Albany to New York City

Last Sunday, Sharon and I started in Albany, the capital of New York state,
and rode south to New York City on
our tandem. It was a good adventure for us and a lot of pretty and
interesting riding.

I put a detailed trip report at
http://roberts-1.com/bikehudson/v/ny..._june-2006.htm

We designed a route that greatly reduced our time on the main high-traffic
roads, and visited some of our favorite pretty places along the way. Our
total distance from the Albany bridge to the GWB was about 164 miles, and
less than 30% was on the major "9" roads (like 9J, 9G, 9W) -- less than 15%
in our riding north of the Newburgh-Beacon bridge. We'd heard from other
people who rode between New York and Albany mostly on the obvious "9" roads
that they got bored -- but by adding 19 miles we got lots of time on quieter
roads with pretty farms and orchards.

Sharon and I are not fast on our tandem -- I doubt we averaged more than 12
mph while actually riding. We were glad we chose a day that was not hot
which perhaps offered some tailwind -- though we did ride through some mist
and light rain in the first three hours. Doing it in June gave us long
daylight, and actually we started riding an hour before sunrise.

Ken

Would love to see some pics, if available!

"Ken Roberts" wrote in message
...
Last Sunday, Sharon and I started in Albany, the capital of New York
state, and rode south to New York City on
our tandem. It was a good adventure for us and a lot of pretty and
interesting riding.

I put a detailed trip report at
http://roberts-1.com/bikehudson/v/ny..._june-2006.htm

We designed a route that greatly reduced our time on the main high-traffic
roads, and visited some of our favorite pretty places along the way. Our
total distance from the Albany bridge to the GWB was about 164 miles, and
less than 30% was on the major "9" roads (like 9J, 9G, 9W) -- less than
15%
in our riding north of the Newburgh-Beacon bridge. We'd heard from other
people who rode between New York and Albany mostly on the obvious "9"
roads
that they got bored -- but by adding 19 miles we got lots of time on
quieter
roads with pretty farms and orchards.

Sharon and I are not fast on our tandem -- I doubt we averaged more than
12
mph while actually riding. We were glad we chose a day that was not hot
which perhaps offered some tailwind -- though we did ride through some
mist
and light rain in the first three hours. Doing it in June gave us long
daylight, and actually we started riding an hour before sunrise.

Ken

Here's some photos from some of the roads from riding them in other years:
- up north on the east side in Columbia county:
http://roberts-1.com/bikehudson/v/e/...hotos/jun-04/a
http://roberts-1.com/sk8hv/v/e/tg/tl...ct/a/index.htm
- on the west side south of the Bear Mt Bridge:
http://roberts-1.com/bikehudson/v/w/.../riv/index.htm

We didn't take a camera with us -- our riding goal was close enough to our
limit so we didn't want any distractions. Most of the roads that day we see
almost every year on shorter rides -- because we really enjoy them -- so
it's not like we needed something to help us remember them.

Anyway it's not just about special views, but mile and mile of pleasant
riding. I think it's one of the great 160 miles of riding in the U.S.

Too bad we didn't have the camera for some shots of the baby bison and
horses with their mothers. A special reward for riding in late spring.

Oddly since it has the most obviously spectacular views on the route, I have
never taken any photos from riding the Storm King Mountain highway. Maybe
somebody else can post some.

Ken

Found some good photos of the Storm King Mountain highway (Rt 218 south of
Cornwall-on-Hudson, NY).

This is a video panaroma from the biggest viewpoint on the road:
http://www.hvnet.com/panoramas/stormkingroad.htm
Here's some by a cyclist, together with other photos from other places near
our route:
http://grothserver.princeton.edu/~gr...FALL2000.HTMLX
. (but note that his photos are from before the restrictions on riding
through West Point USMA)
Hiker's view of the highway from above, with the Hudson river and
Newburgh-Beacon bridge beyond:
http://www.mirolka.com/StormKing/

Of course you don't have to do anything like the whole 164 miles in order to
ride the Storm King highway. Using our excellent public transportation
network in the New York metropolitan region, I think you can include it in a
ride as short as 30 miles, using Metro North trains from New York City.

Ken

We didn't take a camera with us -- our riding goal was close enough to
our limit so we didn't want any distractions. Most of the roads that
Oddly since it has the most obviously spectacular views on the route,
I have never taken any photos from riding the Storm King Mountain
highway. Maybe somebody else can post some.

How much of the trains could you see? I' thinking not very much.
My other question is why so slow? You cross the bridges several
times. I'm thinking this adds time. Is there not a favorable route
all the way down the west shore? Am I missing something?


--
---
William O'Hara
www.N1ey.com - Amateur Radio and Railfan Blog
www.yahoogroups.com/group/illinoiscentral - premier discussion list
ICRR

William O'Hara wrote
My other question is why so slow?

Sharon and I were kinda slow compared to most of the people on
news:rec.bicycles.racing -- but that's just normal for us, something in our
genes. Anyway this is the "rides" newsgroup, and we made it through our ride
before it got dark, still got a nice view of the Manhattan skyline and river
while crossing the George Washington Bridge.

The riders I got notes from in advance who tried faster routes said that
they found them mostly boring. If Sharon and I had thought the ride was
going to be boring, we would not have done it. If we wanted to go faster
we'd ride in some other state like Delaware or Rhode Island.

You cross the bridges several times. I'm thinking this adds time.

Makes sense. Actually Sharon and I wished we'd had time to cross two more
bridges: the Newburgh-Beacon and the Bear Mountain bridge both have rather
nice views. The day before, Sharon she hoped to at least ride out into the
middle of the Newburgh-Beacon bridge, but when we got there in the middle of
the ride, we agreed that we'd better hurry on.

Is there not a favorable route all the way down the west shore?

Depends on what kinds of "favorable" people are looking for. My guess is
that a route could be found all the way down the _east_ side of the River
which had less big tough hills -- so people looking for the "unhilly" kind
of "favorable" might not find it on the west shore.

Am I missing something?

I'm not sure . . . How about this:
The chance to do your own long ride in the Hudson valley and report on it to
this newsgroup?

Ken