Traffic Discussion --
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OverallSome of the roads get a lot of motor vehicle traffic. And especially since some of this traffic must be handled while climbing up steep hills, we think some of these road segments have greater traffic interaction risk than most of the road segments on this Bike Hudson Valley website. (The Great Shawangunk Double route has a section in one of its directions which we think has still greater traffic interaction risk.) We recommend that these routes be done only by riders with excellent and well-practiced bike control skills on steep climbs and steep descents, and with good skill and experience in traffic handling and strategy in those circumstances -- and with an understanding and acceptance of the special traffic interaction risks in these situations.
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Hints on managing the traffic interaction risk For the "Great Shawangunk Hill Loop", we take the clockwise direction -- so that the hill which we think usually has the greatest traffic interaction risk, "Mohonk East", is taken in the downhill direction. We prefer to get through the climb up Rt 299 West-bound early in the day, when hopefully there is less traffic. For the "Great Shawangunk Double" route, all the major hills must be taken in both directions. So we prefer to start in the counter-clockwise direction -- so that the "Mohonk East" climb, which we think is the riskiest segment and direction, can be taken early in the day when hopefully there is less traffic. The route eliminates one of the other more risky segments (the West end of Rt 299) completely, through a trick: We descend to the low point in the Wallkill Valley by continuing down Rt 44, which has reasonable shoulders and pretty good visibility. And there's a lot to be said for avoiding both routes on crowded weekends, notably at fall foliage time.
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