# 9W North of Piermont



## Banks246 (Jul 3, 2011)

Can someone let me know what the route is like (Traffic, road condition)? Is it similar to 9W south of Piermont? I have ridden 9W from the GWB to Piermont and would like to extend my ride by another 20 or so miles.


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## Vibe (Jan 11, 2011)

You can ride to Orchards, the traffic is pretty much the same, you have a shoulder to ride on, etc.


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## jmoryl (Sep 5, 2004)

I'm not fond of 9W between Piermont and Nyack. When I want to go north of Piermont and not take River Rd., I'll take 9W across the viaduct coming into Piermont and look for Tweed Blvd. going off to the left (aka county Rd. 5, IIRC). You can take this up into the hills until you come to Bradley Parkway, where you can then come down into Nyack. This ads some good climbing, but last time I looked (2011) they had chipsealed Tweed and there was a lot of loose gravel. Should be better by now.

You can add some more miles by taking 9W north from Nyack to Rockland State Park, doing a loop on the park road and then return to Nyack by Lake Rd - Christian Herald Rd - Old Mountain. Again, some more climbing on 9W (just past Toga) and Christian Herald.


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## dnmoss (Jun 27, 2008)

9W north of piermont is fine -- agree that rockland lake will be a good +20 miles for you 

you'll stay straight on 9w, there is a fork in the road a few miles past piermont, stay to the left. then you come up to an exit for some other highway (the pavement changes to concrete). there are some larger cracks/holes so watch out -- you'll first stay to the right and then make a 90 degree left to stay on 9W. Go to the top of a short slope and make a right. then stay straight through a few lights -- you'll climb 2 hills (Toga is on the second one), then a descent and rockland lake is on your right...do a loop, come back the way you came (climb one hill, descend past Toga and make a left at the light at the bottom). then follow jmoryl's directions to nyack


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## easyridernyc (Jan 10, 2008)

*so basically*

past toga and up that big hill the next stop is rockland state park, another six or seven miles or so?

thx


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## jmoryl (Sep 5, 2004)

easyridernyc said:


> past toga and up that big hill the next stop is rockland state park, another six or seven miles or so?
> 
> thx


Map it out on ridewithgps or some other tool if you want to know the exact milage and get some idea of the hills.


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## easyridernyc (Jan 10, 2008)

jmoryl said:


> Map it out on ridewithgps or some other tool if you want to know the exact milage and get some idea of the hills.


that would be way too much work


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## Bluffplace (Jul 30, 2008)

Its about a 40 mile round trip from Toga to GWB


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## jmoryl (Sep 5, 2004)

easyridernyc said:


> that would be way too much work


Well, then ride it and see!


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## Banks246 (Jul 3, 2011)

Thanks folks -- looking forward to doing this ride. Maybe one day I won't turn around and I'll go to (the base!) of Bear Mtn!


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## trener1 (Jan 22, 2004)

From Toga to Rockland lake park is only a mile or so, the loop around the park is maybe 2-3 miles, so round trip you will only be adding 5-6 miles to your ride.


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## easyridernyc (Jan 10, 2008)

*century*

started out for nyack from gw, kept going and figured i'd do the mountain via 9W. looped aroud rockland state park on the way, got detoured away from 9W and into nyack on the way back 


first the good. 

absolutely gorgeous scenery, lush and green. dramatic, dynamic and challenging landscape and topography. majestic views of the hudson river valley in all of its pristine beauty,almost unfair how pretty it was. and wildlife like you read about. one deer came within ten feet, but he was _completely_ cool. birds of all kinds and colors, red, blue, orange and black. fresh, clean, country air. once you start getting up into those hills--zen city. 

two, a real treat for me was seeing indian hills, almost so close you could touch it. huge monuments of stone, silent, majestic. not doing anything if you just look at em. but inside, generating nuclear reactions and enough power to light a city a hundred times over. just sitting there. hummin. cool stuff. 

three, good vibes, from the occasional pedestrian smiling and waving, to passing kids. people just taking it easy, enjoying a beautiful summer day. maybe i just happened to get a good sample, but pretty much everybody i acknowledged, waved at, or talked to was like, really really cool.

four, paved road, only an occasional snag or pothole (you gotta pay attention, on a hundred mile route there will invariably be some occassional treachery), light traffic, plenty of shoulder clearly marked. smooth sailing a lot of the way. 

ok now the bad. 

traffic.not much, but enough of it to suck. harleys especially, god bless em, but man they make a lot of noise, must have seen, and heard, unfortunately close to fifty or sixty, and every time they kinda rattled my nerves a bit. also a couple of obnoxious drivers, one passenger (moving away at a high rate of speed, and of course, not driving the vehicle--upper grandview nyack the little prick), hurled obscenities. which kinda pissed me off. a lot of speeding, some of it really of the conspicuous who gives a f---k variety, not very considerate of themselves or other drivers, much less cyclists who cannot see traffic bearing down from behind, that wasnt too cool, kinda got run off into some nasty rocks leaving bear and winding up a monster effin hill. certainly these latest were the exception to the rule, most drivers read the signs, are mindful of traffic, and proceed safely and accordingly--but there's enough reckless disregard for cyclist safety for it to be a serious concern out there. take caution. and wear your helmet. 

two, road kill. massive at times and not at all for the squeamish lol. raccoons, possums with huge tails, man, some like twenty, couple thirty pounds. i must have seen a couple hundred chipmunks flattened on the sides of the road, poor little buggers. the troopers were out there reporting the big stuff though and getting it cleaned up. just keep your eyes open and be aware, better to slow down, check behind, and go around it, rather than run over it and lose control/splatter through the slimy guts and innards. yechh lol.

three, not many rest stops per se, no rest rooms or water stations. and as pretty as the state parks are, they're not particulary cyclist friendly. had to make a couple awkward stops; once at a deli to buy cold drinks (taking my insulated bottle out next time), good thing was i coulda bought a turkey sandwich, they looked good. another time had to stop piss on a tree (man that felt good) luckily there werent any bears around ha ha. 

and four, and probably most important, that hill going up to bear mountain is every bit of a bytch as they say it is. it doesnt go straight up, but it winds up plenty, and it seemed to last for a while. tour type pain lol, i was feeling it for a minute there....


all in all a pretty awesome experience. as soon as my legs recover, im going up again..


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## Bluffplace (Jul 30, 2008)

Next time on you way up to Bear Mountain, drop down to Haverstraw and follow the bicycle signs. Quiet rode, views of the hudson. When you climb out of Haverstraw and get back on to 9w northbound. On your left is Cove Deli, a good place to stop for fuel/bathroom. 

If your a history buff, go to Nyack beach and take the trail that goes to Haverstraw. Its not a paved road, so its a slow ride, but interesting things to stop and read about.


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## easyridernyc (Jan 10, 2008)

Bluffplace said:


> Next time on you way up to Bear Mountain, drop down to Haverstraw and follow the bicycle signs. Quiet rode, views of the hudson. When you climb out of Haverstraw and get back on to 9w northbound. On your left is Cove Deli, a good place to stop for fuel/bathroom.
> 
> If your a history buff, go to Nyack beach and take the trail that goes to Haverstraw. Its not a paved road, so its a slow ride, but interesting things to stop and read about.


yeah i stopped at cove like i said the sandwiches looked gud, man...lol. maybe next time i will fuel...


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## gpcyclist25 (Mar 22, 2011)

It might be easier to go through Nyack via Piermont Rd and avoid that segment of 9W...

Cyclist Dies After Being Struck on Route 9W | Cyclists International


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## easyridernyc (Jan 10, 2008)

gpcyclist25 said:


> It might be easier to go through Nyack via Piermont Rd and avoid that segment of 9W...
> 
> Cyclist Dies After Being Struck on Route 9W | Cyclists International


ohhhh i think i saw that. that must have been why they shut down the traffic late sunday afternoon. good call, man...effin upper grandview, that's where that little a hole called me out on my trip north earlier in the day. maybe the cops need to send a few more patrols through, its obviously getting out of control. 

sometimes it's just too narrow and is simply unsafe. then there are some people (like i said above, people that usually dont even live in the community) who just feel like they own the road. the selfishness and inconsideration up there sometimes are mind boggling. i got caught in a moderately heavy rain up there a couple weeks ago, south on 9w in upper grandview, so i was kinda soft peddling it, going slow/taking it easy till it passed. when this YELLOW JEEP comes down the hill, hit the gas to about forty forty five mph, hydroplaned a three foot wall of water at me, pointing me straight at not just the ditch, but at a sewer with about a six inch rut in front of it. and was laughing. a real retard, man...

like i say, some people.


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## stoked (Aug 6, 2004)

This is a sad story. I usually avoid 9W between Piermont-Nyack. But took it last week after 2 guys we met on Bear Mtn insisted that it was faster than riding by the water. I think it is a bit safer in a pack than as a solo rider because drivers are more cautious but I will avoid this section from now on. I've been avoiding 9w between GWB and Alpine altogether past few months to get a better workout and can't wait to hit the newly paved Hudson drive.


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