45suited

You should try the climb off Mountain Ave that starts with the rt 22 overpass. Take the first left at Middlebrook rd and then the first right up Washington Ave., which will bring you to Hillcrest. If you are coming from Washington Valley Rd. you would go down Vossellar and make a left on Brookside Drive then up Strangle this will bring you down it. There are parts on it that are 15%.

Also , you could try the Ravine Lake area off 202. Douglas to Mountaintop is one of the longer climbs I have found in this area. Douglas Rd is pretty torn up but the nice thing is there are hardly any cars on the ones I mentioned.

borawake_s@yaho

http//bizzness7890.blogspot.com/

njlonghorn

I don't know why I didn't think of that climb. My son has a friend who lives on Washington Avenue, right at the switchback. That's about 8-10 miles from my house, so I could get there and back in about 70-90 minutes, including a walk up to the top the first few times. :-)

I imagine it'd get a bit hairy if a car were to approach right at that switchback. Otherwise, this seems like a reasonably safe climb.

I'm not familiar with this area -- will have to check it out. Thanks for the tips.

Ken Roberts

Toughest climb in Morris county -- found one I hadn't heard of before:
Four Bridges Rd (north from Bartley Rd which goes southwest from Flanders) - see on map
has 250 vertical feet at steepness around 13-14% (or more)

Seemed pretty quiet road. Near some other climbs . . . connects with Drakestown Rd (2nd toughest in Morris county?) near Tinc + Naughright.
Here's my list for Morris county

Ken

JunkYardBike

That's my neighborhood. Interesting that North Four Bridges has a steeper section; both Drakestown and Tinc seem more challenging to me (on my 30/29).

Flanders Drakestown is very short, but fairly steep. Pavement is a bit rough going up, and traffic is heavy (relative to the area) with a blind curve. Stephens Mill Road is also right there. Not as steep, but much longer than some climbs in the area.

You might also try Drakestown Road from the West. It crosses 46 at a sorta circle, so not too tough to navigate. I rode the section just south of 46 once long ago, and it seemed steep, but I've since improved my conditioning. Again, a bit scary with traffic (but usually fairly quiet midday) and blind curves as there's a development at the top of the hill.

Not too far away, there's also Firetower Road with a decent climb, left on Lozier, right on Budd Lake Heights Road, becomes Crease which is a steady low grade climb until the end with a fairly steep climb, but probably not top tier.

Ken Roberts

nice "review" of the climbs in that area -- somebody who lives nearby will find it very helpful - (I don't know when I'll be up around there again)

I think Drakestown does have one short section which is steeper than anything on Four Bridges -- so if you burn out your leg muscles on that section, then the rest of Drakestown would feel pretty hard. (the other possibility is that my measurements of Four Bridges are off -- so make your own).

Anyway someone pointed out that I was wrong: Mt Lebanon Rd is tougher than either Four Bridges or Drakestown. I'd forgotten about Mt Lebanon because it's way down in the southwest corner of Morris county, almost in Hunterdon county -- see on map.

Ken

njlonghorn

Thanks for the tip! I went up there today, and really enjoyed the ride. I only rode Douglas Avenue itself (not Douglas Road, btw, which is also in the area but is much flatter). Douglas was about all I could handle, partly because it was my 3d climb of the day (excuses, excuses...). The 340 ft elev. gain was the most I've ever done in one climb, but I made it without toooo much trouble.

Your suggestion was to continue on to Mountaintop, which would require a right turn onto Post Kernel Road. Going that way, the total elevation gain would be 530 ft. over 2.3 miles. I think I could have made it, but I had to get home before the storm came in.

Another option would be to start on Douglas Avenue then Post Kernel Road, but turn off at Boulderwood
Drive. If you go that way, based on the maps, it looks like it would be 590 ft over 2.3 miles.

I have a new goal! Thanks again.

noonito

Just out of curiosity, what kind of gearing do all of you who climb NJ hills use? Triple, double, compact, etc.

JunkYardBike

Update: I tried this again today, and I doubt there's even a 10% grade on any section of it. The steepest part is coming from Mine Hill Road on the north side of 46. It is a decent climb, but I was able to ride it on 42/26 combo, with some standing. Many of the steeper hills have me dropping into my granny.

JunkYardBike

I ride a triple because I like going longer distances and I like my knees. I'm generally not a masher unless I go on a shorter ride, and I don't really do typical fitness training rides.

I'm at about 1000 feet elevation, and I'll often descend into valleys that are about 200 ft elevation. When I return home after 50+ miles, I want the granny up the steepest grades.

lukasz

Hey Ken - I thought this might be good to put on your website regarding Vista Maria Rd. I was just down it yesterday and upon making a left onto Clark rd I found the road surface to be Chip Seal, which continued all the way onto Hansburg Rd to Rt 52. Considering the turns and grades on these roads it was quite the experience to hit that surface.

Ken Roberts

fresh gravel on steep hills:

Fiddlers Elbow
got fresh stone in the last couple of weeks -- so you might want to avoid it for a month or so until the car traffic packs it down -- unless you want to add the special challenge of skidding on loose stones to the climb (or imagine it would be even more exciting on descent).The new stone is pretty coarse (not surprising for such a steep hill) - so I think Fiddlers Elbow will be even harder to climb up for the next few years.

Kain Rd
just north across the border into NY state by 17A (one of the few NY hills worthy of mention with the steep NJ hills) - got fresh gravel a couple of months ago, seems fairly well packed now. I was going to ride it a couple of weeks ago, but I was too thrashed pushing it on Hidden Valley and Breakneck.

Vista Maria
the one I know by that name is nowhere near New Jersey. I'm not putting a note on very steep NY hills on Bike Hudson Valley because first, I'll guess in a month or so I'd have to change it to a different note. Second, because riders just have to know that going down a very steep hill you have to expect the unexpected -- fresh gravel is only one of the hazards. Try handling a deer or even a healthy ground hog running in front of your wheel when you're going 38 mph down a hill. Or a fallen log around a curve. Or wet leaves.

My purpose in making lists and descriptions of very steep hill is so people can ride up them, not down them.

Ken

noglider 

A friend of mine just did the Hillier Than Thou ride. He blogged it here. In that blog, someone mentions you, Ken.

bravo106

It was done before. They eliminated Fiddlers from HTT this year. We didn't find out until the morning of the event, though I don't know when the organizers found out. The ride was painful enough as it was.

hunyak

Great read. Thanks for posting it.

lukasz

I think fresh chip seal is a bit more permanent than the hazards you just listed. The only reason I mention it is because you asked for road condition reports on your website. Considering the chip seal extends down a double digit grade onto a 55 mph road, I just thought people might want to know. And yeah, Vista Maria is not fun to descend and I wish I'd taken another route. I prefer high-speed corners, not 90 degree plus death zones.

njlonghorn

Over the past month or so (with a break in the middle because I was sick), I've been trying to tick off some of the climbs Ken Roberts recommends for Somerset County. Here's my take on them:

This is a great ride -- well-maintained streets -- quiet, back-woods atmosphere -- varying steepness ranging from nearly flat for short stretches to 10+% for stretches.

The first half of this is the same as Clark fr Campbell, above. The second half is very similar, and ends up at the same spot, but this route is a tiny bit tougher because the steepest section is steeper.

This would be a nice climb for variety's sake because, unlike the other climbs in the area, it maintains a steady grade of roughly 6% for most of its length. Unfortunately, it hasn't been repaved in forever, and there are countless gouges, potholes, etc. Not worth the pounding, so I won't ride it again until it gets repaved. Descent would be next to impossible.

Next on my list. This goes up the same hill as Campbell / Clark / Peachcroft, but from a different angle.

Note -- Clark and Penn Brook both start from Lake Road, which runs along a beautiful lake created by a dam on the river (North Branch of Raritan River, I think). Coming up the road from the south, you pass the dam/waterfall first, then you ride alongside the lake. It is very picturesque, and itself worth the trip to the area.

Dannihilator

I find your site very useful.

HenryL

To the poster who lives in Bridgewater, there are quite a few climbs close to you to keep you busy.

In the Mountainville area try Bissell Road, not awfull in terms of steep but a sustained climb

Also look for Philower Road or Longview Road (which I haven't gone up yet.) Coming down Longview it felt like the rear wheel was going to lift off.

Finally off of Rockaway is Still Hollow Road. A left if you are going up Rockaway, gets you near the top of Bissell.

Over at Pottersville you can try climbing Hollow Brook from Fairmont to Old Turnpike Road or
from Pottersville climb Black River Road. Both are low traffic and "interesting"

If you have tried Douglas move on up 202 and try Mt Harmony Road. The switchback at the begining is sweet and there is a pitch at the end next to the church you will enjoy. I believe the church provides services for cyclists who die trying.

These combinations are fun and you can cobble together significant climbing without traveling too far.

My buddies and I regularly ride these, look for the "FATMEN" out of Scotch Plains, easily recognized red jerseys with a distinctive logo.

njlonghorn

I wasn't aware of that area, but it does look good on the map. Another good hill in the area appears to be Parsonage Lot Road. Do you know anything about that one?

These don't look quite as tough as the first ones, but have the distinct advantage of being closer to me. :-D

I just went climbed in that area this morning, and went down Mt. Harmony. I was thinking it seemed tougher than the other ways up Mine Mtn., and your comments seem to bear that out. Given that I have to use my granny to get up the other routes, I think I'll save Mt Harmony Rd for a later date.

I'll keep my eyes open for you guys.

Thanks for the scoop.

HenryL

Douglas Road has been paved. Of course this removes all the charm in this climb, no more picking your way around the various potholes but the decent is SWEET. Smooth pavement all the way to 202. Try it before the gas company tears it up.

bravo106

Thanks for the heads up. The weather looks promising for this Saturday, and I was thinking of riding up that way to hit Douglas after reading about it here.