Cross NY state



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Andy Kriger

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I am planning a cross NY state ride (Buffalo -> Albany -> NYC). I am interested in mostly following
the Erie Canal with some side trips to the Finger Lakes and anything else worth riding along the way
(nice hill climbs, cool scenery, whatever). I am aware of the Erie Canal Trail and SBR5, however I
am looking for recommendations on other good roads to ride along that route.

For example, around NYC, SBR9 is not so pleasant to ride on (wide shoulders along most of it, but
lots of cars and not so much scenery). I have heard similar things about SBR5 (though maybe things
have changed since the usenet posts that I read). I'd like to have alternatives ready if I want to
mix it up. My ideals are good scenery, low traffic, decent shoulders (in that order
- I ride in NYC, so I can handle traffic, and no shoulders are okay if the traffic isn't too high).

Any suggestions from folks in that area or who have ridden across NY?

thx andy
 
For some route hints, you might want to take a look at: http://www.fanyride.com/

If you want side trips to the Finger Lakes, some nice trips we've enjoyed, and heard others
recommend:

-- Owasco Lake

-- Skaneatles Lake (esp. nice view coming N on east side on Rt 41)

-- the 12 miles on county road 1 - Himrod - Lakemont - Norris - Hazard - Swartout roads on the West
side of Seneca Lake. Of course reaching this takes you a long ways South of your main route -- but
we thought the terrain between Keuka and Seneca Lakes looked promising for some pretty riding.

Riding around Lake Seneca or around Lake Cayuga are great challenges, but might lengthen your trip a
lot. We've also enjoyed riding a big loop in between Seneca and Cayuga.

For more Finger Lakes route ideas, you can try the Maps on the Finger Lake Cycle Club website:
http://www.flcycling.org/ (though I ended up not agreeing with their Skaneatles route)

Ken

"Andy Kriger" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I am planning a cross NY state ride (Buffalo -> Albany -> NYC). I am interested in mostly
> following the Erie Canal with some side trips to the Finger Lakes and anything else worth riding
> along the way (nice hill
climbs,
> cool scenery, whatever). I am aware of the Erie Canal Trail and SBR5,
however
> I am looking for recommendations on other good roads to ride along that route.
>
> For example, around NYC, SBR9 is not so pleasant to ride on (wide
shoulders
> along most of it, but lots of cars and not so much scenery). I have heard similar things about
> SBR5 (though maybe things have changed since the
usenet
> posts that I read). I'd like to have alternatives ready if I want to mix
it
> up. My ideals are good scenery, low traffic, decent shoulders (in that
order
> - I ride in NYC, so I can handle traffic, and no shoulders are okay if the traffic isn't too
> high).
>
> Any suggestions from folks in that area or who have ridden across NY?
>
> thx andy
 
I would follow Bike Route 5/9 only if my goal was to get across NYS asap. If I wanted to see more of
the beautiful countryside of upstate I would get county or area road maps and follow county, local,
and as needed state roads across the state. An example of a good area map is the Jimapco Finger
Lakes region map.

Be aware that in some places SBR5 uses roads that are not cyclist friendly.

Joe

"Andy Kriger" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I am planning a cross NY state ride (Buffalo -> Albany -> NYC). I am interested in mostly
> following the Erie Canal with some side trips to the Finger Lakes and anything else worth riding
> along the way (nice hill
climbs,
> cool scenery, whatever). I am aware of the Erie Canal Trail and SBR5,
however
> I am looking for recommendations on other good roads to ride along that route.
 
On Tue, 05 Aug 2003 00:21:13 GMT, Andy Kriger <[email protected]> wrote:

If you can wait about a year I would suggest trying the FANY ride that occurs in mid July. This
meandering 500 mile ride from Niagara Falls NY to Albany strives to stay on scenic back roads. With
less than 100 riders this ride is far more intimate then some 1000+ state rides so if you choose you
could ride alone but still know you will have sag support.

Before committing to riding 100+ miles on the canal trail I would make a test run to see how you
like it. When I tried it I found the first few miles enjoyable but after about 10 miles it can get
quite monotonous.
 
"Joe" <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:

> I would follow Bike Route 5/9 only if my goal was to get across NYS asap. If I wanted to see more
> of the beautiful countryside of upstate I would get county or area road maps and follow county,
> local, and as needed state roads across the state. An example of a good area map is the Jimapco
> Finger Lakes region map.
>
> Be aware that in some places SBR5 uses roads that are not cyclist friendly.
>
> Joe
>
> "Andy Kriger" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> I am planning a cross NY state ride (Buffalo -> Albany -> NYC). I am interested in mostly
>> following the Erie Canal with some side trips to the Finger Lakes and anything else worth riding
>> along the way (nice hill
> climbs,
>> cool scenery, whatever). I am aware of the Erie Canal Trail and SBR5,
> however
>> I am looking for recommendations on other good roads to ride along that route.
>>
>
>

That's what I figured about SBR5 since 9 is the same way - good for simplicity and wide shoulders
in most parts, but not certainly not a beautiful ride around NYC (compared to what you can get on
other roads).

So I'm looking for suggestions on SRs that people like to ride on...
 
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