire. That is not the same Mt. Washington as in the Harlem Valley Ride.

From Wikipedia:
In August of each year, up to six hundred riders take part in the race which centers around a 7.6 mile (12.2 km) climb to the top of New Hampshire's Mount Washington—the highest peak in New England. The Mount Washington Auto Road has an average gradient of 12% and reaches gradients of up to 22%. This is more difficult than even the toughest climbs of the Tour de France.
The race's most famous victor is Tyler Hamilton who got his fourth victory in the race in 2006 in a time of 52:21, beating out Ned Overend by 2:20. Geneviève Jeanson holds the women's record at 54:02, while Tom Danielson owns the men's record of 49:24.

I've done the Mt Washington ride in MASSACHUSSETTS recently. It is about 3 miles at a 7.6% grade if you subtract out the flats along the way, and there aren't many of those. This shouldn't be a problem if you have low enough gears, my lowest is 36/26. You then ride along the ridge and down into Copake Falls via Bashbish Falls.

The other hill to try up there is the reverse, from NY State up into MA from Copake Falls. That's a killer.

Uh, it's Lucky, not Lucy.

Yeah, it's not THAT Mt. Washington. And they do route the ride so it goes up the 'easier' approach to the mountain.

I do recall about 60% of the riders walking it, which never made sense to me. Better to ride up slowly than to push your bike uphill in road cleats...

Thanks everyone.
Sorry Lucy..errr Lucky

i am planning on doing this... either the 55 or the 75. i rode Wassaic to Copake Falls and back last weekend. next time, I'm doing the Hillsdale - Great Barrington ride. the hills there look wicked!

In there for the century! Did it last year (century, as well) and loved it!

Hoping to shave over a minute off my time trial time, as well.

As far as the climbs go, the Mt. Washington climb is consistently steep for the first 2 miles, then gets easier. As long as you go in with a good spin, you should be fine. If you're in doubt about your setup: a 25-tooth cog (or larger) in the back is a safe bet, and a compact double crank or a triple wouldn't hurt. I did the climb last year with a 39/26 as my low gear, and it was tall but workable - though I'm a fairly strong climber, so your mileage may vary.

The descent down into Copake Falls is steep, and West Road (before Falls) may have a few potholes after this past winter - we'll see, but it's always been a bit sketchy in the road repair department.

That said, I find the earlier climb (Skiff Mountain Road in Connecticut) to be a bit steeper in spots, though shorter (its overall grade is steeper than Mt. Washington: 5.5 percent over 3.2 miles versus 3.6 percent over 5.2 miles for Washington). It's jarring after the first stretch down from Millerton (flat to rolling hills), so that might be why it seems steep. Plus, I'd pre-rode the Mt. Washington climbs before (both directions, including the climb up Falls Road from Copake Falls to Bash Bish - ouch!), so they didn't seem quite so harrowing.

The trick is to pace yourself early on so you have something left in the tank for Mt. Washington and the final big hill (where the time trial takes place).

I'm a n00bie when it comes to cogs & stuff... i'm riding a single-speed Trek Soho S with a 44/17. will this be OK for the climbs found in the 55 or 75 mi. routes?

The 55 is a possibility with your tall gearing, though you'll sweat some of the grades, for sure. The 75 mile route has Mt. Washington, and that would be a grind in a 44/17 setup. Last year I was riding Washington in my 39/21 and 39/23 on the steepest portions (spinning around 72 rpm), and that's a wee bit lower than your setup. Unless you are a strong (!) climber in your current gearing (e.g. able to go up 6-7 percent grades that go on for 2 miles), I'd lean toward the 55.

Just my $0.02 - YMMV.

sounds like i should stick to the 55 this time around and see how that treats me. i ride 20+ miles daily and handled the rolling hills between Copake & Wassaic easily, but i've never tried a real serious climb like you mentioned.

thank you very much for the advice, it was worth more than 2 cents.

I'm gonna do the 55 mile route because the bike is capable(Trek 520, 30front/32rear) but the engine is not(268lbs, beer belly)

This is extremely tempting...

It's a great ride; I did it last year. The Mt. Washington climb is tough, but really fun. The last hill time trial that they do about 3 miles from the finish is a bit much, though. I don't really want to sprint uphill 97 miles into a century. A downhill would be better!

Yeah, that was pretty evil. I think I managed to finish a solid 60th.

It's evil - such lovely, fun evil!

I managed 19th last year, and my goal this year is top 10. I figure shaving a minute off my time will do the trick.

So.... how many of us are there who will ride this fun ride (regardless of whether or not the TT is part of the fun)?

I am signed up for the century. See y'all there.

I did the 55 last year.
I'll try the 75 this year.

This is sorta tempting, I did the ride a number of years back with a friend and her friend. The guy showed up on a really low end mt bike... I brought alon a spare bike and convinced him to take my road bike while I went with my decent mt bike with the tires pumped up to the max. They ended up turning around at the last stop for the 50 while I sprinted on finishing the 75 I guess (I thought it was 62 something? When I left them my goal was to finish the extra distance and catch them back to the start so kinda just put my head down and hammered ignoring various hallucinations). They beat me by a few minutes still.

As I haven't gotten off my bum and built up the current road bike yet, I'd probably be riding a 48x17 fixed bike (still have that mt bike and loaning out the old road bike to a friend so could snag it...) Having run the actual NH Mt Washington running race the other week, not too concerned about a ride up this one; I may just be an idiot though. Will have to see if I can get out there for the ride, but might try to convince some acquaintances to join in first as I'm inherently lazy...

Couple of things-- I live in Pawling, so I ride these roads regularly-- Skiff Mountain is what you might call a "front loaded" climb. You gain most of your elevation at the beginning, then it backs off. The grades on that front part run 8 to 13% and what's worse, its not consistent-- much tougher to find a rhythm. It is totally covered by trees though. I've never riddent Mt. Washington from MA to NY, but I've done NY to MA more times than I can count-- have fun descending that-- the area w/ the switchbacks is absolutely horrible (as usual).

Have fun with it. I'm surprised they dont sent you guys up CT4 from Cornwall Bridge over to Sharon-- that's a nice easy 3-4mi climb.

I'm doing it the 100. It should be fun, I'm excited.