planning a tour Boston-Montreal-New York City in 2014

[Lutz]

Hi, we are two guys  from Hamburg, Germany  planning a bike tour Boston-Montreal-New York City in summer 2014. As we are free of work responsibilities we've quite a lot of time. We are still at an early stage of planning, collecting information (america by cycle, ACA). Unfortunately we cannot share any experiences other cycleriders already have made to profit of their recommendations. So we are looking for people who have made or planned such a tour in this region of the US / parts of Canada.
We would be pleased if someone would share experiences / recommendations.
Thanks a lot: Lutz

[mmounties]

Hi Lutz,

it's great to hear some of my German compats are planning to come across the great pond to tour next summer.  That said, I have not seen an ACA map that would lend itself to serve as a blueprint for your Boston-Montreal-NYC tour.  However, parts of the Atlantic route combined with some that others have taken may provide for good options and opportunities to hear what others have experienced.  Check out the tour journals on www.crazyguyonabike.com, if you haven't already, to see what others have done and read about their experiences.  There is a wealth of information in those pages and I'd be surprised if you can't find someone who's done either leg of your planned tour and whom you could also contact for info directly.  If you can't fine anyone, local maps can help to plan your trip but they may be difficult to get a hold of from Hamburg and will likely miss much of the information you get from ACA maps such as places where you can charge your gadgets, local bike stores, etc.

Alternatively, if you aren't dead-set on including Montreal, consider taking the Atlantic route north to Maine and then take the Northern tier route a bit west, or just ride west from Boston, to meet up with the Northern Tier route and take that one to, say, Chicago.  The Atlantic route South may be also provide good options and would bring you through New York and possibly on to Philadelphia and Washington, DC.  It all depends on how much time you have.  If you can be flexible regarding your port of entry, other areas of the country offer a multitude of great tours as well that are accessible from international airports and might fit into your timeframe.  I'd recommend you check out the inventory of ACA route maps and consider taking parts of those routes.  For instance, you can pick up the Lewis and Clark trail on map 2 by flying into Omaha, NE and return from Vancouver which is near the end point of the Lewis and Clark trail on map 7 of that set. 

Just some food for thought.  No matter which tour you end up doing, be sure to bring good sunglasses.     The rays over here are much stronger than in Hamburg (NYC is the same latitude as Rome, Italy!) and you'll find you'll wear them almost all the time.

Best of luck and have fun the trip! 

[Pat Lamb]

There was a Boston-Montreal-Boston (BMB) brevet for a dozen years or so; I believe they have a permanent route either approved or in development.  If you can find the route map or cue sheet for that brevet on-line, it'd likely make a good start for a route.  (It's set up for a brevet, but if you don't have to finish in 90 hours, it's probably still a great route for a week or so tour.)

[Mongoeric]

I rode from St. Albans, Vermont (almost at the Canadian Border) to NYC this summer. Also, I've ridden from St. Albans to Montreal a few times.

The route I used from NYC was part of the ACA Adirondack Park Loop to Albany, then the book Cycling the Hudson Valley

http://www.ptny.org/guidebook/index.shtml

You can also reference this web site

http://www.roberts-1.com/bikehudson/

From Northern Vermont to Montreal there are a number of different routes, each with their own plusses and minuses. I would make sure you ride on the Richelieu canal from St. Jean sur Richelieu to Montreal.

It will be a great rides and lots of fun.

Feel free to send some specific questions.

Eric

[canalligators]

For riding within Quebec, refer to the Route Verte page.  http://www.routeverte.com/routeverte_carte/index.php?langue=en

The direct route from Montreal to NYC is via Route Verte 1 & 2 to the US border, then using New York State Bicycle Route 9.  I have ridden from Albany to NYC and this is a good route.  Most roads have wide shoulders and the scenery is good.

New York bike routes have an interactive map at https://www.dot.ny.gov/bicycle/maps, click on "Use The Maps" tab.

As an alternative, you could ride through the Adirondack Mountains.  The high peaks region around Keene has some short but challenging climbs, but most of the area has more gradual climbs.  The scenery is great.  Route 30 from Malone to Northville is a great ride.

Another choice would be to ride through Vermont to Fair Haven, VT and Whitehall, NY.  It is flatter than the New York side and still very pretty, with nice views of Lake Placid and the mountains in NY and VT.  Switch to NY Bike 9 at Whitehall.