Great footage of the trail! Just did the Empire State trail from NYC to Rouses Point in October, route was great with the fall colors peaking! FYI for those riders planning on taking Amtrak back to NYC be sure the train has bike racks, and make a reservation that’s how you can check if there are. Me and a friend had to do a one way car rental back to nyc from Plattsburgh.
It's great to see videos from riders making their way north of Albany. We're right on the trail in Fort Edward, so you would have ridden past us on Day 4.
A friend and I did our first bike camping multi day trip on the Katy Trail in Missouri last year. This year we did the GAP and C&O trails,,,and you can say we are hooked! Now we have this trail from Buffalo to NYC on our radar for the near future! Great video to tempt us even more!!!
Love this video! I learned new things about the trail. I am fortunate to live near the Walkway over the Hudson and got myself an Aventon Aventure 2 and love biking this section, the Walkill Valley rail trail past the Rosendale Ice Caves! So cool literally. I plan to explore more of the NY state trail. Thanks again for the great video Cheers
though coming from Brazil, overnights might be a little cold for you if you're planning to camp along the way, overnight lows start dipping into the 50's (10+°c)first half September, then mid-40's° f (7-10°c)in the second half of September...
Or I'm a masochist. I will say I've never drank that much in my life. It was actually a heatwave. The temps were in the mid to upper 90s each day with crazy high humidity.
From a fellow creator, nice work on the video! I’m doing the C&O/GAP in September. I think I’ll plan to do this ride the following year in the fall of 2025.
Hey excellent video. A buddy and myself did the Croton aqueduct Trail 50 mile loop around the dam and back up to Yonkers on our gravel bikes. What a beautiful journey that was tons of history. When you ventured north of Yonkers, did you have a tough time staying on trail? Because there was a few times on the Couton Trail we lost it and it’s crazy how you’re literally riding down peoples driveways sometimes partially.
Yeah. Route finding can certainly be difficult. I had a GPS track to follow which really helped. But it's still weird when you're riding through someone's front yard.
I haven't done a full gear breakdown video (I have a few different setups depending on the route). But you can get a sense of some of my setup here: th-cam.com/video/YW1hZGI26GY/w-d-xo.htmlsi=-BQbQWYVvOtWQgyl. This was a gravel bike with a Salsa Anything Cradle up front, a custom Loam Equipment frame bag, and a Revelate Designs Terrapin saddle bag.
Does the NY Trail still head north from Ticonderoga past Port Henry towards Westport? That was the scariest part of my ride around Lake Champlain. No shoulder, heavy traffic and swervy roads. I would definitely find a ride around for that section next time. The southern section looks much nicer than I would have expected. well done Troy!
Yes it does. I didn't find that part too bad. Getting to Ticonderoga was worse as it was riding on a major highway over big hills. The highway was under construction so there was zero shoulder much of the time. Roads were much quieter north of Ticonderoga. But the route could definitely use some improving there for sure.
I did this during a heatwave so I ended up in hotels each night. I was in desperate need of AC after each ride. I found the distances to hotels weren't quite what I wanted and as a result, some days were shorter than I wanted and others were longer.
Amazing video and thanks for sharing, can you please share the strava links to the routes? me and my friend are planning on doing this trip next month and we need help planning the routes/miles/days. thanks in advanced.
I think you will find the RideWithGPS file more helpful. This is the full route I did (Videos for the other states coming soon). This route has lots of helpful POIs to help with your planning. ridewithgps.com/routes/47228060
Getting out of the city was a bit challenging in places. The Empire State Trail to Albany was well marked. Not well North of Albany. And the Croton Aquaduct (optional detour) is pretty hard to follow. I used a GPS for navigation.
@@kerry1383 ha. A writer friend used the word bucolic in a story 24 years ago. I had never heard it before. I’ve been making a point to use it ever since. That said, Chat GPT did help with some parts. 😊
Hi Troy. Do you have the route available strava, all trails, or other? I'm trying to understand where the Croton trail merges into the EST. Greatly appreciated.
It looks like a great route. It seems it might be even more spectacular in the fall with fall colors. Did you camp or stay in hotels? How were the bugs including ticks? Did you see any other bike packers?
insects shouldn't be much of a problem unless you are leaving the trail, to camp, or pee, etc, ticks prefer low growth: tall grasses & bushes, so as long as you stay on the trail or in well-established open forest and don't decide to roll around in the leaves or mown lawns bordering the woods you should be fine. I will say just be aware of and immediately investigate any odd tickles on your legs if you have been through any of that low growth. pulling your socks up over your pant cuffs before going into questionable areas will prevent them from going up the inside of your pant legs from your shoes. I think it's unlikely they would get inside Lycra shorts, but definitely be aware of any tickles on your legs especially if you are wearing looser shorts. one of the more tense moments in my life was having to remove a tick from "Darth Vader's helmet" (if you know what I mean) the hardest part being that you can't bend closer to see what the hell you're doing... however I did manage to do it without needing to resort to asking for help. I definitely recommend avoiding that scenario if at all possible though.
@@TroyOnTrailsto be fair the weather this July is more traditionally August weather... makes me wonder if August is going to be even hotter, or if the weather cycle has just walked backwards a couple of weeks
Was there actual gravel, or is the rider another cyclist who doesn't know what gravel is and calls things like stone dust (or anything that's not asphalt or concrete) "gravel".
@@FourCornersBiking Gravel is impossible to ride on with a normal bicycle. It makes a difference when people say that a trail is gravel (and should be avoided by people with a normal bicycle) when the surface is something else (which CAN be ridden on with a normal bike). Do you think it's nitpicky to expect the description of a trail surface to use words the way they're already defined? Do you expect somebody to drive some distance to ride on a trail and discover that the video author misled viewers? Or, to miss out on a wonderful trail because the video producer said that the trail is pretty-much impassible with a bike with tires narrower than a motorcycle? There are plenty of arrogant jackasses who claim they have some god-given right to lie to the viewers and produce a video that is worse than worthless - because the viewer can'r rely on basics like what a trail surface is. I'd like to avoid the videos of such people. If you don't mind, good for you. [You're a gullible fool, but that's your business.] Can I assume that YOU have no idea what gravel is?
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Great trail through a great state❤❤
It was a great ride for sure.
Native New Yorker here (Troy). Wow! What a video! Nice work!
Thank you for the kind words. I'm glad you enjoyed it. What a spectacular taste of New York. (So much more to see)
What an amazing assortment of scenery and landscapes. Solid pushes on day 4 & 5 to.
What a great ride !
Thanks. I didn't really know what to expect for scenery and was pleasantly surprised. It's a gorgeous area for sure.
Great footage of the trail!
Just did the Empire State trail from NYC to Rouses Point in October, route was great with the fall colors peaking! FYI for those riders planning on taking Amtrak back to NYC be sure the train has bike racks, and make a reservation that’s how you can check if there are. Me and a friend had to do a one way car rental back to nyc from Plattsburgh.
Good advice on the train. I bet it was gorgeous with the fall colors!
Thanks for sharing video. I plan to do bike packing along with empire state trail someday. I learned many things from this video.
Nice. Make sure some day happens. It's worth the journey.
ABSOLUTELY EPIC!
Thanks. It was a great trip.
It's great to see videos from riders making their way north of Albany. We're right on the trail in Fort Edward, so you would have ridden past us on Day 4.
I saw a few folks north of Albany, but it does seem south and west of Albany are the most popular.
I really liked how informative your video was while still being scenic. We've been thinking about doing some of this trail.
Thank you. I really enjoyed it. I encourage you to find a way to get out there. You will be glad you did.
What a wonderful 5-day journey! 😍🚴♂️
Thank you. It was a fun trip. I continued on across VT, NH, and ME so keep an eye out for those videos soon too.
@@TroyOnTrailsI am looking forward for your next video. Have a fun and safe trip. 😍🚴♂️
What a great video! Easy choice to subscribe so I can see more! Thanks for sharing your great ride!
Awesome! Welcome aboard. The trip continued across VT, NH, and ME so keep an eye out for those videos soon.
A friend and I did our first bike camping multi day trip on the Katy Trail in Missouri last year. This year we did the GAP and C&O trails,,,and you can say we are hooked! Now we have this trail from Buffalo to NYC on our radar for the near future! Great video to tempt us even more!!!
Katy, GAP, & C&O are great trails. I really enjoyed them too. You've done some great rides.
If you are back in the city try taking the Staten Island ferry back and forth. It's one of the best views of the Statue of liberty and it's free :)
Sadly, I'm back home in Seattle now. Noted for next time.
Thanks for this! Gives me a better understanding of the trail before a friend and I bike from Brooklyn to Montreal in a few weeks!
Nice. Thanks for watching and have a fantastic ride!
Great coverage and videography. Love Croton and Hudson Bridge and Rosendale .. might take the train to Canada and do this North to South..
It felt like North to south was the right way to do it.
This is a great video. Thanks for documenting this. I live in Rosendale and have been considering a long trip. This helps!!!
It's well worth doing. I hope you get a chance to ride it.
Love this video! I learned new things about the trail. I am fortunate to live near the Walkway over the Hudson and got myself an Aventon Aventure 2 and love biking this section, the Walkill Valley rail trail past the Rosendale Ice Caves! So cool literally. I plan to explore more of the NY state trail. Thanks again for the great video Cheers
Awesome. What a great trail to live near. Enjoy your exploration.
Great video. Thanks for sharing. I’m from Brazil and I’ll be biking on Empire State trail, from NYC to Buffalo, earlier September
Awesome. That was my original plan before I decided to extend my trip to Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. September should be much nicer.
though coming from Brazil, overnights might be a little cold for you if you're planning to camp along the way, overnight lows start dipping into the 50's (10+°c)first half September, then mid-40's° f (7-10°c)in the second half of September...
Over 100 miles a day in ny hot steamy summer days? You’re a Superman
Or I'm a masochist. I will say I've never drank that much in my life. It was actually a heatwave. The temps were in the mid to upper 90s each day with crazy high humidity.
Very enjoyable.
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it. My trip continued across Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine so stay tuned for even more.
Great video! Enjoyed it all the way from the UK!
Awesome! Thank you! I still need to do some UK adventures.
@@TroyOnTrails some great places here, but you'll do it all in one day with the experience you have! 😀
Wow very nice. Thanks for sharing this wonderful video
Thanks for watching and joining the adventure.
I’m starting from NYC to Buffalo next week!!
Nice! That was my original plan. But then I decided I wanted to ride across VT, NH, and ME as well. I think the route to Buffalo is nicer.
Nice ride - Thinking this might be a nice trip after the summer haha
Definitely a great trip for the fall. Have fun!
Soo relaxing ❤❤
My trip was a casual zen experience so I wanted the video to represent that vibe. Glad it worked.
From a fellow creator, nice work on the video! I’m doing the C&O/GAP in September. I think I’ll plan to do this ride the following year in the fall of 2025.
Nice. It will be much more pleasant and gorgeous in the fall.
Hey excellent video. A buddy and myself did the Croton aqueduct Trail 50 mile loop around the dam and back up to Yonkers on our gravel bikes. What a beautiful journey that was tons of history. When you ventured north of Yonkers, did you have a tough time staying on trail? Because there was a few times on the Couton Trail we lost it and it’s crazy how you’re literally riding down peoples driveways sometimes partially.
Yeah. Route finding can certainly be difficult. I had a GPS track to follow which really helped. But it's still weird when you're riding through someone's front yard.
Nice video!
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
Great ride and thanks for sharing! I might have missed it, but do you have a breakdown of your equipment? Curious which bags you use
I haven't done a full gear breakdown video (I have a few different setups depending on the route). But you can get a sense of some of my setup here: th-cam.com/video/YW1hZGI26GY/w-d-xo.htmlsi=-BQbQWYVvOtWQgyl. This was a gravel bike with a Salsa Anything Cradle up front, a custom Loam Equipment frame bag, and a Revelate Designs Terrapin saddle bag.
Does the NY Trail still head north from Ticonderoga past Port Henry towards Westport? That was the scariest part of my ride around Lake Champlain. No shoulder, heavy traffic and swervy roads. I would definitely find a ride around for that section next time. The southern section looks much nicer than I would have expected. well done Troy!
Yes it does. I didn't find that part too bad. Getting to Ticonderoga was worse as it was riding on a major highway over big hills. The highway was under construction so there was zero shoulder much of the time. Roads were much quieter north of Ticonderoga. But the route could definitely use some improving there for sure.
love this so much i did the same exact route in the winter but i went much faster than you
In the winter? Yikes!
it's amazing how nice you can make all of these shity, rundown, towns look with some carefully chosen shots 😂
Most of them looked pretty good. Though lots of rundown homes.
Upstate a beautiful part of the country even the little towns
Great video! Did you camp each night? How was it finding campsites and/or other accommodations?
I did this during a heatwave so I ended up in hotels each night. I was in desperate need of AC after each ride. I found the distances to hotels weren't quite what I wanted and as a result, some days were shorter than I wanted and others were longer.
Amazing video and thanks for sharing, can you please share the strava links to the routes? me and my friend are planning on doing this trip next month and we need help planning the routes/miles/days. thanks in advanced.
I think you will find the RideWithGPS file more helpful. This is the full route I did (Videos for the other states coming soon). This route has lots of helpful POIs to help with your planning. ridewithgps.com/routes/47228060
@@TroyOnTrails Thank you!
What type of bike is that your riding? Trail to urban is the best imo!
It's a gravel bike. The perfect all conditions bike for long distances. Specifically it's a Boltcutter Peacemaker.
Thanks for the nice video. Was the trail well marked or did you need to use a navigation device most of the time?
Getting out of the city was a bit challenging in places. The Empire State Trail to Albany was well marked. Not well North of Albany. And the Croton Aquaduct (optional detour) is pretty hard to follow. I used a GPS for navigation.
That intro was written entirely with ChatGPT.
What makes you say that?
@@TroyOnTrails “through the Rick tapestry of…” is a dead giveaway.
Bucolic.
Nobody speaks like that.
@@kerry1383 ha. A writer friend used the word bucolic in a story 24 years ago. I had never heard it before. I’ve been making a point to use it ever since. That said, Chat GPT did help with some parts. 😊
Hi Troy. Do you have the route available strava, all trails, or other? I'm trying to understand where the Croton trail merges into the EST. Greatly appreciated.
This is my route for my entire Northeast ride. ridewithgps.com/routes/47228060
It looks like a great route. It seems it might be even more spectacular in the fall with fall colors. Did you camp or stay in hotels? How were the bugs including ticks? Did you see any other bike packers?
Yeah. July is NOT the time to do it. It was way too hot so I stayed in hotels to cool off each night.
insects shouldn't be much of a problem unless you are leaving the trail, to camp, or pee, etc, ticks prefer low growth: tall grasses & bushes, so as long as you stay on the trail or in well-established open forest and don't decide to roll around in the leaves or mown lawns bordering the woods you should be fine. I will say just be aware of and immediately investigate any odd tickles on your legs if you have been through any of that low growth. pulling your socks up over your pant cuffs before going into questionable areas will prevent them from going up the inside of your pant legs from your shoes. I think it's unlikely they would get inside Lycra shorts, but definitely be aware of any tickles on your legs especially if you are wearing looser shorts. one of the more tense moments in my life was having to remove a tick from "Darth Vader's helmet" (if you know what I mean) the hardest part being that you can't bend closer to see what the hell you're doing... however I did manage to do it without needing to resort to asking for help. I definitely recommend avoiding that scenario if at all possible though.
@@TroyOnTrailsto be fair the weather this July is more traditionally August weather... makes me wonder if August is going to be even hotter, or if the weather cycle has just walked backwards a couple of weeks
Were there many other people on trail?
Any time I was near civilization there were lots of people. North of zalbany there's not much trail so fewer people for sure.
Hey there. Nice video. Did you actually camp along the way? I wasn't sure if there were campgrounds that could support doing that.
I stayed in hotels because it was way too hot. I needed AC. The plan was to camp at locks and/or stealth camp in the bushes just off the trail.
Anyone know where the opening shot is from?
That is Fish Creek in Shuylerville. The Empire State Trail crosses the creek on Broad Street.
@@TroyOnTrails thank you! Enjoyed the video.
Was there actual gravel, or is the rider another cyclist who doesn't know what gravel is and calls things like stone dust (or anything that's not asphalt or concrete) "gravel".
Asphault, concrete, dirt, grass, and at least 30 different grades of gravel.
@@TroyOnTrails So,, you don't know (or care) what gravel is. Thanks. I'll skip your videos from now on.
@@larrycamilli9589
You should also skip leaving nitpicky comments
Troy, great video.
@@FourCornersBiking Gravel is impossible to ride on with a normal bicycle. It makes a difference when people say that a trail is gravel (and should be avoided by people with a normal bicycle) when the surface is something else (which CAN be ridden on with a normal bike). Do you think it's nitpicky to expect the description of a trail surface to use words the way they're already defined? Do you expect somebody to drive some distance to ride on a trail and discover that the video author misled viewers? Or, to miss out on a wonderful trail because the video producer said that the trail is pretty-much impassible with a bike with tires narrower than a motorcycle?
There are plenty of arrogant jackasses who claim they have some god-given right to lie to the viewers and produce a video that is worse than worthless - because the viewer can'r rely on basics like what a trail surface is. I'd like to avoid the videos of such people. If you don't mind, good for you. [You're a gullible fool, but that's your business.]
Can I assume that YOU have no idea what gravel is?