I was there over Memorial Day weekend. I did not do a ton of riding but did some. It was a bit of a vacation with my wife to celebrate our anniversary and despite Ironman training I didn't want to be out the bike for 5-6 hours every day. That said, I found the finger lakes to be a FANTASTIC place to ride. The funny thing is that even over the supposedly busy holiday weekend traffic was very non-existent. Most of it is concentrated around the lakes, especially the wine trails. But there are plenty of rural roads between the lakes that have almost no traffic. Hopefully you don't mind hills because most areas are pretty hilly with the biggest climbs getting away from the lakes. There are a ton of rides people have done on ridewithgps.com. You can plan out just about any route and expect it to be fairly traffic free. I found the roads up there to be quite good.

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Pete Githens
Reading, PA

I've done a few road races in the area there, and while I couldn't tell you which roads are best I can say that the climbs from the lakes up to the surrounding bluffs are monsters. Some of the steepest stuff I've ever ridden. One race called the Giro D' Otisco finishes on a 3/4 mile long climb up from the lake to the top of a bluff and averages between 20-25%. Not exaggerating. Not saying Cat 4 guys are climbing studs but people were literally falling off their bikes because they couldn't turn the pedals. If you're planning to do long rides I'd probably avoid those roads going up from the lakes. You'll leave your legs on them

I just spent a week at Keuka, an annual vacation spot for my family. I've done the loop around that lake quite a few times, which is really a nice easy ride. For Keuka, the perimeter roads hug the lake nearly the entire way and are rather flat. That is, unless you hit the peninsula at the north end of the lake, and riding up to the top of that bluff surely won't ruin your day. Take a look at the KeukaLakeTri course for the best route in that part of the lake. The east side of the lake (Rt. 54) is a busy road which sees a lot of big truck traffic. But, it has got a wide shoulder which is relatively clean and I never felt unsafe riding it. The west side of the lake is much quieter but also has a very narrow shoulder. There is an excellent bakery in Hammondsport (south end of Keuka Lake) which I recommend visiting, "Keuka Artisan Bakery & Deli". They are a regular stop for many of the cycling tours which roll through.

Otherwise, I can't add much about the other nearby lakes. I have ridden a much of the west side of Seneca Lake (Rt. 14) and can't say that I ever enjoyed that very much. Again, that's another 55 mph road with a rather wide shoulder. Take a look at the MusselMan course for suggestions on a route covering the northeast end of Seneca Lake going over to Cayuga. I'd also highly recommend a stop at the Geneva Bicycle Center, one of my favorite bicycle shops ever - they seem to have everything.

I've also got a few of these rides mapped out on RideWithGPS which I can share if you are interested.

Cayuga is a good ride, one of my favorites. Rt 89 has plenty of shoulder to ride on. Ithaca is the only part that gets a little iffy sometimes.

Seneca is a nice ride, except 414 north out of watkins is somewhat narrow at times, and when it isnt narrow there are tons of wineries (not where you want to be riding your bike). I know plenty of people who ride there and don't have problems, but I've seen too many accidents for my liking (cars and motorcycles...no cyclist accidents). if you are coming out of watkins (east) I usually take Cass rd (nasty little climb) up to skyline and then head north to 79 then a quick jog over to Logan rd then up through the national forest (LOTS of climbing). Then you can ride back to 227 and connect through trumansuburg and head up to Ovid. once at Ovid you can hit the last half of the musselman course (safe riding) and go up through geneva (riding through sampson where you can experience similar conditions to the cobbles of france). Rt 14 south out of geneva is fine.

Keuka is great - lots of room and safe - less traffic. Peasantman tri is on that lake. Just be careful of the horse and buggies :)

I'm a local, so PM me if you have any specific questions.

I just did the Canandaigua Lake circle. Pretty good ride of about 45-48 miles (depending on when you cut back over to the lake on the east side). Park at Kershaw Park in Canandaigua. Free water in Naples, right around the half-way point. You could also stop for some wine at Inspire Moore Winery and some grape pies if in need of nutrition. If you want a real challenge, try to make it up the Bopper Hill (yes, real name). I failed on my 39/28.

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Take a short break from ST and read my blog:
http://tri-banter.blogspot.com/

I grew up in Canandaigua so I know the area well. The ride along Canandaigua Lake is a great one. If you head down West Lake Road, you will have some very good climbs. The climb up to Seneca Point Road is a doozie! If you take the left onto Seneca Point Road, you have a LONG downhill (steep at one point), and then you can attempt to climb up Bopple Hill Road. SO steep, but with an incredible view at the top! Then you can continue down Route 21 into Naples (stop for a slice of grape pie! YUM!) and around to the East side of the lake. There are some great climbs on the East side as well. There are also swimming spots along the lake if you want to jump in and cool off. Some of the most gorgeous homes you will ever see are on Canandaigua Lake.

ENJOY!

I rode around Canandaigua last year when I was in the area for work training. There was some decent climbing and most roads had good shoulders. I did happen upon dirt road by mistake and almost ran over a Doberman that came out to meet me (scary as hell!). Here's the route I rode there (http://connect.garmin.com/activity/332257181).

Like hills? You can get some ideas here http://www.highlandercycletour.com/index.htm

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you know my name, look up my number
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I ride the Canandaigua loop every weekend. Very little traffic, especially early AM. If you are going south on West Lake Rd., then you can avoid Bopple Hill by not turning left on Seneca Point Rd. You'd just take Rte. 21 all the way into Naples. I wouldn't cut east via Parish Hill Rd....I go a bit more and use Rte. 245.

Going north on the east side, I turn left on Sunnyside. About .5 mile down the road I bear right at the fork. You'll hit Rte. 364 in MIddlesex, and you take that all the way to Lakeshore Dr. The Sunnyside/West Ave. detour gets me off Rte. 245 (the paving and traffic is a little iffy in that area), and it's so secluded and quiet you can breath a little, have a snack, etc.

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Chris Harris

Thanks everyone for the awesome feedback. I already have several .gpx routes downloaded from Strava activities, now I will take some time to compare your advice and anecdotes to the maps.

I definitely want to hit some climbing...we have nothing around here exceeding 100m. That said, the rides I saw all had LESS total ascent than most of my local rides, which are consistently up/down. I am looking forward to different ride profiles.

I don't necessarily want super steep, I am not geared for it...although in 2012 I did the Vermont Six Gaps ride (including some serious zigzagging on Lincoln Gap), but I won't go out of my way to avoid it, especially if it is scenic or noteworthy.

Assuming I stick with mostly loop rides....

Clockwise or Counterclockwise? (answer could be different for each lake)

Chris...sounds like you do Canandaigua CCW

It's funny you mention ride profiles. I find that Canandaigua, for the same route, rides very different CCW vs CW. CCW has climbs, but they are mostly long and gradual, not taking into account Bopple. CW is much more "spiky"...you get longer downhills but there are some tough climbs.

Both ways are hard in their own way. If you want longer, not as aggressive climbs, go CCW...you can get a steep climb if you add Bopple. If you want to feel some hills, go CW.

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Chris Harris

Checking in from the Canadaigua Appleby's. I rode the Canandaigua Lake loop clockwise today...pretty much on the main roads. If that's what it's like at noon on a Sunday, then I feel comfortable riding here.

70 km almost exactly, a few good climbs, some really fun descents ( max speed 76 km/h), a bit of a headwind heading South, but not too bad.

I am camping, so I fully expect to be riding by 8:00 pr 8:30 tomorrow morning, either Cayuga or Seneca...still making up my mind.

Thanks for the update, I, for one, am eagerly following along.

Camping by yourself, without your kids, in a KOA......sucks.

Therefore, I was in bed early last night, and awake by 5:30. After a quick beer cup full of cereal and a Tim Hortons stop (not very touristy of Canadian me...should relally try Dunkin Donuts), I was on the shore of Lake Cayuga by 7:30, ready to go.
I went counter-clockwise for this one, no reason really, and again had a moderate headwind for the ride South. If I have to have wind...I much prefer this, knowing that the tailwind is coming later.

Nice ride around Cayuga, I basically stuck to the simplest route, because.....after hours of per-planning and downloading routes from Strava...my Garmin and computer decided two days before I left that they were as incompatible as my ex and I...no matter how many times I tried to plug it in.

After the Cayuga ride, I jumped in the Lake and had a shower at the State park where I parked, and headed to Waterloo Outlet mall for a while.

As I was leaving, I realized that the campground did not hold a lot of appeal for me...so I headed back to Owasco Lake and did a clockwise loop of 58 km....added to Cayuga, that makes for a 200 km day :)

Sam Adams seasonal and free Wifi at the Canandaigua Applebee's as I look at maps for tomorrow. Shut up legs.

Good - rode around both Seneca and Keuka Lakes for a total of 217 km. I haven't had back-to-back 200 km days since 1990 (bike touring).

Great scenery and riding on both lakes, Hector Falls (Seneca), tailwinds at the end of bothe rides, Geneva bike shop (gotta go in the bike shop, even if all you leave with is Chamois butter- loved the balusters for their railings- seat tubes), Water St. cafe,

Bad - not much...suffered in middle of Keuka Lake ride, barely avoided left leg cramp...just waiting for a pit atop and a turn with the wind...and, end of Keuka Lake ride...discovered that someone had helped themselves to the pin for my bike rack...made it back to Canandaigua with a twig and bungee cord ( bike in back of van).

Do you know there is a NY State law that for outdoor pools, there must be two adults present, with one on the deck for anyone to swim?After my 124 km morning ride, I really wanted to swim...but i was the only one at the campground pool...should have jumped in the Lake like yesterday I guess.

Almost forgot...took a wrong turn on Keuka, followed some other cyclists instead of continuing onto East Bluff Road, I ended up going up Skyline...glad I did now...but at the time, grinding up what had to be at least 15 %( the other cyclists were walking), I was regretting my decision.

Finished Skaneateles and Otisco with less than an hour to spare before the thunderstorms started.

The last two lakes I rode around had the most climbing per km, but were also among the most scenic and enjoyable to ride, although the accumulated km of the 4 days definitely were catching up to me, as I had my slowest rides of the trip.

If/when I come back, I will go in the opposite directions, and do more of the roads between the lakes ( which I got to see as I was driving to starting points)

On my way home a day early due to the weather. Thanks for the advice STers.

I'm heading to Ithaca next weekend last minute - and racing Tahoe in Sept so looking to get some ride time in.

Anyone know of a bike shop that does rentals? A decent road bike would be fine. I don't want to deal with the hassle of flying with mine.

Thanks!
Jim

Geneva Bicycle Center does rentals, and they are one of the best bike shops in the country. Great store and products, but it's the staff that really sets them apart.

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Chris Harris

Glad you enjoyed the riding!

You sure saw some of the good riding this area has to offer. Now...I think the thunderstorms have quieted down enough for me to get out there.

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Chris Harris

As an upper-mid-westerner I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the routes around the lakes. In 2012 friends & I did a self supported bike tour starting in the Southwest of the Allegheny National Forrest in Pensilvania that included Hammondsport, east side of Kueka, Penn Yan, Geneva, Lodi, Ithaca, & Watkins Glen. Hammondsport to Ithaca was one day. We stuck to the Tri course out of Geneva. We stayed close to the lakes for easy stress free riding. The hardest hills were west out of Ithaca on County roads to Watkins Glen. I loved all the college towns for daily destinations.