Anybody here do any cycling in the Hudson Valley? Recently, i've been more adventurous. I live in Poughkeepsie and have done trips to Rhinebeck, Hyde/East Park, Pawling, Hopewell, Highland and New Paltz. I'd love to talk to others that cycle this wonderful area!

I used to do some riding in that area. It has some of the finest riding I have seen.

Are you looking for road rides, or bike paths? I've listed some of the latter on my website at NewYorkRides. Some of the listings may be outdated, so check further before you go! Also, feel free to contact me with any specific questions.

Also, Ken Roberts has a site at Bike Hudson Valley -- Roberts that's chock full of Hudson Valley rides of all kinds. I'm not sure if he has kept it up to date, but I know it's a great Hudson Valley resource.

Good luck!

Amazing views, quality paths and mountains to spice it up. It's like, cycling helps me appreciate the geography of the area and the geography of the area helps me appreciate cycling!

Thanks, i'll give it a look. It's a shame that winters about to hit, but i'm hoping that once spring comes i can do some more exploring on the western side of the river. Hoping to get in shape for next years Discover Hudson Valley Ride, i want it to be my first century.

I just went hiking out near Ossining and wondered about the bike spots in the valley! This looks super cool. Now just to figure out if MTA North will let me take my bike up. [ lack of a car sucks sometimes]

You can get a bike pass in Manhattan. If i remember correctly, it's $5 for a year, but i think you can only get it in Manhattan and you can only bring your bike off-peak. I may be wrong, it's been a while since i've looked it up

Choogis is correct. However, you can order a $5 pass using this link:

MTA LIRR - Bicycle Permit

The pass will get you and your bike on either Metro North or the LIRR, though most conductors do enforce rules about peak hour trains, etc. I have to say that it's among the best $5 I've ever spent, and I've had mine for at least ten years.

I grew up in that area but do not live there now although I still have family there so I get back 'home' once or twice a year. My stamping grounds when I did live there was from about Pine Bush to Stone Ridge. The east side of the Shawngunk Ridge is mostly flat with, still, many quiet country roads. Just about my favorite place on the planet is the Shawngunk mountain itself and the road over it to Kerhonkson. Next time I'm home I'm bringing the bike.

Just got out and enjoyed me some upper Hudson Valley in the Greene County area.

Somewhere I have a book of recommended bike routes in Eastern New York, and it includes the Hudson Valley. Two or three routes go right in front of our weekend house on Mossy Brook Rd in High Falls, so we see a lot of cyclists on this otherwise very quiet road. If you follow a common route, you are likely to meet other cyclists. Then you can learn when they are riding and can join them. They are hidden in many places.

I'd be glad to join you, though it could be difficult, unless one or both of us is/are willing to drive the distance.

This past summer, I rode from High Falls, over the Mohonk Ridge, and into New Paltz. I had always wanted to climb that mountain, and now I can say I did it. My top speed on the way down was 40.5 mph.

noglider:

A friend of mine just moved to High Falls and asked if I knew any good places to ride. She's a casual cyclist, so I recommended the Wallkill Rail Trail, but I couldn't think of anywhere else.

Any ideas?

Pretty much every road is gorgeous. It's a question of how much hill climbing she wants to do. Most roads are very hilly, but Berme Rd, as the name implies, is not. The rail trails are also level.

Traffic is light, which is good, because so many roads have no shoulders at all. It's a little nerve-wracking, but we manage. I ride far to the left and do not hug the edge of the road. I use a tail light and reflective gear, even in the daylight.

She did mention that a rail trail passes through the town. I wasn't sure if that was the Wallkill or not.

As far as hills, I don't know how much of that she's going to want to do.

I've crossed over to New Paltz using the trail that connects it to Highland and Poughkeepsie. Also considering finishing up my ba there. The mountains look awesome but i'm nervous about climbing them. I was able to do a few of the Taconics, but the Mohonk preserve looks like hell. Hopefully when we heat up in March, i'll be out there climbing away.

Our house is on the other side of the ridge, so we drive over it very often. I had been pondering the ride for a long time. I prepared for a hellish ride, and it ended up being easy, because I paced myself and went slowly. Maybe I'm just a good hill climber and don't know it. I suggest you try it. I had a blast. If you make it over, there's some killer coffee waiting for you on the other side.

I'm a bit north and do my cycling in Albany and Columbia counties. I agree that we have it good cycling wise in the Hudson Valley. I used to be active in the Mohawk Hudson Cycling Club. We used to do an annual interclub ride with the Mid Hudson Cycling Club which was a touring and recreational cycling club much like ours. If they are still in existence they could be a good resource.

Choogis, next month I'll be bringing Boy Scouts from North Jersey up to your neck of the woods to ride Rails to Trails. One day we'll go east out of New Paltz (-ish) to cross the Walkway Over the Hudson and one day we'll go north out of New Paltz to Rosendale.

55/55A around the Rondout reservoir in Wawarsing is a nice, if bumpy, ride. Anything incorporating 52 or 55 thru the Gunks if you like climbing.

I live in Kingston these days. I've done a fair amount of local riding. Out 28 to Shandaken, up to Lexington, back on 214 to Phoenicia. Or down Berme rd. to Ellenville, over on 52 to Walker Valley, then up to New Paltz. Today's ride was just Hurley Mountain Rd. to Davenport Farms in Stone Ridge, a snack, then ride back. Just 20 level miles but I barely got out in January and February!

Yeah I rode over to Pine Plains once last year, a nice loop in northern Dutchess. That'd be my main advice for a Poughkeepsie person. Head over the bridge into Ulster, or head north. Of course the Dutchess rail trail goes all the way to Hopewell. But southern Dutchess starts to get too busy for much fun riding.

From High Falls, on the other hand... that is really heaven! Creek Locks Rd. east from Rosendale, then Union Center Rd. south... lots of fun country around there!

Here are some photos from a ride down through High Falls to Castle Point in Lake Minnewaska State Park: Castle Point 2014 Photos by kukulaj | Photobucket

Here's a fun local bike blog: Riding the Catskills | Gravel road cycling rides and routes in Ulster, Dutchess, Greene, Delaware, Orange, and Rockland Counties, New York