I live in Connecticut and my first tour off the safe trails of the Farmington Canal Bicycle Trail, was a 20 mile ride through Guilford and Madison, which went through Hammonaset park. The part I didn't like was that there were so many hills in the begining, but once we got to the park and road a long the coast for the next 10 miles, I forgot all about the hills. It was exciting and lovely. I'm training close by to get better on hills so that I can feel more comfortable. I've only had my bike for 1 month, but we did the ride two weeks ago in an hour and forty minutes. By the way, I've lost 11 pounds in the last month too, what a bonus!