Northeast - NYC - Best route to GWB

The riverside bike path is slow and Riverside Drive has crap pavement. Suggestions?

bike lane welcome but not necessary...

P.S. Approaching from the South

The only alternative to the Hudson River Greenway bike path is Broadway, Amsterdam or Columbus Ave. Wayyyyy too much traffic !! Use the West side bike path before 9 AM and it won't be as slow. It is the best way by far !!!

The riverside bike path is slow and Riverside Drive has crap pavement. Suggestions?

bike lane welcome but not necessary...

P.S. Approaching from the South

By Riverside bike path do you mean the one which runs through the park or do you mean the Hudson Greenway? The geeenway can get a little congested up to about 96th street if you ride on a nice afternoon but you can still ride at a decent clip in spite of that. Taking any of the main avenues will be slow because of the lights and traffic so the greenway is your best bet.

Weekdays, the Westside Greenway is the quickest and least congested.
If it's congested on weekends then everywhere else is twice as congested.

I find Riverside Drive the quickest way to the bridge. Traffic (other than rush hour) is generally light. There are a couple of rough spots above the water treatment plant, but generally its not too bad. The only major area of congestion is going to Ft Washington Ave to get to the bridge. Traffic around the hospital can get pretty gnarly.

I find that Riverside narrows in the low 140's until you get past Riverbank Park, leaving very little clearance between parked cars and traffic. If you are coming from downtown the easiest way to get up to the bridge is probably to take St. Nicholas Ave., which cuts diagonally from Central Park North and meets Broadway at 168th street, then ride on 168th over to Ft. Washington and up to 178th from there. St. Nicholas also avoids the huge trough at 125th and at 155, is a gradual incline from 138th-157th, and has marked bicycle lanes. The surface is ok for the most part except around 163rd. If you start north on CPW, it runs into St. Nick at 121st.

As for the greenway, it is pretty quick, but you still have to get from the river up to the bridge.

9:00 AM June 25th
42 riders will leave Columbus Circle and ride over the GWB.
I don't know what route they wiil take.
Nine riders are BF Members.

I find Riverside Drive the quickest way to the bridge. Traffic (other than rush hour) is generally light. There are a couple of rough spots above the water treatment plant, but generally its not too bad. The only major area of congestion is going to Ft Washington Ave to get to the bridge. Traffic around the hospital can get pretty gnarly.

Fridays during rush hour is absolutely hideous on RSD, I've literally been stuck in traffic and not able to filter through the cars past 135th. The batch of potholes on 142nd are pretty bad especially if you're coming at a good clip so be mindful of them when you turn the corner if you take the left hand stretch between 139th and 142nd. I usually take the greenway to 125th then go up to Riverside from there because I save some time going at a good pace on the greenway. RSD usually slows me down because of the traffic. If you take the hill at 165th be mindful of the fact you might have to unclip as cars often clog the lanes since drivers turning right clog any free space.