Hi from a new member from germany...

[Laszlo]

Hi everybody!

I just joined the ACA and would like to give a short "hello" to everybody here...

I was born in Connecticut and left the States when I was was 6yo and am living in Germany since then. What always haunted me was to have a bike trip from the US east to west coast somedays and this dream is coming very near now. My plans are to have a start next year (2017) and ride from New York via Connecticut to Buffalo ( maybe even Detroit ) for my first part of the whole distance. Altogether I´m heading for something like the northern tier route to join the pacific in Washington.

I`m sure there will be a lot of questions coming up for me before everything is prepared and organized in the right way, so watch out to see one or another question here in the forum...

Thanks in advance to everybody here and I´m looking forwards to hear your advices, support and stories

Here two pictures from my trip last year from Berlin to Dresden along the river Elbe and Neiße and the polish boarder...

My bike:



..and a picture from the bike path along the river Neiße..




Best regards - Laszlo

[canalligators]

Welcome!  Nice bike and a beautiful ride.

Where in Connecticut?

Cycling from NYC area to Buffalo, your choice is to go through the Catskills and Finger Lakes, or to go up the Hudson and take the Erie Canal trail/roads to Buffalo.  Erie Canal is flatter and scenic, but the Catskills and Finger Lakes are prettier.

[Laszlo]

Born in Bridgeport and later on lived in Vernon...It´s nice to have a look at google and street view just to see, that it looks there almost the same as 40 years ago...but will double-check when I´m there 

Not really sure about the route up to Buffalo...read a lot today about the Erie canal route and even watched a youtube clip from a bunch of guys who rode from Buffalo to Albany...but got the impression that the route follows a lot of busy traffic roads.

Don´t know too much about the alternative - Catskills and Finger lakes - but think this will be with more hills. (which is Ok )

I will probably have only 14 days to do the trip and don´t want to rush and have to ride every day, so this might also be something I´ll have to keep in mind when choosing my route.

Have you done one of the routes and can recommend some maps?

[maxton]

cool bike! enjoy the ride!

[canalligators]

Here's all about the Erie Canal route:
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=tS&doc_id=9422&v=Gy
\About two thirds of this can be done on improved trails.  The road route, NY Bike 5, is mostly a good ride but there are parts to avoid.  And New York has paved shoulders on the state highways almost everywhere.  This is all described in the article.  I would buy the Parks & Trails guide book, also referenced in the article. Interactive map is at https://www.dot.ny.gov/bicycle/maps.  Click on the Use The Map tab.

Here is our journal about our trip down the Hudson River Valley:
https://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/?o=tS&doc_id=733&v=3R
We rode from Albany to NYC on NY Bike 9.  The paper maps are out of print but the online version is very good.  You'll need to find a way from Bridgeport to, say, Newburg or Poughkeepsie.

If you want the hilly route, you could combine NY Bike 17 with NY Bike 11 or Bike 14.  Take 11 or 14 north to Bike 5 or the Erie Canalway Trail.  See the interactive map.  Google Maps also shows a more direct route which parallels I-390.

p.s., If time becomes a problem, the Hudson+Erie has the option of putting your bike on Amtrak.  But 14 days should be enough, it's 400-500 miles any way.

[jed]

Welcome to the group, would you be able to provide me with some touring advice.

I'm trying to plan a cycling tour for the summer of 2017. I intend to ride south down the Weser route and continue along that route as it becomes the D9. Then I will turn west at Niedeaula and ride along the D4 also known as the Millelland Route to Bonn.

Can you comment on the D4, would 32 mm tires be suitable ? Is the cycling route separate from the road and is it a paved surface? Is the availability of tenting sites and food sources good? In your opinion is it a good sightseeing and exploring route ?
Any other comments are welcome.
Kind regards
Jed
Canada