Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - riding across jersey - tomorrow

Anyone have any good ideas about how to get from New York to Pennsylvania? On a track bike? Tomorrow? Heh. Yeah, I've been planning on riding home for thanksgiving for years now, and I'm going to do it tomorrow. And I sortof know my route (basically picking up route 24 in Morristown out to Route 57 near Hackettstown, which brings me through Phillipsburg, into Easton, the town that's going to kick Phillipsburg's ass on Thanksgiving day in High School Football, YEAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!)

Anyone know if I'm being really retarted about this?

yes...






gum....

Pink Thunder Roar!!!!

it's gonna be cold!

but, um, no, no idea.
I think I have a bike map of the area at home, I'll check

if you take 24 to 57, you have to go over schooley's mountain. impossible on a fixie.

you are better off taking a route that brings you south of there.

ask jack.

Jack who?

Good tip on the freakin' mountain, msngr. Impossible for you, maybe, but NOT IMPOSSIBLE FOR PINK THUNDER. Unless it's under 40º, which...hey! It will be tomorrow! .....kick ass!

ooh. ouch. I see that on the google map. It looks like I can bypass that by taking pleasant grove to stephensburg. Not like any of you need to know any of this. But I'll post when I get home, just to let you know that I'm alive.......need to do this to make room for Thanksgiving dinner, you know?

how many miles is this?

70 by car.

Anyone have any good ideas about how to get from New York to Pennsylvania? On a track bike? Tomorrow? Heh. Yeah, I've been planning on riding home for thanksgiving for years now, and I'm going to do it tomorrow. And I sortof know my route (basically picking up route 24 in Morristown out to Route 57 near Hackettstown, which brings me through Phillipsburg, into Easton, the town that's going to kick Phillipsburg's ass on Thanksgiving day in High School Football, YEAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!)

Anyone know if I'm being really retarted about this?


Ugh, there's some shytehills in that state. Take care not to kill your knees spinning out.
I've gone down NJ and across into PA, but at a point further south (New Hope). That's probably too far down for you, although it's considerably flatter (for a short while).

I support your endeavor and wish you good luck!

not trying to hijack your thread but!

i am riding out to jersey on thursday to a friends place in warren nj, for thanksgiving.
i was thinking of going over the gw and then heading south on 9...thats about as far
as i have gotten. any suggestions of ridable roads? is 22 ok?

to bad i am not riding out tomorrow, or else we could ride together for a bit.

on a side note:

i appreciated all the gum, got my sugar high...

not trying to hijack your thread but!

i am riding out to jersey on thursday to a friends place in warren nj, for thanksgiving.
i was thinking of going over the gw and then heading south on 9...thats about as far
as i have gotten. any suggestions of ridable roads? is 22 ok?

to bad i am not riding out tomorrow, or else we could ride together for a bit.

on a side note:

i appreciated all the gum, got my sugar high...



9 in north Jersey is pretty sketchy, at least until after you've passed Rahway. It's a busy mix of commuter and commercial traffic. There's points where the shoulder runs out too. So watch your back.
There is another main road that runs parallel to Rt. 9 - you can probably take this all the way down before moving further west.


22 is also busy up north - but clears up a bit after Hillside, I think. Can't remember, it's been a while.
It gets a little hilly around Watchung, too, but there's also more room to maneuver on 22 iirc.

22 is definitely not ok. It's a major highway, and I don't even think they take care of it that well anymore - torn up tires on the shoulders, glass & stuff. The hardest part of this state is getting past the entire metropolitan area, which is loaded with traffic. I'm taking the path train out to Newark, then jumping on S. Orange Ave, which will take me to Morristown. That's the plan so far. Too bad you aren't going tomorrow...I'd have loved to have a ride partner. Warren? That's pretty much on my way home, isn't it? I'll post my findings for you tomorrow.

oops. I was thinking of a different warren.

what time are you leaving tomorrow? i could ride out early....hmmmmm

and, if i take the ferry out of wall street, but do a trackstand the whole way, can i still
say that i rode from manhattan! haahaa

I'm riding out from my place in B'klyn at 8am, to give me PLENTY of time to make it home.

Which Ferry would you take? Doing that significantly changes the route.

take the ferry from 38th street to sandy hook and plan your route from there.

you need to ride up a mountain to get to pleasant grove road, and PGR is hairy enough. trust me, i used to live on that mountain.

well, turns out i have to work a half day tomorrow.

good luck with your ride s 9, and definitely let me know how it goes! i will do the same.

Sandy Hook?! That looks like 10 miles in the wrong direction! I recognize you as crazy old man of the mountain!

but I will explore this option nonetheless, because you are wise, crazy old man of the mountain.

Dammit. I wanna go. I have a total fetish for impossible, disgusting rides that have little or no planning involved except lots of miles and hills. can I submit my R:1 Japan resume?

It f*ing bites. My mom's in Queens.

Tomorrow I will look out at the sky and imagine your epic voyage and awesome speed. Awesome.


Taking the train back?
Or working off the dinner?

Taking a bus back on Sunday. Working dinner off on Friday. 10 year HS reunion on Saturday. Can't WAIT to tell them that I rode my track bike home from New York! Heh heh heh.

I dunno about you guys, but the weather will be sunny and 70 degrees for my 30mi ride home tomorrow...

whoa, my friend has her 10 year highschool on sat too. CRAZY

sunny and pushing 40º for my 70 mile ride home. :)

edit: by the way, you guys are a lot more supportive of this than the sissies over in the touring forum. They're all "get a GPS! That road is too risky! blaaahhhhhh!!! I'd never ride without a GPS!!!" Thanks for everything. It's good to be around like minded irrational people...

sunny and pushing 40º for my 70 mile ride home. :)

edit: by the way, you guys are a lot more supportive of this than the sissies over in the touring forum. They're all "get a GPS! That road is too risky! blaaahhhhhh!!! I'd never ride without a GPS!!!" Thanks for everything. It's good to be around like minded irrational people...

Oh come on, we all know how silly everyone is in all the other forums here. I mean, ****, MERTON probably still posts over there!

I could understand a GPS if you are in east bumf*ck, but it's New Jersey. There's a gas station every 20 feet. Jeez.

I could understand a GPS if you are in east bumf*ck, but it's New Jersey. There's a gas station every 20 feet. Jeez.

you'd be surprised.

there are some ****in' boondocks in da jerz.

yeah, and just cause theres a gas station every 20 ft, doesnt mean the people who work at the station speak english

you'll be fine, just don't wear the gum suit...

Heh heh...

http://www.njbikemap.com/njmap/warning.htm

i was actually thinking he should wear it...

Heh heh...

http://www.njbikemap.com/njmap/warning.htm


hahah. Thanks for the warning, ohmyspokes. I'm still doing this, obviously. Despite all those sissies over in touring. (present company excluded, of course).


and, pink thunder would keep me nice & warm underneath it all, but if I ever had to pee, that might be a problem.

OK, I've been poring over google maps, and this is the way I think I'm going to do it:

PATH to Newark.
S. Orange Ave to Florham Park, where it becomes
Columbia Turnpike - to Morristown
wiggle through Morristown via Morris St. to
Route 24 (also known as):
Mendham Rd.
E Main St. (in Mendham)
W. Main
Mendham Rd. W.
E Main.
Main (in Chester)
W. Main
Washington Turnpike
E. Mill Rd.

this is where I avoid the freakin' mountain by turning

RIGHT onto Schooley's Mtn Rd. (in Washington & go a bit up the mtn, but not the big mtn)
LEFT onto W. Springtown
RIGHT onto Wehrli
LEFT onto Pleasant Grove which turns into
Penwell to
Rt. 57

which goes to Phillipsburg, which I'm familiar enough with to ride drunk
or ****ing tired.

looks like you're set, but gazetteers are always helpful in plotting routes around elevation and finding ways to stay off major roads while heading in the right direction.

What'd they do before GPS's? Use maps and compasses? I have no idea how to get to where you're going, but I have driven on I78 and I80 enough times to know it's hilly, but doable on a road bike and even a properly geared fixie. Be safe, watch out for psycho's and roadkill and rock that pink union suit at the reunion!

looks like you're set, but gazetteers are always helpful in plotting routes around elevation and finding ways to stay off major roads while heading in the right direction.

"gazetteers"? What's that?
s9, hope your trip through the beautiful Garden State was... beautiful. Too bad the entire smells, right?!
~"jersey"

i did a group ride out to chester last month. i'll email you my turn sheet. it's scenic!

Good Luck Pink and come back safe.

S/F,
CEYA!

No drinking and riding.

proleptic...THANK YOU!!!!

hey! So I'm home, and the first thing I did (after throwing all my clothes in the washer and taking a shower) was jumping on Bike Forums. "Hey Mom! Good to see ya! I gotta use your computer."

Just wanted to let you know that I got home in one piece. Left Newark at 9am and got here at about 4. I stopped for some directions several times, and stopped for lunch for at least a half hour. I only cheated once when the dude who I bought lunch from drove me up the hill I avoided by stopping for lunch. It, and the downhill following it, would've killed me. At that point, I was about 15 miles from home. The rest was no sweat. Except it was a lot of sweat. Through all my clothes, which turned very ******** cold considering it didn't top 40 degrees today.

Thanks again msnger, proleptic, ohmyspokes, and everyone else for your help. I'd do it again in a heartbeat...but probably on my road bike.

well done! (congrats on not getting killed too).

GPS? .hmmm

maybe, but if you have a printer you dont need no stinkin' GPS... get a map, write directions, know your turns, and you are golden.

i only asked for directions to double check. I only had one big map of jersey, which didn't have all my roads on it, necessarily.

You know what sucked though? Three words: head ******** wind

rock out dude. happy thanksgiving.

You rock Pink! Easton is beautiful on 2 wheels!

w00t! knew you could do it. have a round on me when you get back and we'll hear about your ride.

What'd your HS friends say when you told them you rode there?

a lot of 'em looked at me with this blank stare for a second, as if they weren't sure if I was ***ing with them or not, before asking me if I was serious. "Yes. I rode my bike - my track bike - from Brooklyn to Easton". Almost everyone told me I was crazy. Everyone except for the physical trainer, high school Jock & Sr. class vice president, who thought it was awesome. (Said PT was also one of my arch-nemesis's back in the day. He used to biff me & gleek on me. I gave him my business card.)

Everyone thought I was crazy except for the people who were at all athletic. Even some of those people ... like Ali Geer.... (who turned out VERY hot but my bonehead friend failed miserably in his wingman duties) ....thought I was crazy.


BTW, my reunion BLEW!!!! Out of a class of almost 400, about 50 people showed up! The "cameraman" was the DJ with a disposable camera standing on a folding chair. SOOO pathetic!!!! My date & I (who kept our completely platonic relationship ambiguously sexual) were easily the coolest people there. While I had a GREAT time with the people I was with and at least had a vicious hangover, the reunion as a whole was embarrassingly sad.

Hey s_9! I randomly just found this picture online, and it reminded me of you.

http://tinypic.com/hwlrlu.gif

Eh? Right?

oh.