Northeast - Philly-New Hope-Brooklyn Filling Up Fast

http://phillybikeclub.org/newbcp/events/nycride2011/nycridemain.html

Signed up for my 11th tour. It's always a blast. Farm and horse country of Hunterdon County. 635+ y.o. oak tree is Basking Ridge. The Great Swamp Nature Preserve. The Port of Elizabeth & Newark. Ferry ride across the Hudson. All topped off with a ride over the Brooklyn Bridge. After dinner, take a walk on the promenade in Brooklyn Heights and watch the sun set behind lower Manhattan.

Philly start for experienced riders only. You and your bike must be in good shape as SAG is for true emergencies only. Must be able to follow a cue sheet.

I didn't even know about this ride.

Would you be willing to share the cue sheet? (Even if it's after the event, if there's a concern about crashers.) I've been trying to figure out a nice way to get to Philly from my area near the northern end of the route.

GWB to New Hope: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/33783616

New Hope to Philly: http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/33784676

Thank you echappist. Some parts are familiar.

Is that the same route as the Odelle ride? What's the climbing like around the Watchungs? I usually use 27 out to the Rocky Hill/Princeton area which is fairly flat and direct, but mostly unscenic and trafficky.

(PS - sorry to OP for the distraction, but hopefully this promotes more interest in your ride.)

Ah -- I see mapmyride gives a lot of elevantion info!

Ah -- I see mapmyride gives a lot of elevantion info!
it's not what i'd consider hilly, with the hilliest parts early in the ride.

The hills of the watchung mountains are avoided on this route, though i'd imagine going from Bound Brook up to Warren would be quite a climb.

FWIW, the elevation on mapmyride isn't so reliable. I'd say 3000k of climbing would sound reasonable (i take what my ptap Joule says and multiply it by 0.8)

For anyone else interested in the ride, i can say that the route is quite beautiful, and you'll actually see why it isn't ironic to call NJ the Garden State.

This the preferred route from New Hope:

http://phillybikeclub.org/newbcp/rides/library/?m=search&id=156

You can only do it on a weekend as riding through the Port of Elizabeth and the immediately surrounding areas would be suicide during a weekday. The Port is empty during on weekends. The route has remained virtually the same since the event started going to Brooklyn in '97. Prior to that, it went to Chinatown and then Little Italy.

There is nothing to "crash" as the only things the entry fee gets you are transportation for you and your bike and a shower, and we will know who is registered and who is not. Everything else, including food and rink along the way, is out of your own pocket.

THANK YOU INDYFABZ!

echappis -- Yes, it was going over the Wachtung's the hard way that I wanted to avoid.

Note to all participating: There's a good deal of construction in NYC right now. With respect to the 2010-Odell-90-Miles-Old.pdf, the cue sheet calls for a left turn onto Chambers St. at mile 89.5. Chambers St. between West Street and Greenwich St. is down to one lane. You can avoid this block by going one block south to Warren St. and turning left, then continuing on Warren right through City Hall Park and onto the Brooklyn Bridge, or turning left at or beyond Greenwich to return to Chambers. The bridge itself is also being stripped of old paint and rust and getting repainted. The bike and pedestrian lanes are narrowed by the construction canopies, making the usual congestion much worse. At 4 pm on Labor Day weekend expect thousands of tourists. Consider crossing the East River via the Manhattan Bridge--which, by the way, is also being repainted (cyclists are now redirected to the south pathway to avoid the paint crews on the north pathway). A map of the detour. (http://gothamist.com/2011/07/15/biking_over_manhattan_bridge_to_be.php#photo-1)

More info about the Chambers Street rehab. (http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/project_updates/chambers_street_reconstruction_79573.aspx)

Note to all participating: There's a good deal of construction in NYC right now. With respect to the 2010-Odell-90-Miles-Old.pdf, the cue sheet calls for a left turn onto Chambers St. at mile 89.5. Chambers St. between West Street and Greenwich St. is down to one lane. You can avoid this block by going one block south to Warren St. and turning left, then continuing on Warren right through City Hall Park and onto the Brooklyn Bridge, or turning left at or beyond Greenwich to return to Chambers. The bridge itself is also being stripped of old paint and rust and getting repainted. The bike and pedestrian lanes are narrowed by the construction canopies, making the usual congestion much worse. At 4 pm on Labor Day weekend expect thousands of tourists. Consider crossing the East River via the Manhattan Bridge--which, by the way, is also being repainted (cyclists are now redirected to the south pathway to avoid the paint crews on the north pathway). A map of the detour. (http://gothamist.com/2011/07/15/biking_over_manhattan_bridge_to_be.php#photo-1)

More info about the Chambers Street rehab. (http://www.lowermanhattan.info/construction/project_updates/chambers_street_reconstruction_79573.aspx)

Thanks. I think we used Warren St. last year. I will pass along the bridge info. to the ride organizers.

It sounds like a nice ride; I'll have to try it some year.