I am looking to get out on some rollers near NYC. Any suggestions? I am not looking for a suicide ride, just a modest challenge for someone who has only been riding flat (unless the bunny slope in prospect park counts) all summer and wants to kick it up a notch.

How about repeating that hill over and over again until you're sick and tired. Or try to climb it at 30mph.
Actually I think the climb UP 3rd street from 4th avenue to 9th avenue is actually steeper and longer than the hill in the park itself.

come ride with me in staten island...loaded with hills!

How about the belt parkway path, youll have to go over tons of over passes, and if thats not enough for you, try the cross bay or marine park bridges.

The belt parkway path is flat?

also upper manhattan/bronx around GWB and riverside park..tons of hills and lots of riders... I go there weekends..if that aint enough, just keep going north

Around Knapp street through Crossbay Boulavard, there are a lot of over passes u have to climb

You consider overpasses "climbs"?

Hey for me they are

Those things you can almost coast over.
For a good hill, try going along 4th avenue and on 46th street, ride up to 7th avenue, then coast back down and repeat.

i was a 4th ave a few weeks ago and i had 3-4 avenues of climbing to do

Go over the GW Bridge and go north. There are plenty of hills just over the bridge and the riding is pretty good. You won't be alone there either, lots of cyclists and club rides go up there. Piermont, NY is a common destination, but just riding around Englewood/Tenafly can be a killer.

Within the city, Kingsbridge Road, from the deegan up to the Concourse is a pretty good hill. There are others too in N. Manhattan and da Bronx.

Also try taking Metro North up the Harlem line to Wassaic, and you'll find yourself in the Berkshires, plenty of hills there, and the rail trail which is almost completely flat for when you get tired.

Funny thing about that hill in Prospect Park though. No matter how many other hills I ride, that one still gets me. It must be steeper and longer than I think. The hill in Central Park doesn't seem as big.

I think the PP hill is long, which makes it tough. I have been riding loops in the park on my fixed gear and I actually find it easier because I just power up it. It used to exhaust me on my road bike. Very strange. I will check out the other side of the GWB once I start running a geared bike again!

the PP hill is tricky because it levels off a little then comes back to get you. the best way i've learned to approach it is to divide the hill into thirds. 1/3 is fast spinning, 1/3 is out of the saddle, and the last 1/3 is back to fast spinning. my biggest challenge is to not wipe myself out completely on the hill, so now i'm focusing on accelerating at the top and into the downhill parts. i have a natural desire to want to coast after the hill.

Take a vacation with your bike in Seattle. Or, closer to home, in the Catskill or Adirondack mtns...

i remeber when i got my bike alittle over a month ago, i had the hardest time climbing that hill, now i can do it pretty easily. i usually need a slip of water before the real steep part near the top. i can usually do 14mph on that hill. how about you guys? what are your speeds up the hill?

I usually take a sip of water by the zoo during that straight way cause that seems to be slightly downhill. I can't imagine cranking up the hill then in the middle of it all reaching down to get some water. I usually find a gear where I can be at 120rpm at 20mph on the flat portion then use that going up the hill. The easiest way is to pace yourself until the 2nd turn then you can really crank it cause you know it'll be over soon. Speed usually depends on the wind, no wind i do about 18-19, with a headwind it's around 17, tailwind, the fastest was 21 for the first half then 23 for the 2nd half.

Take New Jersey Transit to Morris County. There are plenty of killer hills in Morris and Sussex Counties.

I usually have a desire to pedal faster after the hill, cause all that built up tension in your legs gets released and I let it fly until I get to the south entrance before the big drop. The easiest part is to ride the park backwards, you get to experience the big downhill going up, which isn't as steep. But then you hit people...

you really should try to do a PP race. i think you'd do better than you think.