# 9 W riders.



## greg12666 (Mar 29, 2012)

I ride 9W almost every weekend. Now that it is getting warm there are going to be tons of cyclists on that route. I rode it this Sat and Sunday. I just ask of everyone to please try and ride single file. I saw at least 10 close calls this weekend by riders riding 2 and 3 aside. That will not work on the tighter shoulders. I see to many accidents every year. If you do now want to be one of them follow the rules.


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## Lallement (Mar 1, 2014)

Is there a good time of day to ride this route, i.e.- low bike and car traffic? I have driven it by car many times going to NJ to visit friends, and often it is just nuts with car and cycle traffic.


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## Diopena1 (Jul 21, 2011)

Lallement said:


> Is there a good time of day to ride this route, i.e.- low bike and car traffic? I have driven it by car many times going to NJ to visit friends, and often it is just nuts with car and cycle traffic.


From my understanding on a weekend..... its always packed! 
I was there on Sunday, and saw a few reckless riders out there.... This was my first time riding since returning to the East coast from Las Vegas. I loved the ride, and only wish other riders stay safe, and be cautious!
Met a few cool people out there, helped a lady with a front wheel issue at a rest stop, and kept it moving!

My problem is with the riders that want to show off what they have, and in doing so, push their ride beyond their personal limits, and cause an accident, or crash themselves... its not worth it....


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## greg12666 (Mar 29, 2012)

The best time is very early. Seems that at that time you get serious riders that know the rules of the road. Later in the day you see larger groups from NYC riding double and triple across.


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## 9W9W (Apr 5, 2012)

I work on 9W and so I know these parts. 

There are groups which queue up in Central Park at 6AM and head north on 9W as early as seven. Cycle traffic does start early but only the really serious guys are out there hammering at seven in the morning. In terms of safety, I think the talk is overblown. Most of the route has wide shoulders and once you get up to Piermont, once again you have options to fan out and take the quiet route. 

About the most dangerous thing the uninitiated do (95% of cyclists) is make a right on Palisade avenue and ride a good mile and then some on a heavily trafficked road with zero shoulder with cars flying by at 45+mph while dodging sewer gratings and loose gravel. :nonod:
However, there's a blissful wide smooth and quiet way which to get to the intersection of E Clinton Ave and 9W. You probably know this intersection as the first (or last) light where the wide shoulders start. Here's a map:









Once you get to the wide shouldered part just ride on the right and there's plenty of room for groups to fly by, really simple. But yeah, Saturday 11AM it'll get pretty packed with entire groups forming at stoplights and such.


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## Mergetrio (May 28, 2012)

I live in the 9W area (Englewood Cliffs) and, as both a driver and cyclist, love the 9W route and is generally safe. As a driver, I do witness and am careful around a group of cyclists that ride as if they own the road to THEIR detriment. I've also witnessed some who are disrespectful to the drivers. On the other hand, I also know a good handful of friends (who are not cyclists) who live in the area and absolutely cannot stand the cyclists including me, LOL! It's all a matter of (selfish) perspective that requires due considerations for others.


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## Trek_5200 (Apr 21, 2013)

Plain and simple some of the riders on 9W are jerks, at least during the time they are riding that stretch. A rider insisted on cutting me off as I was attempting to avoid an area of bad pavement on 9W two weeks ago forcing me to go over it. Luckily the worst of it was losing a water bottle, but I had to hold on and pray. 9W is famous for people treating it as a race course and not even considering what the other cyclists are doing. And then you have casual riders two or three across riding casually taking up the whole road and forcing faster riders from having to veer into the car lanes to pass.

Also something to be concerned about this time of year are the triathletes and wanna-be triathletes on aero-bars. Keep in mind these riders may not be equally experienced and any rider on an aero-bar will have reduced reaction time when stopping or changing lanes. These bikes are not outfitted for social riding and are intended for time trials more than riding amongst others.

9W is of course a necessary evil for anyone heading toward Rockland, but there are so many great roads if you just keep going north. If you aren't making use of them you are missing out.


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## mtrac (Sep 23, 2013)

This is why I liked both to start out no later than 8:00 AM and ride in autumn. Also, the jerks seem to thin out north of Runcible Spoon.


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## Trek_5200 (Apr 21, 2013)

Yea, the path is predictable. the offenders like to stay on 9w and go from piermont to nyack via piermont avenue. i guess these types don't like climbs, just to ride fast


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

What is Henry Hudson Drive like? Is that a viable option? Might be more suited to fat tires I'm guessing.


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## Trek_5200 (Apr 21, 2013)

Christine said:


> What is Henry Hudson Drive like? Is that a viable option? Might be more suited to fat tires I'm guessing.


Henry Hudson Drive starts next to Fort Lee park and joins 9W around Alpine. A lot of people have nick-named it River Road. It's a very good option but its a bit hillier at least in two spots, but its a lot more fun to ride, car free and doesn't have the same traffic issues.

https://www.strava.com/segments/8286485


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## Christine (Jul 23, 2005)

Trek_5200 said:


> Henry Hudson Drive starts next to Fort Lee park and joins 9W around Alpine. A lot of people have nick-named it River Road. It's a very good option but its a bit hillier at least in two spots, but its a lot more fun to ride, car free and doesn't have the same traffic issues.
> 
> https://www.strava.com/segments/8286485


Is that the elevation profile? Big-ass climb at the end.


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## Trek_5200 (Apr 21, 2013)

Only a CAT-4 climb. It can seem daunting when you first start doing it, but it's actually a baby. I ride up Alpine and come home via 9W to the city at around once a week as part of my training regimen. I've begun to think of this short ride as my secret sauce for increasing my fitness level on the bike. Since i started doing these mid-week rides a few weeks ago I've noticed huge strides in all my rides and I much prefer this over Central Park.


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## 9W9W (Apr 5, 2012)

Christine said:


> What is Henry Hudson Drive like? Is that a viable option? Might be more suited to fat tires I'm guessing.


EPIC! is what it's like. If you haven't done it I think you would really enjoy it. It's nearly car free, under canopy of trees. Cliffs on one side, water on the other, smooth asphalt to ride on. I highly recommend doing this on a weekend. As far as I' concerned it's the best cycling nearest to NYC. 

I call it "the park" because it's not a through-road and there's a clear park entry and exit gate at either end.


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## D&MsDad (Jul 17, 2007)

Trek_5200 said:


> 9W is of course a necessary evil for anyone heading toward Rockland,


Well, it isn't entirely necessary. You can take Hudson Terrace, cross 9W on Palisades Ave. and drop down to the Engle St/Piermont Rd/County Rd/back to Piermont Rd/Rte 340 combo. (I usually skip most of Engle st. by wending my way through Englewood East of Engle st. - it's nice to see how the rich live.) However, Piermont Rd/County Rd through Tenafly/Cresskill/etc. is fairly busy with no shoulder so, although the traffic is slower I'm not sure that it is much safer.

9W9Ws route to avoid the worst part of 9W is probably the safest, in terms of the lowest risk of accident. Although if someone does run you down from behind on 9W, it would be bad. I can only remember this happening to one guy, though, a few years ago (>5yrs, I think) who got run down and killed by a Korean lady. There used to be a ghost bike, haven't noticed it lately. Is it still there?


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## 9W9W (Apr 5, 2012)

D&MsDad said:


> Is it still there?


Yes, it is.


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## D&MsDad (Jul 17, 2007)

9W9W said:


> Yes, it is.


Yep, spotted it this weekend. When I take 9W I'm headed south on that part, so I'm rarely looking at the north-bound side of the road. I made a point of it Saturday, though.

I was out early, so it wasn't too busy, though there were still a lot of riders. I didn't notice anyone acting sketchily, but then again IME the riders on 9W are pretty calm since 9W is long, straight with few intersections. I try to avoid it during "prime time", though, so maybe there is more going on when it is more crowded.


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## Trek_5200 (Apr 21, 2013)

This past Saturday was an odd day. Tons of rides out, but almost everyone was doing long distance in prep for NYC Gran Fondo or supporting friends who were. I was out for 9 hours and I've never seen so many cyclists on one day riding in a non-race setting.


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## D&MsDad (Jul 17, 2007)

Trek_5200 said:


> This past Saturday was an odd day. Tons of rides out, but almost everyone was doing long distance in prep for NYC Gran Fondo or supporting friends who were. I was out for 9 hours and I've never seen so many cyclists on one day riding in a non-race setting.


Also the weather forecast for Sunday was pretty dire, so maybe a lot of people got their rides in on Saturday anticipating that they wouldn't want to ride on Sunday.

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## daddyjakes (Aug 13, 2011)

Did anyone try Henry Hudson Drive(River Road) this past weekend? Some guys I know said there was a rockslide and significant debris on the road that had to be walked over.


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## Trek_5200 (Apr 21, 2013)

just about cleared. should be good by tonight. there is a gfny sunday through there.


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## daddyjakes (Aug 13, 2011)

It seems like after extended periods of rain that happens. I saw a pic and it didn't look as bad as the last one I recall. That one had rocks the size of small cars.


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## D&MsDad (Jul 17, 2007)

Trek_5200 said:


> there is a gfny sunday through there.


Ack, I forgot about that. I'll have to remember to avoid most of E. Rockland on Sunday. If my wife wants to ride the tandem, I guess I'll introduce her to E. Saddle River Rd. 

Or, go extra early and head north.



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