Northeast - Buffalo NY paths

Hey all just started riding about a month ago and was wondering if any of you from buffalo have any suggestions of where to ride. I live down town and do my weekday training rides on the outer harbor i ride a loop there that's about 10 miles a few times. I Have also ventured to the Amherst bike path and taken that to NFB (where it ends?) as well have ridden the river walk path till just about GI most of the ride was a bit sketchy and choppy. I was wondering if there are any other good places to do my riding where i can not worry about getting clipped by a car and still lay down the speed and miles i want to achieve. Looking for a minimum of a 10 mile loop and a max of infinity haha. Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

I'm also a newbie to riding and don't live in Buffalo, though i do live down the street in Rochester, NY. you mentioned Trails and this caught my eye. Does the Erie canalways path run nearby? Here from Newark to Rochester it's very smooth and except for key places with many pedestrians you can get the "speed" you mentioned - and it's relatively speaking, "infinite" in length.

Michael
looking for a group to regularly ride the Canal.

Grew up in Buffalo but now live in Genesee Co. outside of Batavia, NY. I would say the Botanical gardens, or Delaware park, or even the Niagara River Path but its been too long really to recommend some by experience. I know area bike shops may be a good place to start or even joining the Niagara bike club (i'm sure lots of ideas there). Living where I am now, I just find rural roads outside of town and have built up a series of nice rides. I also commute to work:-) You will be surprised at potential bike runs that you would not have considered until your out and about! Good Luck and wished I could have helped you out a bit more;-)

On Niagara Falls Blvd, where the Amherst Bike Path ends, there's another path right across the street. I don't know the name but it's part of Ellicott Creek Park.

Other good places for bike paths are Delaware Park and Niawanda Park (near Mississippi Mudd's restaurant).

There's a bike path that extends from the Inner Harbor up to North Tonawanda. 15 miles or so one way I think. Delaware park for "go fast and turn left" kind of rides.

Google maps has bicycle directions as well, and highlights the bike paths in green. Also, there is this:
http://www.gbnrtc.org/planning/bikeped/master-plan/

Not all paths/lanes are there yet, but it points them out clearly.

This one is a little clearer; it only shows the routes that are actually there, does not include planned routes. I used this when I visited last summer.

Side A (http://www.gbnrtc.org/fileadmin/content/pdf/Bike-Ped/2010_Bike_Map_Bflo_NFalls_Side_A.pdf), Side B (http://www.gbnrtc.org/fileadmin/content/pdf/Bike-Ped/2010_Bike_Map_Erie_Nia_Side_B.pdf)

When I was a kid I rode all over the suburbs, from Hamburg to Lockport. Things are busier now, but when I was there last summer I had no problem with traffic on roads like Harlem Road, George Urban, Dick Road, Leydecker Road, Borden Road, etc. Transit was a bit more challenging but not horrible. Here's a peek (http://doohickie.blogspot.com/2011/01/summer-rewind-part-deux.html).

A little late to the discussion, but as for paths I've got to add:

* Lancaster Heritage path. This is 4 miles from the center of Lancaster to the border in Alden. It's a little short but it's nice. I use it for transportation purposes more than leisure purposes now. It ends relatively close to my favorite bike shop, Toms Pro Bike, too.

* Clarence/Newstead path. This is a 2-pronged path going through Clarence and Newstead. It crosses Main Street at Salt, where there's a nice parking lot, which is where I normally started. The Newstead prong ends in Akron at Cedar St (I can't find any parking out there though). The South prong ends at Wherle near Harris Hill. The North prong ends at Transit across from Grovers (Best burgers in Buffalo!). There's about 17 miles of path if you follow all 3 prongs, which ends up being a nice 35 mile ride if you do the entire thing in one sitting. The North prong can be a bit busy on weekends as it goes through the heart of Suburban Clarence, however. The Newstead branch is the least busy of the 3.

* Pendleton path. Just discovered this the other day. It's 3.5 miles long, starting at Lockport Road near Campbell, stays roughly parallel to Campbell and ends at Meyer near Campbell. Considering that Campbell road is really nice for cycling on anyway, I tend to prefer the road rather than the path, but if you prefer paths, this one is good.

* Amherst Canal Path. This is at the very north end of Amherst. I used to ride this as a kid sometimes. It starts at the very north end of Sweet Home Road and goes Northeast for 6 miles to end at New Road at the border with Pendleton. It shares the road in parts, so it's not a totally closed-access route. They also have some annoying metal bars that artificially narrow the path in some parts as well, presumably to deter ATV's and snowmobiles, so you've got to be careful about not running into opposing cycle traffic in those spots. I visited it for the first time in years a few weeks back and part of the end near New Road is closed due to collapsing into the canal, unfortunately, but otherwise a good route.