capejohn

I am starting my tour in Albany and plan on riding bike rt 9 from Montreal back to Albany to end the ride. While planning, I have read that the route between Albany and Saratoga Springs is horrendous. I'm looking to verify or dispel this story.

My original plan was to leave my car at the Train station in Albany but now I am considering leaving it in Saratoga and taking a bus to Albany to start the trip.

What do you who know the route think?

geonjorjany

...i've never ridden it on a bike, but i've driven it fairly often, and i don't think it'd be that bad. what have you heard is bad about it? traffic, crappy pavement, hills, etc? please give us an update on how it goes afterward. i just bought a new bike and plan to ride from coxsackie (about 40 miles south of albany) to queensbury (about 40 miles north of albany) several times (a majority of that being on 9 and 9w) in preparation for some extensive touring later this year...

Cyclist0094

John
I'm on vacation with a slow connection and cannot get the NYS bike map to load . Unless something has changed I think you may have gotten advise from someone who is confusing NY Bike Route 9 with NY highway route 9. Bike route 9 does follow NY highway 9 through the Adirondacks but splits off and then follows NY rt 22 and the US 4 and NY 32. To further add to the confusion NY highway rt 9 between Albany and Saratoga Springs is also a signed local bike route.

Bike Rt 9 I have ridden this route quite a few times between Ticonderoga and Waterford. From Whitehall to Queensbury is a 10 mile busy section but with a 2'-4' shoulder . From Schulyerville south along RT 4 for about 5 miles the roadway is rough but the shoulder is in better shape with little traffic. From Waterford to Albany you have about 4 miles of quiet to busy urban streets and about 6 miles of bike path back to the train station.

I'd be happy to supply more details later next week when I'm home and can get to my maps.

BTW there is also the alternative of coming down through Vermont on the east side of Lake Champlain it adds about 40 miles of riding but I prefer it over the west side ,IMO it is more scenic,Burlington is a great town to visit and it is much flatter if that matters.
google "lake champlain bikeways" for a map

QNSplanner

Last summer I rode to Montreal from NYC. On the way up, I mostly stayed on the east side of the Hudson and Lake Champlain. On the way down, I stayed to the west side.

State highways in New York (this includes all State and Federal-signed roads) are typically built to high standards relative to the national average. Wide lanes, wide shoulders, even grades, and good visibility are the norm. No matter how you get from Saratoga to Albany, you won't be in danger. There's no need to skip this section of your trip.

I actually rode on regular route 9 because I was in a bit of a hurry that day. It's totally do-able, but there's not much in the way of scenery. I've also ridden route 4 down along the river and I have to say that section of road has the widest shoulders I have ever seen. They are as wide as a regular traffic lane. If you're interested, Saratoga Battlefield is in that area (Bemis Heights) and is fun to check out.

Once you get to Watervliet, there's a pleasant bike path that runs along the Hudson all the way in to Downtown Albany. The path is accessed by crossing under Insterstate 787 at 4th Street.

danacf

I would recommend starting your trip in Saratoga Springs or Schenectady. The area from Albany west to Schenectady and north to the Mohawk River is basically sprawl. The area in the rectangle between the Mohawk River, Saratoga Springs and the Northway (I87) and Route 9 is not all that great either. I'm sure it's doable, but my question would be why bother when there are many more pleasant options? The people who live in that area who want a nice ride usually put their bikes on the car and drive a 10 miles to get out of the mess. Saratoga County, as well as the other counties in this area, have an excellent patchwork of county and town roads which are much nicer to ride on than the state roads. Along the Hudson River, I would choose River Road between Glens Falls and Schuylerville on the west side rather than Route 4 on the east side. I haven't ridden the west side of Champlain, but can say the east side, at least between Burlington and the just recently demolished Crown Point bridge is quintessential Vermont cycling - decent roads, no traffic and nice scenery. You might want to check out the southern portion of Adventure Cycling Association's Adirondack loop. The ride starts in Schenectady and the section between Glens Falls and Schenectady is probably as good a route as any.

Jay H

What I remember from doing the Lake Champlain route around Ft Ticonderoga on Rt 9, was a bit of Logging Trucks that would fly by you and the narrow shoulder (at least when being passed by huge logging trucks).. Not that I think that, in itself is an issue, but a mirror is a good idea at least in case you can't hear the trucks coming up on you.

Jay

inachu

I used to live off of route 9 and yeah some place are very bumpy and when you bike ppast the house on the left which is a one story house and has a very very large back yard and a separate garage then you have found the Dexter house!

This is the house where the idea of Dexter was born that was later stolen from me by Jeff Lindsay who I met online.
We argued for about an hour over my serial killer fictional character but yeah that house is where the TV show character was born.

The song that inspired me to create him is sung by Clint Holmes - Playground of my mind.

But back to biking shall we!? Albany area is by road is ok by way of off road biking is the worst!
There are so many holes made by those animals with a funny looking snout! The house is a couple miles south of Snake Hill road.

lenny866

St Rt 9 in Albany is Arbor Hill, stay out of there.

North of Albany, St Rt 9 is a two lane road with limited shoulders. It can be dangerous. North of St Rt 7 opens up with good size shoulders. There is heavier volume as it is mostly commercial.North of St Rt 67 is less traveled and still has good shoulders. That will take you to Saratoga Springs.

The area between Albany (City) and the Saratoga County line are where you biggest issues lie. I would not attempt this during commuter traffic.

Another choice may be State Rt 4 then in Saratoga County go west to St Rt 9.

PM me is you nave any questions.