Once a year, I do a kamikaze ride from Montreal down to Delaware. No luggage.

Second day is the most challenging, from Fort Edward NY (South of Glenns Falls) to Manhattan.

Back in the days, I used to just ride on the 9 straight through Pooghkeepsie all the way to Ossining.
Things have changed since then...

2 Years ago, I stuck on the 9 but found it dangerous since they removed shoulders and in many places had to wait for a red light after crossing an intersection to get a bit of quiet time to make it to the next one. ost much time to traffic lights.

Last year, I came in on the 9G from the north and hopped on the partially completed Dutchess Rail Trail to Lake Walton Road, then CR 82 to rejoin the 9 at Fishkill with a short distance of hell until you are past the Interstate 84.

However, last year, I found 9 between Fishkill and Peekskill to be extremely busy and didn't see a single cyclist (I used to see many). Can anyone comment on whether this route is permanently busy now ? Or was I unlucky with some road closure funneling traffic onto the 9 ?

Are there different/better ways to getting across the Poughkeepsie metro area which has very few north-south routes ?

As this is a very long day and tests my endurance limits, I can't afford to do many detours.

Also, from Peekskill to Ossining, what are the recommended routes ? Do cyclists stick to the 9 ?
Last year, at Peekskill I climbed onto Washington street which was nice for a while and when coming back down to water level, hopped on the 9 for a short stretch until the bike path to Ossining on the side of the bridge.

Any suggestion on the best way to get across ? (bearing in mind that by the time I get there, my legs already have about 10 hours of riding).

Wow, that is quite a ride!

I would be heading far to the west, if I were trying a ride like that. The ACA Atlantic Coast Route

https://www.adventurecycling.org/rout...anticcoast.cfm

crosses the Hudson at Poughkeepsie and then cuts through Ulster County to head along the western border of New Jersey. A lot nicer riding, I should think, than Putnam and Westchester Counties!

or another way would be to cross the Hudson at Kingston and just take 9W down to Nyack.

Yes, I think you'd prefer riding on the west side of the Hudson.

But wait, do you really ride 200 miles in a day?

My initial thought was if it's OK to Poughkeepsie, stay on it that side of the Hudson and find a route to Carmel, then the Putman Cnty Old Put/North County and South County trails to Van Cortland. Straight shot (with a 1 mile detour in Elmsford) to the Bronx.

Google shows a 33 mile route for a bike that seems reasonable.

SB

Thanks for the suggestion via Carmel. Interestingly, when I asked my buddy Mr Google to get a route by bicycle, this is the suggested route.

There is a long stretch on a real bike path the North Country Trailway I believe it is called. There is also a hilly secction south of the 84 (as is the case with higheay 9).

I'll have to do some math here as well as a judgement call. This is longer (I think between 5 to 10km) but if it ends up being more flat and with fewer intersections, the longer distance may be worth it.

However, I have to say that arriving at Croton Harmon and then Ossining is special to me (despite the hills that kill me at that stage of the ride) because it tells me I am getting in the vivinity of New York. However, the 9 (broadway) betwene Ossining and yonkers is very hilly with a red light at the bottom of each hill which means that you not only have to stop, but it kills the momemtum to go back up :-(

Further south, I take Warburton Ave to downtown Yonkers which saves a number of hills.

Coming in via the N CCountry Trailway would cause a different entry into Yonkers and I'd have to study possible routes and how hilly they are.

BTW, one possibility I encountered a lot of traffic on the 9 between Fishkiol and Peekskill last year is that perhape I was there later and got rush hour and in previous years would have gone through that before the big rush of traffic.

Interestingly, Google Earth now shows certain roads with a red X in them (for instance the 9A). I wonder if Google knows I am a cyclist and marks roads not recommented for cyclists. (couldn't find any explanation for those icons and there is no proeference in the Google Earth settings).

The very first time I did this (only Montreal-New York), I so remember arrivng at the end of the hills and was able to look down on NYC and saw the World Trace Cetre towers all lighted up far ahead.

An update on Peekskill ....

After crossing the Annsville creek on the 9, one can "hop" over the concrete barrier and get on the Ansville Creek Preserve. It is paved path that leads to Water street between the 9 and the railroad and one can follow streets to get on the 9A which then brings one to Croton where you can catch the bike path on the south/west side of the 9 to cross the water and get to Ossining.

Traveling between the tracks and the 9 is not as pretty as Washington street which I did last year. But it avoids a number of hills and avoids having to go through the town of Peekskill. (and Washington Street route gets you down to the 9A eventually) (Because of length of that trip minimising hills at that stage of the trip becomes important).

There are plans to have a cyclable route all the way from Peekskill to Croton. There are a few non-connected segments alread done.

And while I am at it... Since this is to be on same day cycling. The Black Bridge at Cohoes (just north of Albany) which is meant to link both ends of the Delaware Avenue Trail is now expected to be opened to Cylists at end of September. Until then we must still detour through the main road back on mainland.

https://maps.google.ca/maps?q=Cohoes...ed+States&z=17

I learned something here today. I always thought the easiest way to get from Pughkeepsie to Ossining was to commit a serious felony . . . .

Good one !

Not everyone will get the connection.

When Ossining was Sing-Sing they opened the Sing-Sing state prison.

Then Sing-Sing (the village) changed it's name to Ossining.

Then Sing-Sing (the prison) changed it's name to the Ossining Correctional Facility.

Ok, I did my trip betwene teh 15th and 19th of July.

A couple of points:

Although the bike path system through Albany is not finished, the small detours through streets still results in better experience than crossing over to Troy and cycling through Troy (with many traffic lights). There is water/toilets available at the Corning park not far from the bridge to Rensalear.

The Dutchess County Rail Trail through the Poughkeepsie area is fantastic, with most intersections bridged so you don't have to interact with traffic or stop. They are working on a bridge over the Manchester road area.

HOWEVER:

Highway 9 between Fishkill and Peekskill, while still the fastest most direct route is definitely NOT PLEASANT. On the northern side (the climb), road surface (southbound) is not good and traffic levels are high, but in afternoon, most is northbound. On the south side (going down), road surface is good.

Getting an Peekskill, I crossed the bridge, and then hopped over the concrete barrier to the paved bike path (Annsville Preserve Park). Got down to sea level basically and then it was gravel to the entrance at Water Street. (not a long stretch).

However, navigating the streets between the 9 highway and the tracks is not very good. Once you join with the 9A (Soth Street), there is a fair amouto f traffic, no shoulder and road surface not very good. I ended up getting onto the 9. It has wide shoulders, but are not clean with lots of debris on them in sections. At Croton you can get off and there is a proper bike path to cross over to Ossining.

For next year, I'll have to do more research and see if new bike path sections open, or find a way to reach Washington Street in Peekskill without so many hills as I did last year entering the other way).

I've put up some pictures of my trip from Montreal to Delaware (and then Washington) at:
https://www.vaxination.ca/bike/NYC2013

I still have to learn how to draw routes in Google over bike routes. (I know hwo to get Google to show me a route, but don't know yet how to make bike routes routable when you manually create a route).

Thanks for the great pictures of your trip.