NYC to Boston

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by DRZRM

I did the Boston to New York AIDS ride twice in the 90s, it was awesome, so my experience is in the opposite direction. We went west into the "mountains" and then southwest to Storrs where we camped. As your primary concern will not be finding a campsite for 3,000 riders, you will have lots of flexibility in your midpoint. A halfway looks more like Bristol or Watertown, CT. Google has you coming out of NYC to the north, on the North Country Trailway. The AIDS ride dropped south and went through the coastal towns and in part route 1, but we had some road closures and a lot of support, and bike paths were out of the question for the numbers we had riding.

Regardless of the route or direction, the part closer to the city, your first day, will have the heaviest traffic and the worst road surfaces. Might be fun (and flat) to head out northern Long Island and get the ferry from Orient to New London, better roads out of the city. Then head northeast across CT and into Boston from the west.

I like how you make it fun and that sounds like one good way to tackle this.

Make it fun I say!

[djg21]

Originally Posted by Hilltopwalters

Yeah, I looked at google maps and read about one of the more coastal trails but I was just curious to see what PLers might have up their sleeves. Didn't know about the AIDs route - I'll research that!

I’ve ridden from NYC to New Haven a few times before GPS and on-line Routing. I had to spent more time on Rt. 1/Boston Post Road than I liked. I’d probably look for a route to that goes north out of the City and then heads east once farther inland. The problem is the large river crossings.

[Jeff Weir]

Avoid Rt. 1/Boston Post Road! Way too much traffic.

[merlinmurph]

Though I have never been on it, I would think the Minuteman Trail would be the best way in/out of Boston. It gets you at least to 128, the inner loop around Boston. From that point, you can find OK routes that get you further out. Beware, there are still a number of roads I'd avoid once outside. One of the routes used rte. 62 which isn't a bad option.

Someone above suggested the Marathon route, but I'd recommend against it.

[wc1934]

Originally Posted by merlinmurph

Though I have never been on it, I would think the Minuteman Trail would be the best way in/out of Boston. It gets you at least to 128, the inner loop around Boston. From that point, you can find OK routes that get you further out. Beware, there are still a number of roads I'd avoid once outside. One of the routes used rte. 62 which isn't a bad option.

Someone above suggested the Marathon route, but I'd recommend against it.

I don't have much to offer but I agree with MMT suggestion and suggestions to avoid Rt. 1/Boston Post Road and the Marathon route (135).

[jensenn]

I've done this ride from Brooklyn to Boston about 6 years ago. I'll try and dig up the route I put together. We did the ride in 2 days at about 130ish miles per day. There's a local Cat 1 here that I've seen do the ride in 1 day for his birthday. His route is a little shorter at about 220 iirc. I'll try and dig that up for you as well. It's a fun ride. If you leave early enough, getting out of the city is no problem.

[jensenn]

https://www.strava.com/activities/1119256240

[Peter P.]

Originally Posted by verticaldoug

There are a lot of good options for routes, but reality is out of New York and into Boston are the most important.

Out of New York City, I'd go up Broadway or take the Hudson River Path to VanCortlandt Park. The South County Trail out of Van Cortlandt will take you to Elmsford , you pick up the North County Trail there. I'd ride to Pleasntville, then ride a line towards Brewster. I want to cross 684/84 near Brewster. From that point, go north of Candlewood Lake and split the difference bewteen Hardford and Springfield.

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35286301

This is not the exact route I'd take, but it is basically the angle of attack. You can piece together so many nice roads.

Riding south of 95 or slightly north and going East is just a disaster in my opinion.

I agree with verticaldoug; following the Google suggestion and riding Rte. 1 along the coast of Connecticut will suck as its way too developed. The Google directions then have you picking up the Farmington Canal Trail, a rail-trail, and following it north. It's fine through Hamden, Cheshire, and Southington, where you'll exit the trail and ride through New Britain and Hartford; a double suck. If you fancy rail-trails, if you could pick it up east of Hartford it would be much more enjoyable.

Verticaldoug's suggestion will be much more scenic and easy on the mind. Enter CT north of Hartford's latitude and continue east until you exit the state.

I'm from Connecticut and know the area well. Contact me if you have more specific questions.

[schwa86]

FWIW the segments I posted from Sturbridge are really nice riding on routes that a major charity ride and the Charles river wheelers have laid out. I ride them regularly. I would avoid suggestions like “ride the marathon route” — these are relatively major secondary roads, often with lots of traffic and sometimes with pretty high speed limits. They are great for 20000+ runners when the entire state closes down for a holiday and closes the roads in question (on marathon day cyclists sneak in at 6 am), and they are certainly direct, but I really think I’d rely on local cyclists for outing. I ride small stretches occasionally when I need to connect segments of a ride, but I am usually glad to be off the. If you are used to riding such roads and don’t mind them, or if you want to limit your dependence on using something that helps with the en route directing, then I suppose saving a couple of miles on roads that all have state highway route numbers is better. FWIW, I can’t see how the minuteman helps you it seems quite out of the way (pretty northwest of city) and I will say I have had more near accidents on the minuteman then on the local roads — lots of rollerbladers walking dogs on leashes, small children playing, etc.). Feel free to PM as desired.

[jemdet]

Originally Posted by C40_guy

I'd agree. If you want fast, go the southern/eastern route and deal with lots of suburban and some urban riding. You could literally take Route 1 all the way to Boston (not sure if 100% is rideable).

I’ll answer that one - it sucks. Route 1 is always the wrong option.

[verbs4us]

Exactly--Route 1 only if you're really lost and desperate. I lived for a while in New Milford, Ct and would advise staying off Route 7 if possible. North of New Milford, cut over to Washington Depot, then up to Morris and around Bantam Lake, which will put you within shooting distance of Litchfield. In high school we rode from New Jersey to Maine and I recall the steepest hills were up 9W to cross at Bear Mountain, then a big slog outside Torrington. The rest was lovely rolling.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by jemdet

I’ll answer that one - it sucks. Route 1 is always the wrong option.

I'm not suggesting that the OP consider Route 1... just that it is possible...

[TimD]

Originally Posted by Bruce K

Boston Marathon route from Hopkinton to Boston.

BK

There are way better ways to go than straight in on 135 / 16 / 30, but you won't get lost going that way.

Tim

[fiamme red]

Originally Posted by fredd

https://www.greenway.org/

This route follows the Greenway entirely or at least mostly as far as New Haven: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/7139440. Glancing at it, there are changes I'd make, e.g., instead of taking US-1 through Rye, NY, make a right on Oakland Beach Ave, left on Forest Ave, right on Grace Church St into Port Chester.

[TimD]

Originally Posted by schwa86

There is no way you should be riding those roads coming in to Boston. Rte 9 for example can be 3 lanes of traffic driving 70 miles per hour in some places, and rte 20 is no great shakes either. I think your original request to PL is correct — eg to get local knowledge. Ive not done the whole route, but assuming the Mass part originates somewhere near Sturbridge,I’d be inclined to have a look at the Pan Mass Challenge route, and when you get near Hopkinton diverge. There should be a ton of routes on RWGPS from that area on in.

https://www.pmc.org/routes-logistics

Eg this one travels some nice roads (and some slightly busier ones). https://ridewithgps.com/routes/1192595

What he said, including the RWGPS route listed from Hopkinton.

Tim