Favorite Road Bike Routes

Saw the thread about favorite mountain bike trails and it got me thinking. Does anyone ride road bikes anymore . Nowadays when you say biking that's all anyone things of is mountain bikes. Back to my original question. Since I'm from NJ, I have to say one of my favorite would be 9W which goes up from the George Washington Bridge all the way up to Albany. Not to say I go all the way to Albany, but there are some very nice sections on this ride and it is very popular for biking.

I ride my road bicycle more than my mountain bicycles...I mostly cycle within a 25-mile radius of where I live...also meet friends up in the White Mountains of NH and the Green Mountains of VT...I try to cycle on roads that I can climb & descend without getting run over by reckless motor vehicle drivers...

One of my favorite training rides is a 53-mile loop starting in Weare NH passing through Henniker, Bradford, Newbury, Sunapee, and Hopkinton with lunch on the deck at Mount Sunapee…

My favorite charity ride is the MS Green Mountain Getaway, a 75-mile loop in Western Vermont just south of Castleton…

Oh my God, there's another roadbiker out there, in this day and age it's hard to believe. :lol: I don't get out as much as I used to, but actually most of Northern Jersey, most specifically Bergen County is great for road bikes. There are a number of 50+ mile rides I used to do all the time.

There is some great road biking in the Mad River Valley. Biking through App Gap is quite the climb.

i used to road bike a lot back in my high school and college days. growing up in the merrimack valley, route 110 was one of my all time favorite roads. used to treck back and forth between lowell and haverhill, and haverhill and hampton beach a lot. haven't been out on a bike in a while, but road biking was always my preference. i mostly utilize my road bike as a spot on loop hikes that don't loop back to the car.

Common Rd Warren/Waitsfield

I think the Common Rd along the east bench of the MRV is one of the best bike rides anywhere.

Mellow elevation changes with a couple of big dips, incredible views of Mt Abe, Lincoln, Ellen, Stark, Camels Hump and Hunger Mt to the north. While the masses are driving on Rt 100 this piece of road has little traffic. There are several loops you can do depending how far you want to ride.

Another favorite of mine, is just about all of Cape Cod. Damn, love biking out there, from the roads, to some of the trails, to biking over the dunes in Provincetown.

On a different note, decided to take my road bike out for a ride today. Haven't been on it in about 3-4 years. I've been riding a hybrid due to the fact that there was no way my wife was keeping up with me on the road bike. Damn thing has been sitting in the basement so long that it had cobwebs on it's wheels. I take it out, was a pleasure just picking this Carbon Fiber frame up. I put on my biking shoes, which I haven't worn in years. I jump on the bike, what strange efin feeling! But I'm looking forward to finally getting out on the road. Figure I'll get used to it in no time. Well I downshift, and then find that I couldn't shit back into a higher gear . Put the bike back, got out my hybrid and got in a decent ride. Got home checked it out and found that the shifter needed to be lubricated. Well maybe next time ! I'm looking forward to it, haven't even thought about riding that bike in awhile.

andyzee said:

...Carbon Fiber frame..

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...it's like riding on a feather... :wink:

Charlie Schuessler said:

andyzee said:

...Carbon Fiber frame..

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...it's like riding on a feather... :wink:

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It's the best, can't wait to get back on it. Didn't realize what I was missing until I picked it up today.

I saw lots of people riding on the Kanc and Bear Notch road on Saturday morning on my way to Mt. Carrigain.

I don't road ride. I would rather hit a tree than be hit by a car. :roll:

A couple of my friends like to ride route 1 in NH and southern ME. I believe they start in Portmouth, go down to Rye on a road i can't think of its name, then up the coast to Wells on Route 1. Sometimes they ride to Mt Agi.

ga2ski said:

I saw lots of people riding on the Kanc and Bear Notch road on Saturday morning on my way to Mt. Carrigain.

I don't road ride. I would rather hit a tree than be hit by a car. :roll:

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Bear Notch Rd is a nice climb. Not too steep, but still a decent workout. Crawford Notch on the other hand... Ouch!

Other nice rides are the climb up Sugar Hill near Franconia Notch (beautiful roads, no cars) and a loop around Martha's Vineyard (50 miles, mostly flat, bikes allowed on the ferry for short money).

I know what you mean about being hit by a car. With traffic greatly increasing near my place, I've given up road riding after I found I couldn't relax because I was trying to stay so focused and aware of the passing traffic. I'd come home more tense and wound up than when I left. And people on motorcycles think they get it bad, I swear people actually AIM for you when you're on a bicycle.

Smitty

Road Bicycling

smitty77 said:

...I know what you mean about being hit by a car...I swear people actually AIM for you when you're on a bicycle.
Smitty

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It will be safer when motorists drive at the speed limit (which is the maximum & not the median) posted and actually slow down while passing a bicyclist or pedestrian...however I suppose that's too much courtesy to expect...