Northstar,

For something quick and close by, I like the hill on West River Road just under the Franklin Av. Bridge. It's a decent enough grade and takes me over 2 min. to go up.

Further away, there's the Smith Av. (High Bridge) hill in St. Paul that is a good challenge, esp. if you take the road all the way up to the crest of the hill. This one is super fun to ride down!

And if you're in that area, there's the Ohio st. hill, which is shorter and steep.

Another close one is the one that goes down to the Ford dam on West River Road. This one is great to just go up and down, since there's rarely any traffic. I've seen people doing walking repeats there, too.

If you want a long hill, try Upper Afton Road in St. Paul (Woodbury?) which I just did today and boy do my legs know it!

Have fun! And if you don't already have a riding group, think about going on one of the group rides out of NOW Bikes on Snelling in St. Paul, Tuesdays at 6 pm and Saturdays at 8 am. They're very welcoming and it's a good way to learn new routes.

Kate