Are There Any Hills On This Ride?

Photo of Mt Everest.

Not a part of this ride.


This is probably the most common question we get for all of our events:


“Are there any hills on this ride?”


No.


Yes.


Maybe.


Who wants to know?


One of the reasons the Ride to Montauk is so popular is that it is one of THE flattest rides in the entire area.  


You should just take my word for that, because I am mostly good and frequently tell the truth.


Having said that, we’ve learned over the years that one person’s “gentle rise in the road” is another person’s “monster nightmare hill”.


So how to explain how hilly any route is as honestly as possible?  


Here’s some info that we hope will help.  


Below is a chart showing the elevation changes and hills all along the entire 155-mile Ride to Montauk route, starting with Penn Station on the far left of the chart at the 0.0 mark and ending at Montauk finish line on the far right at the 155-mile mark (that is, past the 145-mile mark...).

Ride to Montauk Route


Are you pedaling a shorter distance than 155 miles?  You’re on the same route as the 155s -- you just start pedaling closer to the Montauk finish line.  (If that sounds crazy just pretend that I know what I’m talking about here...)


So for the 108-mile route you are on the exact same route as the 155-mile rideres... you just skip the first 47 miles. That means that you start pedaling at ABOUT the 47-mile mark on the chart above.


For the 73-mile route you start at ABOUT the 77 mile mark.


The 50-mile route starts at ABOUT the 105-mile mark.


The 25-mile route starts at ABOUT the 130-mile mark.


The only real hill of the entire ride is right before the finish line (no fair!) near Hither Hills State Park and that hill is nothing to write home about because you're a Marine kid and you were biting the heads off of nails while other kids were sucking on cotton candy.


VITAL: before anyone goes completely ape, note that THE largest hill on the entire ride is 161 feet high -- not exactly Mt. Kilimanjaro.  So the hardest part of the ride is pedaling uphill about 161 feet.  No big deal!  If you’re still worried, read our hill climbing tips at the bottom of this page.


Elevation charts can be confusing to read.  To make it easier, compare the Ride to Montauk route above to this very popular ride -- the bike loop around Central Park:

The Loop in Central Park, NY




or the loop around Prospect Park in Brooklyn:

The Loop Around Prospect Park in Brooklyn, NY


Hope this helps explain why The Ride to Montauk really is one of the flattest ride around.


If you don’t live near Central Park or Prospect Park but you know of another route that is VERY popular that you’d like to see here, please let me know and we’ll do our best.


HILL CLIMBING TIPS FOR BEGINNERS


SO... if you are a beginner cyclist, can you handle the hills on this ride?


YES. DEFINITELY.


Here’s how:


Get in your easiest gear. Not sure which gear is your easiest? While you are pedaling, shift one gear lever. Did that make it easier or harder to pedal? Harder? No problem! Shift it back the other direction to make it easier. Keep moving the shift lever in that easier direction until you run out of gears. Do that with BOTH of your shift levers.


Better, yes? Yes!


Relax.   When people struggle going up a big hill it's often not that it's so difficult; it's that they get antsy. Take your time. Not to worry.


Don’t look at the top of the hill in the distance -- it’ll only make you cry. Look JUST far enough ahead of you (five feet?) so you don’t run in to a tree.


If anyone passes you while you are going up a hill, remember that there are probably a dozen things you can do better than them.


If you pass someone else while going uphill, stay humble -- there are probably a dozen things they can do better than you.


BONUS EXTRA: Childish, immature hill-climbing trick -- if you see someone in front of you struggling up a hill, summon all of your remaining strength, pedal as fast as you can for just a bit, and then COAST past them, going UPHILL!  Look as relaxed as you can as you go by.  


(What’s that?  We TOLD you this was childish and immature...)