Originally Posted by
RollCNY
Thanks for the additional info guys. On that same car trip, I returned on 28, and where I didn't like the speed limit, the shoulders did look very usable. All of those links are great, Jim, and so I am piecing together information. Still in the planning phase at this point, and I am fairly solid on general route to New Paltz, I am not sure if my intention is to angle back north (via 28 and the like), or head toward Liberty and 17C over Mohonk Mt.
Regardless of whether the trip works out, you have gorgeous terrain, and I definitely plan to ride some of it in the next four years (provided the kid follows up on his commitment
). It just makes me think I may need more gear combinations on the single speed.
if you're trying to get to the catskills from new paltz, you can *start* by looking at Rt 32. that is a fairly direct route to the Kingston Area, with a lot of opportunities to go off the route, perhaps even use like the Wallkill RailTrail for a bit to Rosendale at least... Rt 32 can be busy (as an alternative to the NYS Thruway i.e. I-87 for car drivers) but it is rideable. A lot of it is avoidable which is nice since you can use google and look for parallel roads or alternative paths... When you do get to rosendale, you could also follow Rt 208/213 through downtown rosendale to get you to Rt 28a on the Ashokan Reservoir, which is about 25 miles west of Kingston so depending on your ultimate route, it's shorter. It is hillier I believe than rt 32 though as 32 still follows the valley for the most part....
Jay