Northeast - Efficient and nice ride from Poughkeepsie/New Paltz to Albany?

Do you know of a good route? Is 9W all the way through just fine?

Route 9W would not be my first choice, but I haven't ridden it on a bike. I've driven sections of it, but can't remember any reasons why I would drive it again, other than to get from point A to B. 9W basically follows the Thruway, which I find quite boring. Circa 1990, I did do several Multiple Sclerosis 150 rides from East Greenbush (just east of Albany on the east side of the river) to Poughkeepsie. The ride to Poughkeepsie followed 9J, 9G and 9. 9J and 9G hug the river and there are many nice views. 9 near Poughkeepsie had heavy traffic any was not very enjoyable. The return ride from Poughkeepsie followed many nice rural county roads for about 40 miles and then 9H and 9. Again, route 9 on the East Greenbush end isn't all that enjoyable either. My recollection is the first half of both days was the best. Here is the cue sheet from Poughkeepsie:
2.8 R West Dorsey Rd.
6.2 L 39
8.1 R 41
13.4 L 115
13.9 L 18
22.0 R 19
22.5 L 15
25.3 right fork at junction with 52
26.8 R 199 at stop sign
27.0 L 51
30.0 L sharp left turn
32.3 L 50
32.7 you are now on route 2 Columbia County
36.0 R 19
42.6 R 19 at stop sign
43.5 9 continue straight at stop sign
45.6 9H continue straight

My recommendation would be to follow the cue sheet above and then cut over to 9J or 9G at some point. There are also several worthwhile historical sites on the east side, including Olana, Clermont and Martin Van Buren's estate.

I agree re: route 9W.

We rode to Albany last weekend, but we started in LaGrange, so our route would vary from yours' initially.

We went out through Pleasant Valley and caught 9G at Hollow Road. We hit Route 9 just north of Rhinebeck. I've taken Route 9 from Poughkeepsie to Rhinebeck - not a lot different than 9G. Decent shoulder, fast traffic.

We then took Rte. 9 through Red Hook, Clermont, Livingston, etc. Nice riding.

Rte. 9 comes to an intersection at 23, 82 and 9H - there's a Mobil station there to fill up on water, food, etc. Take a left and follow 9/23. Route 9 splits from 23 after about three miles - take a right. You should be able to follow the signs for Bike Route 9 as well. (Small signs with a bike emblem and the number 9.)

Follow 9 until the junction of 9 and 9J - take 9J. Very pleasant ride really all the way into Albany.

Trip was about 75 miles. Fairly flat, fast riding.

I agree, stay on the east side of the river and use rt 9 to rt 9h as needed. avoid rt9G as there is no shoulder.

I agree with avoiding most of the "9" routes (though some sections of just plain "9" in Columbia county are pretty scenic). Let me add that specifically that much of 9J is boring -- runs near the Hudson river without hardly any nice views of the river.
I do not agree about taking the east side of the river from south of Rhinebeck -- I think starting from New Paltz and riding thru Kingston to Rhinebeck is more interesting than starting in Poughkeepsie.

Here's links to my route sections (http://www.roberts-1.com/bikehudson/r/nyc_albany/index.htm#sections) which mostly avoid the "9" roads.
All the sections have GPS-capable digital maps on the web (see links from that page), and also all have old-fashioned cue sheets.
It has a little more distance and hills than the obvious routes on the "9" roads, but to Sharon and me it seems well worth it. We've ridden all those sections again several times (including this summer), and it would never occur to us to go back to riding on the main "9" highways.

Our routes do have more turns than the main highways, but nowadays with a GPS that doesn't matter so much any more.
Just today Sharon and I were following somebody else's very complicated route to connect quiet roads + streets in central Pennsylvania, and loading the .gpx file into our GPS and following its "track" worked great for us - (We also had paper maps with us, but on such a humid day it was great to only have stop to look at them like twice on the whole ride.)You can also notice that our route sections offer both possibilities ... of starting either in New Paltz or Poughkeepsie - (or to start from New York City).

Ken

Thanks so much, guys. Ken, your routes look amazing, but, unfortunately, I will be facing a time crunch, so I think I have to take the fastest safe way possible. That looks like it might be taking 9 all the way up. Thanks for convincing not to take 9W, guys!

Also, I do not yet a GPS :( . Do you have any recommendations for a cheap but reliable GPS?

I agree, stay on the east side of the river and use rt 9 to rt 9h as needed. avoid rt9G as there is no shoulder.

How bad is 9G? I'm used to cycling in traffic (I live in NYC), and a friend told me that 9G is a nice ride.

9G is not that bad - but if you're starting in Poughkeepsie, there's no real reason for you to seek it out.

If you're looking for the fastest or most efficient way possible, just follow the Bike Route 9 signs. You can download maps off of the state DOT website. You won't need a GPS for this one.

Sounds good. In the future, when I have more time, I think I'll do Ken's route, or just River Road to 9G to 9.

Thanks!

Route 9G in northern Dutchess (north of Poughkeepsie) and in Columbia County (to Hudson NY) only has an 11 foot lane and the edge is cracked, patched and nasty. Cars and trucks run fast up and down it.
You can make a nice trip by taking the county "River" roads and only running short sections of 9G as needed.
If you want to make time, just stay on Route 9 as it has decent paved shoulders and is a marked bike route.

Rt 32?

Thanks guys. Any significant hills on 9? Or can somebody of questionable fitness ride it to Albany with zero problems?

Any significant hills on 9?
You mean, Are there any hills significant to "somebody of questionable fitness"?
Since it has never crossed my mind to ride all that way on rt 9, I'm not the person to ask -- but I'd be surprised if in all those miles that's not at least one such hill.
btw - Why would it not make more sense to ride NY state Bicycle Route 9, instead of car route 9? I've never ridden Bicycle Route 9 all the way either, but it just seems to me like I could hope it would be better than the car route.

Or can somebody of questionable fitness ride it to Albany with zero problems?
"fitness" is not the main issue I don't think. The critical factor is long-distance bicycling endurance. You might have great "fitness" from swimming and yet be dead after three hours bicycling north from Poughkeepsie on real roads. Especially critical for rides like 8 hours or more is not getting a sore butt. Need to toughen up your butt by riding lots of hours -- on the same seat -- including some time on similar levels of bumpiness.

Sharon and I have ridden from Poughkeepsie to Albany by a route longer + harder than either car route 9 or bike rt 9 -- on the same day after riding from New York City to Pok. Not because we have great "fitness", but because we can crank out slow riding hour after hour after hour.
We trained for it by toughening our butts by making our long ride once each two weeks longer and longer. The first year we did Albany > Pok > NYC, we started by riding 3-4 hours a couple of days in mid-April, then Apr 23: 70mi hilly, (off a couple weekends), May 14: 99 mi hilly, May 21 115mi, May 28: 138mi, Jun 4: 167mi. The second year when we did NYC > Pok > Albany in a day we started riding Apr 8: 55mi, then Apr 14: 80mi, Apr 29: 100mi, May 6 120mi, May 13: 110mi, May 20: 120mi, May 26 148mi.
So the first year we more than doubled our long-ride distance in 6 weeks. The second year more than doubled in 7 weeks. Does that mean we can double our "fitness" in 7 weeks? No I don't think so. But we did improve our "bicycling butt toughness" a lot.
hills are similar -- the best predicter of being able to handle "significant" hills out on real roads is -- not "fitness" -- but lotsa practice riding a bicycle up "significant" hills out on real roads.So I think what you need to do is not ask us about whatever version of route 9 you think you want to try, but ask yourself:

Have you worked up to riding 80 miles in a day on roads with at least some moderate hills in them, and how did you feel when you finished?

Ken

Thanks for the great advice, Ken. I must admit that I am mostly a commuter and park rider. But I have completed the 5-Boro bike tour without incident and pounded out 60+ miles on the CP and PP hamster wheels many times before. But the ride from Poughkeepsie to Albany will be my longest ride ever. Luckily, I have friends in New Paltz and Poughkeepsie who can rescue me should I falter. Of course, I will do everything in my power not to fail, but I realize that I have not done everything I could to prepare adequately for this trip.

I will be taking Bicycle Route 9 all the way. Someday, I will take the time to do the routes on your website. Perhaps this fall...

if you like fruit, there is a farm stand about every mile or so....Clean bathroom and good food at Bells Pond "Extra Mart"