Fun Bike route starting from the New York City area

[cityspinner]

Hi, I'm looking for a fun bike trip to take somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 or so miles starting near New York City with great views and good bike paths that don't drop me in the middle of traffic through the whole trip. I'd prefer it if the bike trip was fairly flat if possible.

I'm looking to use this as a gift for my father where we would take a 2 or 3 day adventure together on bikes.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Nate

[Air]

You could follow the route for the NY Century ride though that's just NYC. Here's the thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=335201) and there are some maps and routes posted in there you could follow - lot of the markings will probably be there too.

Lots of people go up to Bear Mountain (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=293387) and beyond. Great views, though you're in traffic for most of it (can take 'river road' which doesn't have traffic but very hilly, only 8 miles or so) but still fairly safe with good sized shoulders.

Another option is to go to Philly. Haven't done it but is on my todo list for '08. Here's one thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=263905) and I've attached a zip that goes from Fort Lee (right next to the George Washington Bridge) to Philly from another thread I can't find.

[Mazaev]

Bear Mountain + flat == does not compute.

You may want to check out the Montauk route and take the train back This is more or less it: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=203345

[cityspinner]

I like the look of the Montauk route. Nice beach path :) Is there an official map somewhere of it (or should I just use the google map)? Do you know of any good hotels at around the 50 or so mile markers?

Theres not a super amount of car traffic on the route is there?

[Air]

Bear Mountain + flat == does not compute.

Ha - missed that part :lol:

[Steve B.]

1) It's NYC, so there's going to be traffic pretty much anywhere you go for at least 30 miles outside the city boundaries. Fact of life, no getting around it. Timing and road choice is critical. Saturday early AM would avoid commuter traffic

2) Long Island is flat. Heading east thru Queens is doable, especially following the LIE service road. You could easily do a nice 2 days out to Montauk and catch the LIRR back to the city. PM me if you want some further directions for LI.

3) Going west over the GW and then north or continuing west is going to see hills. No way around that either.

In reality, the only route that comes to mind in terms of both flat'ish as well as mostly traffic free, is to head up thru the Bronx to Yonkers and pick up the Westchester County - South and North Country Trail(s) to Carmel, NY. It's a rails-trail that starts at Barney Ave. at Saw Mill River Rd. in Yonkers (South County portion), heads 6-1/2 miles north to Elmsford at Rt 119, with a 1 mile or so detour on Rt 9A North to Warehouse Lane (west) and over to the southern terminus of the North County Trail. From there it's about 30 miles or so to Carmel - all on paved path with a section on a well marked shoulder of Rt 100A in Millwood. The section in Putnam County, north of Rt 6 is the Putnam County trail. As it's a rails trail, the gradients are easy, if sometimes long'ish, but not steep (it was the old Putnam Penn. Railroad route to Brewster).

From Carmel, where the trail ends, if you wanted more distance, there are lot's of decent roads to ride on, all with low traffic. Or search for motels and/or B&B's in the Carmel/Mahopac/Brewster area.

Do some Googling of the above trails, as well as the Transportation Alternatives website for links to bike clubs in the Westchester ans Putnam County area's for road routes.

One option is to do a 2 day ride north to somewhere in Putnam County and catch the Metro North commuter railroad back to the city from Wassaic (Northern most station on the Harlem line) or whatever station you desire. A free Bike Pass is required to take bikes on the trains.

Steve B.

[Air]

A free Bike Pass is required to take bikes on the trains.

Steve B.

There is a $5 fee I believe, here's more information (http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/getaways/bikerule.htm) on that. You can't get the permit on the train, you have to get it beforehand either at a window or by mail.

[Mazaev]

I like the look of the Montauk route. Nice beach path :) Is there an official map somewhere of it (or should I just use the google map)? Do you know of any good hotels at around the 50 or so mile markers?

Theres not a super amount of car traffic on the route is there?

I don't think there's an official map out, although I'm sure people have cue sheets left over from the rides there. There should also be leftover markings from last spring. I haven't personally tested the gmaps route. Someone posted it in one of the Montauk century threads before.

Seriously though, does anyone have a cue sheet they could scan? It really is a great ride that also happens to have a tailwind most of the time. Would love to do it myself sometime without having to pay up the...

[zacster]

I ride that I like to do is out to Long Beach LI. It is very flat, on paths a lot of the way, and can probably be stretched to close to 100 miles if you start in Manhattan. I did it from my house in Brooklyn and it was 60 round trip, although it didn't feel it.

I use the Belt Parkway bike path, Cross Bay Blvd, through Rockaway and over the Atlantic Beach bridge into Long Beach. On the way back I use the Marine Park bridge/Flatbush Ave. Watch out for snakes! I hit one on Flatbush Ave bike path earlier this year, a big one too.

[Ken Roberts]

[after lots of helpful ideas] . . . the only route that comes to mind in terms of both flat'ish as well as mostly traffic free, is to head up thru the Bronx to Yonkers and pick up the Westchester County - South and North Country Trail(s) to Carmel, NY.
Yes I think that's about the closest we're going to come to what the original poster asked for.

The main thing that's missing in it (compared to the request) is the "great views" -- until get further north to Pawling and beyond. Like lots of rail trails, the Old Put line has less vehicle traffic, but most of what you see along the way is lots of trees - (which for me gets a little old after the 18723rd maple tree on the same day). I don't think Long Island's gentle riding delivers much better on the views, and surely worse on the traffic.

For "great views" and few hills with limited traffic (except some stretches where it's high-traffic), I think you have to scale back the distance to closer to 30 miles, and just ride the Manhattan Waterfront Greenway. (Or accept serious hills and some vehicle traffic, and ride north up the west side of the Hudson River.
[quote:] From Carmel, where the trail ends, if you wanted more distance, there are lot's of decent roads to ride on, all with low traffic.
But not roads with low traffic which are not hilly. And in my experience there's significant percentage of roads around and north from Carmel and Brewster which do not have low traffic. But still there's some good possibilities with that basic idea.

Ken

[Air]

Seriously though, does anyone have a cue sheet they could scan? It really is a great ride that also happens to have a tailwind most of the time. Would love to do it myself sometime without having to pay up the...

Yup - follow the links I posted above.

[geo8rge]

Take NJT to BayHead (shore line) ride up the shore to Long Branch (last NJT station near the shore), or perhaps south to Atlantic city (I never did that.) After Long Branch you can keep going to Sandy Hook. After that you hit the Atlantic Highlands, so it is a bit of a climb, you can reduce the climb and the scenery by riding the shoulder or rt 36. I suggest you hug the coast (ocean blvd), you may have to walk the bikes up one steep section. After Atlantic Highlands you hit the Henry Hudson bike path, which ends at Matawan (NJT station).

http://www.boblucky.com/Biking/NewJersey/Henryhudson/HHintro.htm

You might want to do the route from long branch to the start of the henry hudson by yourself once before inviting others, just to make sure you know it. Buy a detailed street map, it will clear up allot of things. You may see a road out sign in Atlantic Highlands, it applies to cars not bikes, but be careful anyway.

Plenty of places to eat and stay along the way. Decent number of bike shops. Possible high winds on the shore. My guess is 2 days, unless you want to push it.

[Steve B.]

The Montauk Century is a nice route and is generally off the main roads. It does NOT follow the beach.

In fact, there is no bike route or path along the beach that is continuous in any way in all of Long Island. There is the aforementioned bike path along Jamaica Bay on the Belt Parkway in Brooklyn, that runs from Knapp St. at Emmons Ave. to Howard Beach in Queens, with a side route from the east side of Flatbush to the Marine Parkway bridge.

There are no similar bike paths in Nassau or Suffolk counties along the beach.

Yet.

Steve B.

[Ken Roberts]

The Montauk Century is a nice route and is generally off the main roads.
That's good to know.Once I rode along the north shore of Long Island from Port Jefferson ferry to the Orient Point ferry. My memory is that there were some nice sections, but overall not many views of the water, and lots of miles with substantial vehicle traffic.Now getting back to the original request of this thread for "great views and good bike paths". I think the drift I'm getting is:? views: only whatever "views" Long Island has to offer which are not near the beach . . . which are what?

? bike paths: not much.Seems to me like Steve B's earlier suggestion of riding north toward Carmel does better -- at least it delivers on the "bike paths" part.

Ken

[revolator]

but overall not many views of the water, and lots of miles with substantial vehicle traffic.

You can route a section of the North Shore from about the Glen Cove area, through Bayville, Centre Island, Mill Neck, Coldspring Harbor, up through Lloyds Harbor, back through Northport, Asharoken and Eatons neck.

This is a mix between some bike lanes, but there's still car traffic and rolling hills. Parts of the ride are very scenic, with plenty of water views. String this ride down Suffolk, and you probably have a nice 50 mile route that could be your century as a round trip.

[bktourer1]

The Westchester County has bike maps for the North & South County trails as well as the Bronx River paths. You can get a FREE NYC bicycle map at almost any bike shop. You can ride from Orchard Beach in the Bronx all the way to E 233rd St along paths. and hook up with the BX river path in Eastchester/Tuckahoe that will get you to the Kensico Dam in Valhalla. Check out the Rails to Trails book for rides in NY

Ed

[metronycbike]

take a train from gct to the last stop on the Harlem line start and start your ride up there, you can do a 100 mile going through some very nice scenic rolling hills with less vehicle traffic. nice quaint town up there also.
take train back to nyc.

[otep12]

Maybe you'd like to join the actual Montauk Century (http://www.5bbc.org/montauk/). It's an organized ride complete with SAG vehicles. The 145 miler can be stretched to two days if you don't want to do the whole ride in a day.