New York-Montreal by bike | The duty

The route runs along Bike Route 9 between the George-Washington Bridge, in New York, and the Canadian border at Lacolle. Then the Route verte to Montreal. Some six hundred kilometers of a road sometimes busy and noisy, sometimes bucolic and flat, or even steep with slopes that are not very charitable for the joints. The Adirondacks, indeed! Bridges to cross, villages and beaches to discover, museums and forts to visit, ice bars, chip shops … A slightly breathless, but very captivating odyssey. The Big Apple as a bonus.

New York – From the Pulaski Bridge, which connects the borough of Brooklyn to that of Queens, the view of the Manhattan skyscrapers is breathtaking. All the architectural styles come together. A beautiful playground for architects who, in these green times, strive to create the green skyscraper. We can see the Empire State Building. The limestone giant built in 1930, in the midst of the crisis, remains the most famous of the New York skyline. Nice overview before going to nab a stiff neck in Midtown, in the shade of these colossi.

New York by bike! Who would have thought this possible, given the extreme congestion of the city’s axes? In 2007, Michael Bloomberg promised the city a 30% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. Now is the time to encourage cycling. After giving their vote to the mayor, cyclists are now raising their voices to carve out a comfortable spot on the asphalt of New York City. And it rolls!

Bands and cycle paths are multiplying. And while the road markings on the illustrious white bicycle are not foolproof protection against cars, taxis, buses and pedestrians, it does improve safety when traveling on two wheels. Not stung by worms, the Big Apple! There are already some 350 kilometers of tracks reserved for cyclists.

It is therefore in Brooklyn that we begin our journey. Since we only have four days to travel Bike Route 9, it was agreed that we would do some sections by car. No desire to devour the road like these kilometer-eaters who will participate in the “espresso” version of the Montreal-New York cyclorandonnée offered next May by Vélo Québec Voyages. These cycling enthusiasts will reach the Big Apple in five days. “For those who are contemplative, there is also the“ relaxed ”version, specifies Carolyne Guay, director, marketing projects, at Vélo Québec. An expedition that can be completed in ten days. ”

At the exit of Pulaski Bridge, a few pedal strokes in Long Island City, then we take the Queensboro Bridge, alias 59th Street Bridge, from the number of the street which gives access to the bridge in Manhattan. Whistling, of course, The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin’Groovy), by Simon and Garfunkel. Watch out here for pedestrians with whom the cyclist shares the route. Especially if eyes are drawn to the red cable car that flies over Roosevelt Island, just below.

From the top of the cantilevered bridge, with a length of 1135 meters, we see the scene from the film Spider-Man directed by Sam Raimi, where the green jester hurls Mary Jane Watson from the top of the catwalk. Will Spider-Man save Kirsten Dunst or the cable car passengers? We also remember the film Manhattan, by Woody Allen. The scene that immortalizes the famous bridge was shot at the end of 59th Street, overlooking the East River. The bench no longer exists.

We go up 59th Street to Madison, then Fifth Avenue. Just to the left follow the Apple Store in the shape of a glass cube and the luxurious windows of Bergdorf Goodman, Louis Vuitton, Tiffany’s … We enter Central Park on the south side. One day is not enough! We read, in the Lonely Planet New York – Routes guide, that it took nearly 20 years and 20,000 workers to transform old swamps into this green rectangle of 340 hectares, 50 streets long and three wide.

“Park Drive is now closed to cars between 10 am and 3 pm on weekdays and between 7 pm Friday evening and 6 am Monday morning,” explains Hannah Borgeson, director of communications at Bike New York, the New York counterpart of Vélo Québec. “The ten-kilometer asphalt road gives access to The Pond, Wollman Rink, Central Park Wildlife Center, Sheep Meadow, The Mall, bordered by old elms, Naumburg Bandshell (conch-shaped bandstand), Bethesda fountain, Boat Pond and Bow Bridge. “

Despite a persistent drizzle that forces us to take out raincoats and umbrellas, our city tour is going well. Occasionally you have to navigate your way between taxis, cars, rickshaws and unruly pedestrians, but overall the walk is pleasant. It felt like the experience was more intimidating.

But no! The megalopolis, which takes shape with paths for pedestrians, cyclists, rollerbladers, and tree-lined walks on old rails, and which also takes care of its coastline with large lines of greenery and revamps its old industrial districts, seems to have tamed the motorists. And surprisingly, there is no smell of gasoline or diesel in the air.

A few sections have become pedestrianized between Times Square and Broadway. So we get off our mounts. Last summer, the project was experimental, but in February 2010, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the perpetuation of these pedestrian areas in the center of the Square. “The only avenue crossing Manhattan diagonally, Broadway has always recuperated the incessant flow of vehicles that used the adjoining streets. The situation was hellish, ”explains Hannah Borgeson. Now the spaces are equipped with tables and chairs from which one can observe the illuminated mega-panels while sipping a cocktail or enjoying a hot dog.

We end the day along the Hudson, between 46th Street where the USS Intrepid, an aircraft carrier used in World War II and now recycled as a war museum, is moored, and Battery Park in the Financial District , departure point for ferries to the Statue of Liberty. It’s raining nails. We pedal without lingering towards Soho, a trendy district that saw the birth of the loft, then towards Nolita, in the Lower East Side. Once crowded with Italian-American families, this suburb of tree-lined streets filled with trendy workshops and restaurants has become a peaceful haven near Chinatown. Finally, we cross the Williamburg Bridge to Brooklyn.

Between New York and Montreal

To join Route 9, we take the George Washington Bridge. The two-level suspension bridge offers 14 two-way traffic lanes. Like other bridges in the city, it reserves two lanes on each side for pedestrians and cyclists. This road for cyclists (and as far as the borders) consists of an asphalt shoulder along a sometimes busy, sometimes bucolic road. Bike Route 9 will be our breadcrumb trail to the village of Rouses Point.

Between the soulless suburb of Yonkers and the wooded folds of Catskills, cultural activities are plentiful. The village of Sleepy Hollo immerses the visitor in the world of the writer Washington Irving, author of the novel The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The Beacon Museum of Contemporary Art, DIA, sets the tone for a minimalist and monumental aesthetic. Nestled in the former Nabisco biscuit factory, the largest museum of contemporary art in the world houses paintings by Andy Warhol, large metal ellipses by Richard Serra, tall gray mirrors by Gerhard Richter, installations by Louise Bourgeois. .

Located about ten kilometers from Poughkeepsie, Hyde Park is worth a visit for a visit to the residence of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The museum’s office and library contain a collection of the president’s personal effects and tell in five stages the story of this head of state who was able to restore the people’s confidence after the 1929 crisis. Three kilometers from the wealthy estate is finds the cottage in Val-Kill, where his wife Eleanor loved to retire.

The trip would not be complete without a visit to Saratoga National Historic Park, known for its iron-flavored thermal waters, and Whitehall, if only to see one of the 11 locks on the Champlain Canal in operation. Then, a stop at Fort Ticonderoga (first called Carillon), built by the French in 1755 to drive the English out of Lake Champlain and which, against all expectations, was successfully defended in 1758 by a small French army, under the command of the Marquis de Montcalm and supported by the Abenakis.

We continue our course in the heart of the Adirondacks, sometimes along Lake George, sometimes Lake Champlain. We rub shoulders with pretty villages, friendly grocery stores, picturesque marinas, Playmobile-style farms, orchards … In Plattsburgh, there is more than one museum to visit. The Kent-Delord House Museum sheds light on the lives of people 200 years ago.

Rouses Point. A sign indicates the Route verte in three kilometers. We cross the border without a hitch. In Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, we walk along the river to Chambly. Only a few kilometers left before Longueuil, where we will take the ferry to the dock at the port of Montreal.

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In bulk

For information in French on New York City: www.nylovesu.com.

For information on biking and the Five Boro Bike Tour in New York City: www.bikenewyork.org.

The Five Boro Bike Tour is to New York what the Tour de l’Ile is to Montreal. The event takes place on the first Sunday in May and allows 30,000 cyclists to cycle through New York’s five boroughs: Manhattan, the Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island.

For tourist information on New York State: iloveny.com.

Vélo Québec: 514 521-8356, 1 800 567-8356 (toll free for Canada and the United States), www.velo.qc.ca.

Vélo Québec Voyages offers Montreal-New York by bike to contemplatives in a “relaxed” version (10 days-9 nights), from May 28 to June 6, 2010, and to kilometer-eaters in an “espresso” version (6 days-5 nights), May 22-27, 2010.

To read: New York – Itineraries, by Myles Hyman and Vincent Rea, published by Lonely Planet. This little 175-page guide, nicely and abundantly illustrated, allows you to discover the city in a different way. Among others on the screen, by metro, by its green and organic markets, along the Hudson, by its moods …

Get: The New York State Bike Route 9, the famous route map for Route 9, from Rouses Point to New York.

Visit the Big Apple Maps website: nycbikemaps.com.

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Our journalist was the guest of Vélo-Québec.

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Devoir Collaborator

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