Northeast - NYC Route Advice?

Starting next week we're doing 'summer hours' at work, which means I get to leave at 12:30 on Fridays. So, I'm going to use my newfound free afternoons to do long rides out of the city and escape the monotony of CP.

I've been going to Nyack via 9W every weekend for a while now, but eventually run out of road when I hit a park, which makes for a 65 mile round trip. I'd like to do 70-90 miles on Fridays (and keep that familiar route for Sunday mornings), but I don't know any other routes around here.

I don't have a GPS nor do I know anyone with a car to pick me up if I'm stranded, and I also have a penchant for getting lost, so any suggestions should be fairly idiot proof. I don't mind if it overlaps with my normal route quite a bit, but would like to tack on another 20-30 miles. Thanks in advance for any suggestions you have!

Bear Mountain! There are a couple of turns out of Nyack, but basically you're just continuing 9W north. Check out bikely.com for routes.

Sounds like you're going up broadway in Nyack and not staying on 9W. That path in Nyack Beach State Park is rideable and will take you to Haverstraw, or if you make a left at Landing Road (and don't mind the climb) up to Rockand Lake State Parkand back to 9W. Another possibility is to stay on the east side of the river and ride up to the Bronx where you can catch the Westchester trailway. While mostly flat and car free that can be ridden all the way to Carmel NY, about 65 or 70 miles one way. You might want to look into joining some of the local club rides on the weekends (NYCC or 5BBC) to get an idea of some of the different routes in the area. You don't need to be a member to do rides with the clubs, though membership is not that expensive. I work weekends and generally ride on weekdays, so one thing to be aware of is traffic. It can be heavier on a lot of those roads during the week, especially large trucks. Also instead of 9W you might want to try River Road in the PIP. This runs from Edgewater to Alpine and will reconnect you with 9W. Very little car traffic and very scenic (and hilly).

You can get to the Westchester trailway from Van Cortlandt park by jumping on the sorta hidden unpaved trail. It connects up to the trailway and you can follow it up through Westchester into Putnam county.

Another option is doing a loop of Brooklyn and Queens. Shore Pkwy takes you around Brooklyn and gives you several options including going out to Rockaway/Breezy Point, past the Jamaica Bay Wildlife refuge, and up into Queens. It's not all car free if that matters, but there's enough bike lanes to link together to form a loop.

Thanks for the quick responses guys! And thanks for the link to bikely, noteon, I'll definitely explore what's on there.

Dendawg, where do I turn to stay on 9W (I knew I was doing something wrong!)? I rode with a woman last weekend who was heading out to Bear and I saw her turn off at some point, but it was after we went through Piermont. I'm pretty sure that I turn onto Piermont Ave. (where I usually stop to pee and get water on the way back), then make a left onto what I guess N. Broadway until I hit the park. How do I stay on 9W, and is there anywhere to stop along the way for water?

Where is Landing Road? I'm looking on a map but don't see it... Also, climbs are good!

Finally, what's the PIP? Sounds like a nice ride from your description, but again, I'm severely directionally challenged. To get on River Road would I take a left from the GW and go South?

I've done a few group rides out of the city, but they seemed to involve many twists and turns (a few had 2+ page cue sheets) and as I'm obviously incapable of even staying on one road, I'm sure how helpful that's been. I do want to do more group rides though, so we'll see. Dendawg, is joining NYCC worth it?

Dendawg, where do I turn to stay on 9W (I knew I was doing something wrong!)? I rode with a woman last weekend who was heading out to Bear and I saw her turn off at some point, but it was after we went through Piermont. I'm pretty sure that I turn onto Piermont Ave. (where I usually stop to pee and get water on the way back), then make a left onto what I guess N. Broadway until I hit the park. How do I stay on 9W, and is there anywhere to stop along the way for water?

Where is Landing Road? I'm looking on a map but don't see it... Also, climbs are good!

Finally, what's the PIP? Sounds like a nice ride from your description, but again, I'm severely directionally challenged. To get on River Road would I take a left from the GW and go South?

I've done a few group rides out of the city, but they seemed to involve many twists and turns (a few had 2+ page cue sheets) and as I'm obviously incapable of even staying on one road, I'm sure how helpful that's been. I do want to do more group rides though, so we'll see. Dendawg, is joining NYCC worth it?

I think you would have had to make a right on N Broadway, not a left. But as you ride on N. Broadway you would make a left on Old Mountain Rd, and that will take you back to 9W. Make a right on 9W and you'll be headed for Bear Mtn.

Landing road is a left turn off the crushed stone path in Nyack Beach Park. It's about 1.5-2 miles from the start of the path. That path is hard packed enough to be rideable on a road bike. Landing road is paved. It will take you to the road the circles Rockland Lake, and back to 9W.

If you go to the NYCC home page ( www.nycc.org ) you'll see their ride listings for the week. Just try to hook up with one at your ride level. They have A,B and C classifiacations. No need to be a member to join a ride. If you like the rides than membership is I believe $15 for the calendar year. Same is true for the 5bbc ( www.5bbc.org ).

To get to river road, make a left when you come off of the GWB. You can take the new bike path to where it ends and make a left onto River Road in the PIP (Palisades Interstate Park). Just bear left at all the traffic circles with one exception. At the top of the hill past the Englewood boat basin you go straight - not left up the big hill. When you get to the Alpine police station there is water and restrooms. There are also restrooms at both of the marinas in the park. I haven't ridden north of Nyack from the city yet so I don't know of water sources. There is a Toga bike shop on 9W north of Nyack.

But as you ride on N. Broadway you would make a left on Old Mountain Rd, and that will take you back to 9W. Make a right on 9W and you'll be headed for Bear Mtn.

Like so:

http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/NYC-to-Bear-Mountain

Notice that you're actually making a dogleg onto Christian Herald Road. On your way back, if you're looking for Old Mountain Road, you'll miss your turn.

And make sure to bring a few bucks for Goody:


http://homepage.mac.com/noteon/Sites/blog/05_19_09/goody.jpg

Awesome! Thanks a ton you guys, this is super helpful and I appreciate your time. Now I'm even more excited about my epic summer.

If you see a girl on a Felt out on these roads with silly robot tattoos that's me, say hi!

I'm the orange Trek with a green Carradice saddlebag. (See photo, above.)

+1 to everything you've got here from Dendawg & Noteon.

Rockland Lake is a good 'next step' past Nyack. Not a lot of miles from Nyack, but you get a couple good climbs - up Old Mountain & Christian Herald to 9W, then shortly after that up 9W past the Toga shop, with a nice descent to Rockland Lake State Park. There's a road that loops around the lake, bathrooms, etc. The hill going south on 9W from Rockland Lake always kicks my *****.

The stretch of 9W immediately north of Rockland Lake is not super exciting riding - though it gets nicer again north of Haverstraw. I see that piece of road as more a means to an end (Bear Mtn). On 9W in Haverstraw & Stony Point there are delis, bagel joints, etc - but not much north of Stony Point.

If you ever reach the point where you want a change of pace from 9W, you can try Rt 501/340 to or from Piermont.
You just take Hudson Terrace to the end, turn left on Palisade, but then instead of turning right on 9W you go down the hill & turn right on Engle Street (501). This road has a few twists & turns, and changes names a few times - becomes Piermont Rd further up - but remains Rt 501 to the NY state line, where it becomes Rt 340.

Would you be willing to put your bike on a train? If so, it opens up a whole lot of possibilities. As you know, north of the NJ border, there are nice roads.

There are also plenty of nice places to ride in NJ. I live in Maplewood. You could take a train to this area from Penn Station and head west.

Here is a list of routes the state publishes. (http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/commuter/bike/tours.shtm) The Great Swamp is a nice area where you see lots of cyclists. I ride there sometimes.

Would you be willing to put your bike on a train? If so, it opens up a whole lot of possibilities. As you know, north of the NJ border, there are nice roads.

There are also plenty of nice places to ride in NJ. I live in Maplewood. You could take a train to this area from Penn Station and head west.

Here is a list of routes the state publishes. (http://www.state.nj.us/transportation/commuter/bike/tours.shtm) The Great Swamp is a nice area where you see lots of cyclists. I ride there sometimes.

Hm, I'd really rather not bring my bike on the train, at least not regularly. I've done it a few times before (once to CT) and it seemed to be more of a time suck and a headache than it was worth. Plus I have a limited amount of time (and daylight on Friday afternoons) to ride and I'd rather spend it on the road.

Thanks for the link though, I'll check it out and see if there's anything I can ride to from here. I've done a few group rides in NJ and they were very pleasant.

Understood.

Hey, check this out! Bicycling in Bergen County (http://www.roberts-1.com/bikehudson/r/p/w/b/bergen_county/index.htm)

In case you don't know, Bergen County is the one you hit when you get off the GW bridge.

I used to live in Washington Heights (the upper part of Manhattan). I got tired of going over the bridge and up 9W, so I went up through the Bronx and into Westchester. I hit some nice roads, but the "cost" of traversing the Bronx in search of greenery was pretty high.

I forgot this existed:

https://www.nysdot.gov/divisions/operating/opdm/local-programs-bureau/repository/bicycle/state-bicycle-routes/rt9.html

You want the Southern Section link. The mileage chart is a head-scratcher, but the maps are good.

here is another place to look for rides. some have maps but I believe they all have cue sheets. you can use the cue sheets to map out the ride on google maps. just go to the ride library links on the left and you can search by area.

http://www.nycc.org/rl_db/home.aspx

If you see a girl on a Felt out on these roads with silly robot tattoos that's me, say hi!

Couldn't tell if there were tattoos, but yellow bike, red jersey, headed north just above Nyack today just before noon?