riding the whole Hudson River

I finished riding the Hudson River in New York state, roads along every mile
of it -- as far north as you can legally bicycle up toward its source in the
Adirondack mountains -- as far south as the Verrazano Narrows bridge where
it enters the Atlantic ocean below Manhattan island. Something over 300
miles / 500 km, if you try to ride on prettier and quieter roads. But I did
not do it all in one continuous ride: Different parts in different weeks
during the last year-and-a-half.

Why the Hudson?
-- it's especially big in its lower quarter, because it's a fjord the no
longer a true river, but a long sal****er finger of the Atlantic ocean,
penetrating through ancient mountains at Storm King.
-- some of the prettiest farm-country riding, especially in Columbia and
northern Dutchess counties. Put the good routes down in the middle of
France, and they'd be over 95th percentile farmland rides even there.
-- New York City (might be easier and better to ride it than you thought)
-- many creative bakeries and coffee shops and restaurants along many bike
routes on the east side of the river(supported by the money that spills out
the NY metro area as country weekend houses and long-distance day-commuters,
and the presence of a leading culinary institute in Hyde Park)
-- culture-music-art stuff and Revolutionary War history.
Especially for me: Why because the Hudson is where I grew up.

Actually it's the Hudson valley south of Albany that's really outstanding
(the southern 185 miles / 300 km), and year after year Sharon and I keep
repeating any of the two-bridge loops along both sides of the river through
he
http://roberts-1.com/bikehudson/r/r/map

The next section up between Albany and Glens Falls is nice (notably the
Stillwater - Fort Edward - Greenwich loop Sharon and I rode a couple of
weeks ago) -- but it doesn't have the same _density_ of pretty farms, and
doesn't have the cliffs of the Palisades + Gunks + Storm King. North of
Glens Falls has a couple of pretty sections like along the west side between
Thurman (Rt 481) and the Glen (Rt 28), and the high-speed-traffic section
between North Creek and North River, but otherwise too many miles lined with
densely-packed small trees and not much else.

So now that I've explored the whole thing, I suggest skipping the northern
85 miles (or at least the northern 43 miles). My suspicion is that if you
want to connect to some riding north of Glens Falls with a higher percentage
of interesting stuff other than lotsa trees, it's a better bet to aim away
from the Hudson and instead toward Lake Champlain and Burlington and
Montreal.

My riding notes for north of Albany are at:
http://roberts-1.com/bikehudson/v/no.../river/reports
but for local expertise of routes in the northern Hudson valley, see links
from the Mohawk Hudson Cycling Club, especially
http://home.nycap.rr.com/bcurtiss

Warning for doing the Hudson as a multi-day one-way tour: If you stick to
the main roads and the official bicycle routes, you'll miss a lot of what
makes the Hudson valley wonderful. My current suggestions for doing it as an
interesting multi-day tour that hits the best riding along the way is at:
http://roberts-1.com/bikehudson/r/nyc_albany

Ken

New Paltz is better known for its nearby rock climbing, "mountain biking",
and hiking -- but it also has some fun and pretty road bicycling:
http://roberts-1.com/bikehudson/r/p/w/u/np_wv/map
And I just like visiting the village. So I recently changed my suggested
south-to-north Hudson River route so it visits New Paltz, even though that
takes it away from the River.

Ken
_______________________________________
wrote
Wonderful...used to have a house in Ulster County..
New Paltz and miss the area very much. Thanks!

New Paltz is better known for its nearby rock climbing, "mountain biking",
and hiking -- but it also has some fun and pretty road bicycling:
http://roberts-1.com/bikehudson/r/p/w/u/np_wv/map
And I just like visiting the village. So I recently changed my suggested
south-to-north Hudson River route so it visits New Paltz, even though that
takes it away from the River.

Ken
_______________________________________
wrote
Wonderful...used to have a house in Ulster County..
New Paltz and miss the area very much. Thanks!

New Paltz is better known for its nearby rock climbing, "mountain biking",
and hiking -- but it also has some fun and pretty road bicycling:
http://roberts-1.com/bikehudson/r/p/w/u/np_wv/map
And I just like visiting the village. So I recently changed my suggested
south-to-north Hudson River route so it visits New Paltz, even though that
takes it away from the River.

Ken
_______________________________________
wrote
Wonderful...used to have a house in Ulster County..
New Paltz and miss the area very much. Thanks!

Fun pretty and VERY challenging. I rode my road bike there all the time. I'm afraid of heights so I left the rock climbing to friends. The rail trail is fun to ride also....and carriage roads up near Mohonk are wonderful riding. I was able to ride during the week, so the "weekender" traffic wasn't an issue. I always wondered about riding the Hudson near Kingston, but never did. How is it for riding there?
"Ken Roberts" wrote in message ...
New Paltz is better known for its nearby rock climbing, "mountain biking",
and hiking -- but it also has some fun and pretty road bicycling:
http://roberts-1.com/bikehudson/r/p/w/u/np_wv/map
And I just like visiting the village. So I recently changed my suggested
south-to-north Hudson River route so it visits New Paltz, even though that
takes it away from the River.

Ken
_______________________________________
wrote
Wonderful...used to have a house in Ulster County..
New Paltz and miss the area very much. Thanks!

Fun pretty and VERY challenging. I rode my road bike there all the time. I'm afraid of heights so I left the rock climbing to friends. The rail trail is fun to ride also....and carriage roads up near Mohonk are wonderful riding. I was able to ride during the week, so the "weekender" traffic wasn't an issue. I always wondered about riding the Hudson near Kingston, but never did. How is it for riding there?
"Ken Roberts" wrote in message ...
New Paltz is better known for its nearby rock climbing, "mountain biking",
and hiking -- but it also has some fun and pretty road bicycling:
http://roberts-1.com/bikehudson/r/p/w/u/np_wv/map
And I just like visiting the village. So I recently changed my suggested
south-to-north Hudson River route so it visits New Paltz, even though that
takes it away from the River.

Ken
_______________________________________
wrote
Wonderful...used to have a house in Ulster County..
New Paltz and miss the area very much. Thanks!

Fun pretty and VERY challenging. I rode my road bike there all the time. I'm afraid of heights so I left the rock climbing to friends. The rail trail is fun to ride also....and carriage roads up near Mohonk are wonderful riding. I was able to ride during the week, so the "weekender" traffic wasn't an issue. I always wondered about riding the Hudson near Kingston, but never did. How is it for riding there?
"Ken Roberts" wrote in message ...
New Paltz is better known for its nearby rock climbing, "mountain biking",
and hiking -- but it also has some fun and pretty road bicycling:
http://roberts-1.com/bikehudson/r/p/w/u/np_wv/map
And I just like visiting the village. So I recently changed my suggested
south-to-north Hudson River route so it visits New Paltz, even though that
takes it away from the River.

Ken
_______________________________________
wrote
Wonderful...used to have a house in Ulster County..
New Paltz and miss the area very much. Thanks!

I wasn't aware of that...but apparently so. A mountain cross bike.

http://www.bikecult.com/works/archive/vicious29.html
"Bonehenge" wrote in message ...
On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 13:10:35 GMT, "Ken Roberts"
wrote:

New Paltz is better known for its nearby rock climbing, "mountain biking",
and hiking -- but it also has some fun and pretty road bicycling:

Isn't is also known for a Vicious brand of bicycles?

Barry

I wasn't aware of that...but apparently so. A mountain cross bike.

http://www.bikecult.com/works/archive/vicious29.html
"Bonehenge" wrote in message ...
On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 13:10:35 GMT, "Ken Roberts"
wrote:

New Paltz is better known for its nearby rock climbing, "mountain biking",
and hiking -- but it also has some fun and pretty road bicycling:

Isn't is also known for a Vicious brand of bicycles?

Barry

I wasn't aware of that...but apparently so. A mountain cross bike.

http://www.bikecult.com/works/archive/vicious29.html
"Bonehenge" wrote in message ...
On Fri, 22 Oct 2004 13:10:35 GMT, "Ken Roberts"
wrote:

New Paltz is better known for its nearby rock climbing, "mountain biking",
and hiking -- but it also has some fun and pretty road bicycling:

Isn't is also known for a Vicious brand of bicycles?

Barry