# Your most enjoyable climbs and descents?



## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

What New England area climbs and descents do you find the most enjoyable? Steep and long, easy and not so long, somewhere between…..doesn’t matter. Just whatever you find the most fun.

I’m kind of at the point where I’ve ridden many of the “usual suspects” and hoping to learn some other climbs and descents to try. Also thought such thread could serve as a decent list to choose from for everyone. Feel free to throw in anything in Up-State NY and Southern Quebec. 

For me:

Climb – Jefferson Notch road in the NH White Mountains. I’m not really into gravel roads per se but there’s just something really enjoyable about suffering up quiet gravel road that gets you over 3,000 feet though the woods. I think it’s the highest public road in the state and best of all not many cars seem to know about it.

Descent - Kanc from west to east. Curvy enough to make it interesting but straight enough so you can let it go and not worry. Fast, but no so fast that you can’t look up for a moment and enjoy the spectacular views.


Honorable mention for both climbs and decent would go to Evans Notch in the Whites. I’m not really sure why because it’s nothing special compared to many other options. I suppose it’s the peace and quiet of the road. I’ve definitely seen more deer than cars on this road and it’s not like I’ve see a lot of deer there.

Curious to hear what your most enjoyable are.


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## PCM (May 27, 2004)

Here's my list:

Climbs:
Crawford Notch
Smugglers Notch
Greylock from the south (north side is brutal)
Mt. Tom in Mass from the east - short but nicely paved

Descents:
All of the above although watch for the rumble strip ped crossings on Greylock


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

Great, thanks. Two to put on my to do list. I haven't been up Greylock or Mt Tom.

I really like Smugglers Notch too. I've only done it in the direct where you'd finish heading towards Stowe.


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## cyclesport45 (Dec 10, 2007)

Worst descent; Ascutney. Never want to do that again. So steep, twisty, and with frost heaves, there were spots going down that I didn't think I could pull the brake levers hard enough to keep from flying off the road (Imagine braking as hard as you can, and STILL doing a switchback at 20+mph). By the time I got down, my forearms were completely cramped.

There's so many local little ups and downs in New England. . . Right in my back yard here in Eastern MA, there's Oak Hill Rd in Littleton/Harvard. Any local favorites of yours?


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

cyclesport45 said:


> There's so many local little ups and downs in New England. . . Right in my back yard here in Eastern MA, there's Oak Hill Rd in Littleton/Harvard. *Any local favorites of yours?*


I like Oak Hill, but I've done it so many times that it's kind of blah for me alone now. It's still really fun to do with a group of similar ability and challenge each other though.

Let's see, there's a few other hills in that area that I like. Pinnicle Hill is good. Also, rather than taking a right on to Oak Hill when you leave Littleton Depot go straight then take a right, and that brings you to what's called Old School Street (I think) and that will join with Oak Hill eventually. It's a good alternative to Oak Hill for a change. The Old School street section is short but really steep.
If you know Oak Hill I assume you know Nagog too. That's fun.

A bit further west, there's a nice stretch of rt 119 that goes by Willard Brook state park just before Ashby. (rt 119 really sucks East of there but that section is fine to ride on) 
Also, I can't remember the road name or really tell you exactly where but there's a really long hill (by area standards) that goes from near Townsend north to, or close to, New Hampshire.

If you live near Boston for "training" or hill repeats Park Ave and Eastern Ave in Arlington are pretty good.


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## JasonB176 (Aug 18, 2011)

This thread is exactly my cup of tea as I love challenging ascents and descents. Since you're looking for some that may be overlooked, I've highlighted two I did last summer.

*Windham Hill Road* that connects route 11 to route 30 in Vermont. I did it from north to south which provided the higher grades on the descent on the second half topping out at 15%. It's definitely a descent filled with adrenaline, twisty and steep but there's little traffic on the road and the pavement is good. Just be cognizant that it ends on a very steep section at a T-junction on route 30. I'm sure riding it the other way would be lots of fun too. 


*Route 100 between route 30 and the Mount Snow ski area*. It's another twisty road. The pavement isn't perfect but not horrendous either. Very little traffic.


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

Awesome, thanks Jason. 
I'm excited to hear about Windham Hill road. Not just that it's fun but also because connecting 11 and 30 in that area will be very usefull for route planning. 

What a coincidence......I rode your second pick for the first time this past Sunday and was going to add it to this thread as a favorite. 
I loved it. What a blast that was and can't wait to ride that stretch again.


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## JasonB176 (Aug 18, 2011)

Jay Strongbow said:


> Awesome, thanks Jason.
> I'm excited to hear about Windham Hill road. Not just that it's fun but also because connecting 11 and 30 in that area will be very usefull for route planning.
> 
> What a coincidence......I rode your second pick for the first time this past Sunday and was going to add it to this thread as a favorite.
> I loved it. What a blast that was and can't wait to ride that stretch again.


Cool! Did you ride it one way or out and back? I did it out and back so got a terrific climb and descent.

There's a good chance I'll be camping again at the Bald Mountain campground this summer so I'm looking forward to more riding in that area. In fact, I've already mapped out a planned route some of which I did by car and it features a lot of climbing on decent roads:
Bald Mountain option 3 - A bike ride in Townshend, VT


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

JasonB176 said:


> Cool! Did you ride it one way or out and back? I did it out and back so got a terrific climb and descent.


I got to the top of Mt Snow from the other side by taking 100 from rt 9. Also a decent climb from that side but definitely not nearly as great as the north side would be. Based on how I felt going down that must be one heck of a climb also. Your out and back must have been great.

All together it was quite a ride actually. I hit the rt 9/Hogback climb at the first sign of daylight and it was 40 degrees (guessing) and a 20 mph wind right in my face and this was the day after having done a really hard 60 mile group ride so legs were feeling dead. 
For for first mile or so in my imagination riding up Hogback under these circumstances meant I was badass. After that wore off and I could see what looked like storm clouds in the direction of New York I realized the truth was that I was a moron and wished I'd waited for it to warm up or planned another route. Not fun at all and actually considered turning back. Then the descent didn't offer much reward because of the strong headwind.

When I took the 90 degree turn on to rt 100 in Wilmington I expected a cross wind but to my suprise it was a nice tail wind. 100 starts flat and very scenic so between that and the nice tail wind things were looking up.
By the time I got to the climbing part my attituded and legs had both improved drastically. That climb from that side is somewhat significant but nothing to write home about. It's gradual for a long ways then gets pretty steep for maybe 1/4 mile just befor the top.

Then down the other side which, as referenced earlier, was a blast.

By the time I got to Jamaica and stopped for a snack it was warm and sunny and the early morning suffering was a distant memory. Then rt. 30 to just North of Brattleboro to my car was a blast too. I wouldn't call it a descent but it trends downhill so it's a fast section and a great way to end a ride.


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## saf-t (Sep 24, 2008)

Jay Strongbow said:


> If you live near Boston for "training" or hill repeats Park Ave and Eastern Ave in Arlington are pretty good.


And don't forget Clifton St. coming out of Belmont Center.....


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## JasonB176 (Aug 18, 2011)

cyclesport45 said:


> There's so many local little ups and downs in New England. . . Right in my back yard here in Eastern MA, there's Oak Hill Rd in Littleton/Harvard. Any local favorites of yours?


Is Oak Hill Road safe to go all out on the descent? If so, what speeds can be reached? I have a local hill in Danvers that I top out at 47 on.


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## jrf11 (Sep 4, 2009)

depends on which oak hill road. Oak Hill rd in Harvard is a short punchy climb out of Harvard center up to Carlson Orchard. The road is kind of rough and the descent would be short. I wouldn't try going all out on it. It ends in a stop sign. The climb into Harvard from Littleton is also referred to as Oak Hill Rd or OLd Littleton rd. It is about a 2.5 mile climb averaging around 3% i think. Its a great, long, fast descent but not steep. The pavement in the last half mile into Littleton is kind of rough. 

To me the nicest descent in Harvard is Stow Rd staring at 110 and Slough Rd and going all the way under rt 495. The road is beautiful and the sight lines are very good. You can really move along. Watch out for people walking. Still River rd is a fast descent too.

Another nice climb in Harvard is Vaughn hill rd.


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## spoke2spoon (Aug 13, 2009)

JasonB176 said:


> This thread is exactly my cup of tea as I love challenging ascents and descents. Since you're looking for some that may be overlooked, I've highlighted two I did last summer.
> 
> *Route 100 between route 30 and the Mount Snow ski area*. It's another twisty road. The pavement isn't perfect but not horrendous either. Very little traffic.


Fantastic thread - I am also always looking for great climbs in the area. Also I tend to try to make a route into a loop. So looking at your stretch of Rt 100 between Rt 30 and Mt Snow, it seems that there is a road that parallels Rt 100 called West Jamaica Rd that goes to Stratton. Any info on how rideable that stretch of road is?


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## shakeshakeshake (Aug 2, 2013)

I'm in the Upper Valley VT and ride mostly just locally, haven't done any of the Gaps yet but this is a pretty cool road to climb Strava Segment | East Mountain Road (KSR)

It's only rated a 3 but it feels much harder than all the 2s I've done. The road surface is pretty nice so you could go super fast descending if you wanted. 

This little section Strava Segment | Gibbs Tolsdorf is a lot of fun to descend, nice surface, enclosed in trees and some nice turns where its not so steep you have to brake at any point but can just flow down it.


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## evs (Feb 18, 2004)

Thanks for the tips. I'm working in Littleton and come spring time it will be nice to get out of work and do a nice training ride out that way.Looking forward to it.


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## evs (Feb 18, 2004)

Grafton,Ma has some nice steep hills. If you're interested here's a training ride I do once in awhile to get some steep stuff in. If anyone wants to try it, Im happy to be a tour guide. Doing these hills with company is always a welcome thing. 


Grafton36 in Mendon, MA | MapMyRide


evs (love them hills)


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## JasonB176 (Aug 18, 2011)

evs said:


> Grafton,Ma has some nice steep hills. If you're interested here's a training ride I do once in awhile to get some steep stuff in. If anyone wants to try it, Im happy to be a tour guide. Doing these hills with company is always a welcome thing.
> 
> Evan Still in Hopedale, MA | Cycling Social Network | MapMyRide
> 
> evs (love them hills)


When I click on the link, I get 72.76, 60.23, 39.91 and 40.33 routes listed. Is the 60.23 one the Grafton route? That 79.46 3 Notch Loop looks great. I've heard that bike path can be really busy though. How did you find it?


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## evs (Feb 18, 2004)

Fixed, sorry about that. The route was selected for friends onlh. When I cut and pasted the link it just put in my profile page. I made it public and it's all good now.


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## evs (Feb 18, 2004)

When I went up and did that loop in was in June before the 4th of July vacationers. Plus I did it around 9am and there was nobody on the trail. Its so nice because its covered in trees and cool. If you ride it from Cannon Mt down to Lincoln, it's quite a thrill flying down through the trees. I had a big deer run across in front of me. That was pretty cool


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## Nashua (Aug 1, 2007)

Bear mountain, you can push hard up and down. passaconway, nice and shady, Tripoli rd, sugar hill, mt agazziz.


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## Skyhawke (Feb 20, 2014)

Cadillac mountain for me.

Lots of nice riding on the island (Mt Desert) and a great scenic climb to boot. Only thing is, I've never done it with a road bike, always a mountain bike. I hope to change that this year.


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

Hey Nashua (or anyone who knows), Am I correct that Tripoli Road is dirt? If so did you find a need for bigger/stronger tires than you usually use? 

Just discovered rt 123 between Drewsville and Marlowe NH recently. Great road as was 123a. 123a is pretty rough with cracks and potholes but that's more than made up for by the fact there were almost literally no cars and the quiet scenery. 

I hit the 123 climb about 70 miles into the ride, tired, and not expecting a climb.....so maybe it's not as significant as it seemed and I was just off guard but it seemed like no joke to me.
If you'd have to drive far to get there you may as well go to the Whites or Vermont but if that area is close definitley check out rt. 123 and 123a.


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## JasonB176 (Aug 18, 2011)

Jay Strongbow said:


> Hey Nashua (or anyone who knows), Am I correct that Tripoli Road is dirt? If so did you find a need for bigger/stronger tires than you usually use?
> 
> Just discovered rt 123 between Drewsville and Marlowe NH recently. Great road as was 123a. 123a is pretty rough with cracks and potholes but that's more than made up for by the fact there were almost literally no cars and the quiet scenery.
> 
> ...


Last summer I camped at Bald Mountain campground near the Townsend, VT state forest. I've described earlier in this thread the two rides I did last year.

I'm hoping to camp there again in July and based on your recommendation, planned a route from the campground that would include 123 and 123A as you describe. It's a bit long for me at over 82 miles but there are no drastic hills, at least compared to what I did last year. Please take a look at the route:
Townsend, VT - route 123 - A bike ride in Townshend, VT

If I do ride it, I was thinking of doing the 123A/123 loop clockwise. How did you ride it? From what I can see, the highest grade on the ascent would be 7.5 and the highest on the descent would be 8.5% riding it that way.


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

JasonB176 said:


> Townsend, VT - route 123 - A bike ride in Townshend, VT
> 
> If I do ride it, I was thinking of doing the 123A/123 loop clockwise. How did you ride it? From what I can see, the highest grade on the ascent would be 7.5 and the highest on the descent would be 8.5% riding it that way.


I'm only familiar with the part East of mile 25 (so almost all the NH part and none of the VT roads) but that looks like a good plan to me.

I did the loop counter-clockwise but I think your thought to do it clockwise will be the better way. That's definitely what I'll do next time. The reason being that 123a is pretty rough so going the direction it trends up makes the most sense because speed would be low so potholes and cracks no problem. And 123 (no A) is in good shape for the most part so it would make sense to be going down on that road because you could open it up and not worry about cracks and holes as much as going down 123a.

There's a decent chance I'll do that 123a/123 loop section again before July and it'll be clockwise......if I do and that changes what I said above I'll try and remember to post that here.


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## JasonB176 (Aug 18, 2011)

I've been enjoying exploring more new territory in central MA. I rode from Charlton south into CT yesterday and took Muggett Hill road for the first time. It's an impressive climb and descent:








There are some gentle curves but the pavement is very good. I topped out at 49MPH. A word of caution though. There is a school nearby and I'm sure way more traffic midweek. I wouldn't recommend going all out during those times. On a Sunday morning, there was very little traffic.

On Saturday, I explored some hills off route 67 some of which ended up turning into dirt. Coy Hill road is great for a hill workout but has lousy pavement even before it turns to dirt so the descent wasn't pleasant. However, on the other side of 67, I took East road which turns into Long Hill road and comes out on route 148. This was my second time riding this section and it's fantastic. There are some nice sections for high speed twists:








It's great having in-laws that live in such nice cycling country! It's refreshing to explore new areas.


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

Cool. Thanks for mentioning it. I've never cycled the area but want to check it out.

I did a little exploring this weekend too.

From Brattleboro VT I took rt 9 west then 100 South to Rt 8 North which brought me back to rt 9 then hooked up with 100 North over Mt. Snow to 30 back to Brat.

Most of the route has been mentioned before but the rt. 100 and 8 loop south of 9 was new to me. 
The Rt 8 section has a pretty serious climb and the road is really nice. Not super long but tough. I don't know the grade but spent considerable time climbing at 4-5 MPH. It was also nice that 8 conects back with 9 at a high point so going back to Wilmington to get 100 North is a nice decent. I'm thinking next time I'll take 8 in the other direction to enjoy the decent and instead of looping back to 9 on 100 and getting extra milage by going North of 9 I'll continue South into Mass.

Also did some riding around Harrisville/Dublin/Hancock NH. Nothing in particular stands out but all together the area made for a really nice ride. It's very hilly but no one hill stands out.


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## taodemon (Mar 17, 2014)

I hate to necro this thread but I didn't want to start a new one. 

My favorite descent in MA is the mohawk descent on rte 2. It is part of the greylock century and while I hate all the climbing I'll go back every year just for this descent. If it wasn't such a drive from where I lived I would love to do it more often.
https://www.strava.com/segments/1697760

Rindge road descent is another nice one (good climb in the opposite direction too).
https://www.strava.com/segments/13119229

Willard Brook State forest descent (nice climb too).
https://www.strava.com/segments/7609551

From the Center of Princeton there are 3 pretty good descents.
62 down to 140
https://www.strava.com/segments/676549
31 South to manning
https://www.strava.com/segments/4257218
31 North to 140
https://www.strava.com/segments/1081034

The Shutesbury road descent is one I did for the first time this year during the Kings tour of Quabbin double metric. It has some curves to keep things interesting but they also limit visibility some. It was a windy day and we had the misfortune of having a pretty large tree branch that had fallen across the whole road. I was out front and rounded one of the curves at 36mph only see the tree branch. I didn't have time to yell or anything, just pull up. Somehow I managed to hop it. My friend behind me tried and didn't make it but his misfortune probably saved everyone behind him by moving the branch enough that the others were able to just make it by on the left side of the on-coming lane. Luckily there were no cars coming in either direction at the time. My friend suffered a broken collar bone but it could have ended a lot worse. I'm still not quite sure how I cleared it and was told my friend was up in the air upside down with his bike above him. 
Fun descent though, but have to be careful.
https://www.strava.com/segments/2518479

There are others but those are probably the more memorable ones for me. 

As a disclaimer, my "nice climbs" are ones that are scenic and aren't overly steep. I could make a longer list of climbs I find miserable though. 

One more descent from KToQ that was overshadowed by the Shutesbury incident but a good one none the less. The Wendell Depot Rd descent.
https://www.strava.com/segments/4364775


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## GKSki (Nov 12, 2014)

You don't have to go far north in New Hampshire to catch the triumvirate of Nippo Lake, Parker Mountain and Catamount. Pro Hill in Amesbury, MA for a local wall.


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

Just yesterday I stumbled upon Hinman Settler Road between Derby and Evansville VT. It's a long steady climb North to South, took a 20 min. Break at the top simply because the view was so amazing. I don't have a computer but couldn't get pressure on the pedals with 50x11 so I'd guess low 40s mph going down....on gravel. Awesome climb, descent especially and bonus points for the spectacular view on top. Pretty good shape by gravel standards but glad I had 33mm tires so I didn't have to baby the descent.


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## zipp2001 (Feb 24, 2007)

Mt. Greylock is a yearly visit for me, but I park above North Adams so you get a descent and then climb the steeper side. Once climbed it's a fast descent then a climb back up to the car. 

Mt Wachusett is in my back yard so I hit it often and descent down rte. 62 into Sterling, it's also a good mix of climbing if you take rte. 62 from Sterling to the Mt.

When I ride to Milford NH I love the climb to Pack Mt. I believe it's rte. 101 but I could be wrong.


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## JasonB176 (Aug 18, 2011)

GKSki said:


> You don't have to go far north in New Hampshire to catch the triumvirate of Nippo Lake, Parker Mountain and Catamount. Pro Hill in Amesbury, MA for a local wall.


I've done Parker Mountain (route 126) a bunch of times. I like how someone painted on the road the word "hill" with an arrow before the climbing starts and then painted "you made it" at the top. It's only about .8 mile of steep climbing but it's a great workout and the descent usually brings tops speeds of 50 or 51. It's been repaved recently as well.


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