Northeast - Delaware Route Advice

I'm trying to find a good route from Philly to Newark, Delaware, as flat and bike-friendly as possible. Anyone familiar with that area want to help me out? My big questions are about what to do between the state border and Newark. Does the Philadelphia Pike between the state line and Wilmington have a bike lane or rideable shoulder? Is there a path through Fox Point State Park I could take instead (on a road bike)? And what about Rt 2 between Wilmington and Newark?

Thanks in advance!

I'll move this to Northeast so you can get a better response.

This would be better answered in the mid-atlantic forum . .

thanks for the moves guys, I didn't see the regional forums

Did you try mapmyride.com?

Here are 162 routes in and around Newark (http://www.mapmyride.com/search_old?txtPageNumber=1&txtSortBy=&txtLocation=Newark%2C+DE&txtKeyword=&lstRouteTypeID=2&btnSearch=SEARCH+%3E). Perhaps that can help your research. It will give you elevation details as well.

Yes, I looked on mapmyride and bikely but found only a few rides in that area, with none of them along the route in question, so I can't be sure if that guy went a different way because of traffic on the main road or just because he wanted a longer/more scenic/hillier ride.

Yes, I looked on mapmyride and bikely but found only a few rides in that area, with none of them along the route in question, so I can't be sure if that guy went a different way because of traffic on the main road or just because he wanted a longer/more scenic/hillier ride.

I lived just south of Newark for a few years. It's been about 20 years since I lived there, so I can only offer vague advice.

I think any routes you find from Philly to Wilmington will be ugly (traffic-wise) if you are close to the river. Perhaps something that crosses into DE near Hockessin would be best. Rt 72 and Rt 7 have shoulder room, IIRC.

I live in Newark and work in Philadelphia. I likewise want to ride from Philly to Newark. My plan is to take my bike to work on the SEPTA R2, perhaps on a Frday and ride home Friday afternoon/evening after work. If you want to do this together let me know. I can be reached at michaelcolumbus@comcast.net

Mike

Last weekend was I was planning on doing it... never happened though, I had other stuff to do during the day so I ended up driving down at night. This weekend I have other plans, but I will be doing the trip at some point in the not too distant future, so I'll let you know if you want to ride along!

I did hear from someone at the halloween party (that I was orininally planning on riding to), that the 'Kirkland Highway' is the best bike route from Wilmington to Newark... the details of that I obviously can't be sure of, but with the overwhelmingly reliable source of 'heard it from a guy at a party' it might be worth looking into. Let me know how it works out!

Kirkwood Hwy from Milltown (Northern Beginning of Kirkwood Hwy) to Polly Drummond Road is a Regional Bicycle Route WITH a Bikeway. Kirkwood Hwy from Polly Drummond Road to Main Street Newark is a Regional Bicycle Route WITHOUT a Bikeway.

I suggest gettiing a DelDOT New Castle County Bicycle Map. http://bike.deldot.gov

I live in Newark and work in Philadelphia. I likewise want to ride from Philly to Newark. My plan is to take my bike to work on the SEPTA R2, perhaps on a Frday and ride home Friday afternoon/evening after work. If you want to do this together let me know. I can be reached at michaelcolumbus@comcast.net

Mike

Note that you can only take a bike on the R2 during off-peak hours.

If you are a traffic-averse rider, I would highly recommend not doing this ride during rush hour. The straight routes (or even the backroads routes) between the two cities are very high traffic areas during rush hour and staying out of the way of traffic is not possible, nor the safest way to get down those roads. As noted on the DE bike map, the roads that are marked as having "bikeways" (in DE, almost always a shoulder sometimes with a bike stencil) will have frequent turn lanes. Depending on the turn lane usage in that area, the turn lane is not where you want to be in you are going straight. If you aren't used to taking lanes with high speed traffic, you'll find the ride very unpleasant. The Route 2/Route 141 intersection has freeflowing on/off ramps in addition to strip mall after strip mall (lots of turning in and out of parking lots). Route 7 and Route 92 are the same design but with less strip malls and more neighborhoods. Philadelphia Pike headed towards Wilmington has a variable width shoulder (from about 8 feet to nothing) but again many, many intersections and a fair amount of traffic.

For the record, I am not a traffic-averse cyclist but when I have taken other riders on the same roads that I use in much higher traffic on a daily basis, they have commented on the amount of traffic even at what I consider low traffic times. I would not mind the ride you are considering doing (I've gone between West Chester and Philly and North Wilmington and Philly during rush hour without issue and enjoyed it) but YMMV.

I grew up in Delaware. Route 2/Kirkwood Highway is not a very bike friendly route.

The alternative back way, which snakes through residential and wooded areas, is hilly and twisty, but beautiful.

Here's what google maps gave me from Brandywine to Newark, after I pulled the route north of Route 2. Take 82 to Yorklyn, then yorklyn road down to Brakenville Rd, then Route 72 all the way into town (or continuing on paper mill road more directly into town.)

This takes you near Mt. Cuba, which is the highest point in Delaware. But hey. This is Delaware! Even the hills are flat!

There is a fantastic flat ride South from Newark on... what is it... route 9? Yes-- take 72 to route 9 by the water -- and head south on Rte. 9 as far as you can go. Awesome flat ride through what are beautiful Mid Atlantic- type marshes. Do it. Great ride.

PM me or respond here if you have more questions about riding in the Newark area. It's my hometown!

my parents are retiring near rehoboth beach and i'll likely still be living in philly then... what's a good way to combine public transit w/ bike routes down in DE? r2 to wilmington, 301 bus to dover, 303 bus toward deltech/harbeson... any way i can cut out the 303 or is dover->rehoboth area a big stretch?