Old 04-18-07, 10:50 AM
  #9  
nun
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Originally Posted by Zalafan
Having been across the state a few times by BR 17 and 5 alike, I would suggest 17 over 5. It meanders, making for a few extra miles. However, you know what meandering means: Hills. Scenery. Buffalo to Syracuse by 5 offers little in the way of either as compared to 17. Even after Syracuse, there is room for improvement.

BR 5 is much more straightforward than BR 17, as BR 17 does not follow a certain car road (17 is a highway, soon to become I-87). Both pass through a few cities, 5 having more (Buffalo, Syracuse, Utica, Albany) than 17 (Elmira, Corning, Binghamton), but I daresay that 17's cities are far lovlier and more bike-conducive than 5's (especially Utica, which is a terror). Around Binghamton, BR 17 includes an optional little northern digression that takes you through what I feel to be some of Upstate New York's finest cycling outside of the Catskills or Adirondacks (note bias: I am a one-time Binghamton resident). 17 also gives you the option of heading through the Catskills and possibly the Hudson River region, both of which offer spectacular scenery (but, again, more hills).

Obviously, 17 is easier to pick up right out of Erie, while 5 takes you more directly to (northern) Mass at its terminus.

Both routes offer fine lanes, though I would trust 5's more. They are very spacious and I once made the trip from Buffalo to Syracuse in the dark without much worry. 17's are fine too, if perhaps less spacious.

I vote for 17. That's my own position; I am willing to endure the hills for the scenery they provide, and let me tell you, it is much, much better on 17 on that front.

Thanks for the great descriptions of the routes I'll check them out this summer, but an option for me might be 17 up to the Binghamton/Deposit area then head NW to Catskil and from there head towards Northampton

Last edited by nun; 04-18-07 at 11:03 AM.
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