jbithaca

I live in Ithaca, NY. I am planning to bike to Port Jervis on Bike Route 17 with a few modifications sometime in March to visit my daughter and my best friend. Can anyone suggest a route to get to the GW Bridge from Port Jervis? Would prefer that I not have to ride on 9W for extended stretches. Please suggest routes that you have actually ridden.

Thanks

Dahon.Steve

Wow! That's one heck of a ride. I would not ride route 17 but it's up to you. I've ridden from Suffern all the way to Newark Penn Station and that was easy. No route 17 for me but I would look at another route. I'm thinking of riding from Port Jervis back to Newark Penn but haven't had the courage yet! LOL!

Not the Slowest

Post something on the NYCC.org message board, someone has something for you.
There are many routes available that have NOTHING to do with 9W.

Robert

rebel1916

9W is actually pretty nice. Old rt 17 is too, so long as you are not there during rush
hour. Anyway avoiding 9W isn't really an option unless you wanna ride thru cruddy suburbia for miles. You need to take Rt 6 to 17 M in Goshen to Old Rt 17 in Harriman to 7 Lakes thru Harriman St Park in Sloatsburg. Go thru the circle and past Bear Mountain onto Rt. 9 in Stony Point and take that to the bridge. Again, I understand that for some reason you are not looking forward to 9, but there is really no other good option. Anyway, it is both reasonably pretty and safe. Watch out for hipsters once you get to Crooklyn

rebel1916

Sure but they are less scenic and use roads that are not as safe/pleasant to ride on. And the better alternate routes require the kind of annoying cue sheets that have you turning every few blocks and still suck compared to 9W

jerseyJim

I pretty much agree with this.

I would take the orange heritage trail from Goshen to Monroe, then take rte six east through the circle at seven lakes drive. Make a right eastbound on seven lakes drive through (over!) bear mountain to 9w south. The half mile or so stretch from the circle to seven lakes drive is a little tight but its short enough to walk if you felt uncomfortable.

You can take the jones point path from just south of iona island to bypass a good part of 9w just south of bear mountain. This path is not heavily used and is sandy, rocky and overgrown in stretches. I'll do it on my long haul trucker with 1.75" tires but I wouldn't do it on my road bike.

Then I would take NYS bike route 9 (left off 9w at tomkins ave) through Haverstraw to the hook mountain/nyack beach bikeway through rockland lake park(unpaved, gravelly but firm, a little rocky in spots), through Nyack and down river road through Piermont where I would hook back up with 9w to Alpine. From there take henry hudson drive through palisades interstate park to the GWB.


That would keep you off of 9w as much as I can think of. Whatever route you decide enjoy. Sounds like a fun ride.