Dahon.Steve

I just found out today they are halfway through building the walkway through the Lincoln highway bridge that connects Jersey City and Newark. I could not believe it as I safely started bicycling in Lincoln Park West and saw they cleared all the weeds and put fresh concrete all the way to the Lincoln Highway Bridge also called Route 1/9 truck. The walkway for years had been abondoned and forced you to ride on a very dangerous restricted highway

It was a breath taking experience as bridge crossing always is and I loved every minute of it. The steel arch bridge isn't too high and I had no trouble climbing on a 3 speed city bike! I didn't know this but there's actully a walkway across the bridge! You don't want to do that although!

There's another bridge you still have to cross before entering Newark through Raymond Boulevard. However, that part is still dangerous (and not completed) because they are going to have build a bridge specifically for cyclists since there's a connecton with the NJ Turnpike! There's a posting in the park that says it will be complete by 2012 so lets hope!

This is great news and by this time next year, you won't have to ride all the way to the George Washington Bridge to cross the Newark Bay! Those in New York City wanting to travel to the Jersey Shore or other points don't have to begin your rides in Newark anymore. You can start in Jersey City and cross the Lincoln Highway bridge safely.

Life is Great!

indyfabz

They have ben working on that since last year. The Bicycle Club of Philadelphia does a yearly ride to Brooklyn. We come up Doremus Ave. and use 1+9 to get to Lincoln Park. (We eventually ride to Hoboken and take the ferry to Midtown.) The walkways were being worked on last year. Our ride is the Sunday before Labor Day. There is no traffic in the Port, and the traffic on Lincoly Highway is light enough to not have to use the walkways. But those who did not feel comfortable riding in the road had trouble due to the construction.

Dahon.Steve

This is good news. It took them nearly 2 years to put complete half the work?? Incredible. I should have taken pictures because this is major! It would be like opening the Varazzano bridge to cyclists and I've been waiting for over 15 years for this to happen.

You are a brave man to ride on that road even during the morning.

indyfabz

Don't know when they started, but it was underway last Labor Day. You'd be surprised. Between the ramp from Doremus Ave. to Lincoln Park there is not much traffic on the Sunday before Labor Day. The club has been doing the ride since the middle 90s. I have done it 10 times. I have never taken the walkways. I am usually with a group of people. We take an entire lane. Riding through the Port is the really craxy thing. I go there occasionally for business during the week. I don't like to drive my car on Corbin St. Speeding trucks everywhere. The Sunday before Labor Day it's a ghost town. You may encounter a car or two and the bus serving the prison on Doremus, but that's about it.

Ken Roberts

"Jersey City NJ to Newark NJ"
seems like a more accurate title for this thread.

Yes it is good news, but ...
How does "starting in Jersey City" count as riding from NYCity to Newark -- or from NYC to the Jersey shore? Presumably if a cyclist starting from the city can start by taking the PATH train to Jersey City, they could instead just take the PATH train to Newark. Or just go to Penn Station in Manhattan and take a NJ Transit train to Long Branch or Asbury Park at the shore (or to Newark).

But since there is no way to ride west or southwest out of NY City except across the GWB, there is no "all the way" about it. The Route 46 bridge has had a walkway for a long long time. Then you dont' "have to" cross this other Raymond Ave bridge either. So riding from the GWB to Newark is already possible now, and has been for a long, long time.
Why some bike club in Philadelphia, year after year, avoids riding across the GWB I have no idea.

Ken

Not the Slowest

I've done the GWB to Newark to The Shore several times. A Nice quiet route for a Sunday am.

Dahon.Steve

Ken

It seems every year someone posts on the forum on the lack of crossing the Newark bay from New York City, Jersey City, Staten Island or other points. Having to travel an additional 25 miles cross the GWB is excessive which is why most cyclist simply took Path into Newark when leaving New York City. This new bike path is going to open doors for commuters and other cyclists who would never have ridden through Jersey City.

The fact that one cannot bike across the Lincoln or Holland tunnel should not detract from the experience. Yes, it is not as pure as crossing the route 46 bridge but the experience is far more exciting since it's new!!

By the way, I don't have to tell you all the restrictions Path places on full size bicycles. Only two full size bicycles are allowed per car and none during rush hour! I can't tell you how many times I entered Newark NJ and wished there was a way to cross into Jersey City without taking the Path train. Now there is, and I don't have to travel all the way to the GWB to enter Bayonne.

opal

I don't think it's super enforced although the rush hour restriction is probably self-enforcing (sometimes I can barely get on even without the bike...).

I've never ridden to/from/through Newark though so I don't know anything

indyfabz

Now you do...Our route from New Hope via Hoboken and the Brooklyn Bridge to Brooklyn Heights, where the ride ends, is already pushing 100 miles, and it's longer than it used to be now that the only Sunday ferry service from Hoboken is from 14th St. to Midtown, forcing us to ride noth in Hoboken and then back south in NYC to get to the bridge. It's 135 miles for those who leave from Philadelphia. Leaving from New Hope around 7:30 a.m., the first riders reach the finish around 4-4:30 depending on wind conditions, any flats along the way and whether we have to wait 20 min. for the ferry. (You can shorten the trip by taking PATH from Hoboken to the WTC stop, but the ferry is a much nicer ride.) Our charter busses and bike truck leave Brooklyn at 9 p.m. sharp, so arrving when we do gives most people enough time to shower at the hotel we rent rooms from, have a relaxed dinner and take a walk along the promenade. If everything goes off smoothly, we are back in New Hope by 11 p.m. If you live in Philly, you are back in town by midnight after offloading the bikes and driving yourself home.

In sum, it's a long enough day as it is. No need to make it any longer just for the sake of saying we pedalled all the way into NYC. That has never been the intent of the event.

Dahon.Steve

WELL I DID IT!

The pedestrian bike path across Jersey City to Newark is complete! You do not have to ride on US 1/9 truck anymore and can use the bike path! I have been waiting for this moment for years and yes there are issues but nothing like before. You don't have to risk your life riding with the trucks anymore! I'll admit, I was a bit nervous at first because it was still dirty with litter on the Newark side. I was able to ride 95% of the way so it was mostly clear. These are my observations.

1. Leaving Newark on Wilson Avenue requires you to go under the NJ Turnpike. This is kind of dark even during the day so I would have lights.

2. Once you start on Doremus Avenue, it's clear sailing to the bridge.

3. The entrance to the bridge are stairs that are covered in dirt but still walkable!! I did not know there were stairs but yet, they are there! You can't ride up the ramp because the trucks and cars are coming down.

4. Once you reach to top of these stairs, you have to lift your bike over a three foot guard rail! I truly hope they fix the stairs and get rid of this guard rail to reach the bridge.

5. Riding on the bridge is fairly easy since the slope is not too high at all. As I said before, it's kinda dirty crossing the first bridge but the second one is clear of all junk!

6. The corners on the side streets are rounded so be careful of the cars and trucks.

7. Once you arrive in Jersey City, the location exit is Lincoln Park. From there you can go anywhere in Jersey City without problems.

I'm so happy becuase we did not have this access in 60 years! I'll take pictures next time of the stairs. I would not do this trip at night although but during the day, it's perfectly safe.

Ferdinand NYC

Hi, there! I am a sometime lurker, who just today registered so that I could reply to this thread.

I live in New York, and ride mostly in the boroughs. But lately I have been riding around in Hudson County and up by the George Washington Bridge, wishing there was a way into Newark. I just want to confirm what's been said here: the Communipaw Avenune route from Jersey City to Newark is now usable by bikes? Both bridges?

Also: how about the Route 46 bridges? Can I assume that both of those bridges are usable by bikes? And, is there a regular on-street (non-highway) approach to these bridges?

And how about the crossings of the Hackensack River farther north, in Bogota?

I have gleaned what I can from the Street View in Google Maps; but any reports from people who have actually been there would be great!

Thanks.

Bacciagalupe

I tried to use this route from Jersey City over to Newark, and it sucked ass.

The route is, to put it mildly, very poorly marked. You have to go into an obscure corner of Lincoln Park, find a hole in a fence, and cross a bridge. That's as far as I got, since it looked like a busy highway without a dedicated bike path up ahead.

Seems to me that the far more rational thing to do is take the PATH train from Jersey City to Newark.

Dahon.Steve

You are right that you have to go through an obscure corner in Lincoln Park, a fence to cross two bridges. The dedicated bike path is up ahead and protected. In fact, it's quite safe, I did it the other day with no problems. I did not have to ride on the road and it's not until you get to the second bridge to Newark that you encounter issues.

I'll admit, I was scared the first time doing it but not anymore. I could not recommend doing it at night since you do have to walk down those stairs and they are dangerous. Plus you also have to ride an empty truck route into Newark and go under the Turnpike that's dark. At night, I would use Path for sure.

However, try it again. I was breath taken at the bridges.

Dahon.Steve

Yes. The area is clear for both Bridges and they are breath taking. As I said in the previous response, you enter from Lincoln Park and go through a fence which is always open. The Jersey City portion is clear and safe becuase it's broad for two cyclists. I wish the whole trip was like that including the Newark portion. I can only recommend taking the path during the day and not at night.

Once you reach the end of the second bridge, you have to go down the ramp to Doremus Avenue. Once you do that ride about 2 miles to Wilson Avenue and this will lead you to Newark. I don't ride down the ramp but look for the stairs. They are in disrepair and dangerous but it can be done if you do it SLOWLY! You'll have to lift your bike over a 3 foot guard rail but this is probably the only hard part of the trip.

Ferdinand NYC

Cool! Thanks for the reply. I might just try this tomorrow, when I am off from work.

Sorry to be a noodge, but I just want to be clear: the ramp that you say to avoid is at Newark, leading to Doremus Avenue? And the guard rail is near the stairs that you say to use instead of the ramp?

Also: is it not possible to go north on Doremus, to get to Raymond Blvd., rather than going south to Wilson?

The most important question: does the fact that I'd be lifting my bike over a rail mean that this is someplace where bikes are not allowed? (I really don't want to get a ticket!)

My hope was to go north after Newark, and then to come back to the George Washington Bridge via another route. Some of the other crossings of the Hackensack River seem doable. (I imagine that it might be sensible to start a northbound leg within Harrison, via the 4th St. Bridge from Newark, so as not to have to deal with the Passaic River.)

But the obstacle seems to be that creek that's an offshoot of the Hackensack River, the one in Fort Lee. (Google Maps does not label it; but I now see in Bing Maps that it is called Overpeck Creek.) The Street View shows that there is no shoulder DeGraw St. / Ft. Lee Rd.; so that's out. I guess the only way would be to go up and around that darn thing, right?

Anyway, I am still checking things out on the map, checking the milage and also the accessibility of various streets. But, any thoughts or suggestions from you (Steve) or from anyone else who's been there would be most welcome.

Thanks for helping a newbie on the forums.

Dahon.Steve

>>>>>Sorry to be a noodge, but I just want to be clear: the ramp that you say to avoid is at Newark, leading to Doremus Avenue? And the guard rail is near the stairs that you say to use instead of the ramp? <<<<

Let me explain in more detail.

When going from Jersey City to Newark, you'll cross two bridges. The first Bridge is easy once leaving Lincoln Park. The second Bridge has issues becuase the floor has litter and much smaller. After you cross the second bridge, you'll see a ramp that will lead you down to Doremus Avenue. About fifty feet before you reach this ramp are the stairs! These stairs are dangerous and look like they haven't been repaired in decades!

I am concerned about going down the ramp because it's a blind curve and the cars go fast through that turn! I will start a letter writing campaign to get the city of Newark to repair those stairs. It's up to you on taking either ramp or stairs. If you take the ramp, try to go down it as quck as possible.


>>>>Also: is it not possible to go north on Doremus, to get to Raymond Blvd., rather than going south to Wilson>>>>

No. Raymond Blvd at that point is very dangerous because of the Turnpike entrance.

>>>>>The most important question: does the fact that I'd be lifting my bike over a rail mean that this is someplace where bikes are not allowed? (I really don't want to get a ticket!)<<<<

You won't get a ticket because it's not against the law. This bridge had stairs for people to walk on when it opened decades ago. It was never used except for homeless individuals and poor dock workers ever since. DOT foolishly built a guard rail seeing that very few if any people used the stairs in decades. It's not against the law and the intent of restoring the entire walk way was so that people can once again use those stairs. Lets start calling and writing to get the city to fix them!!

>>>>>>>
My hope was to go north after Newark, and then to come back to the George Washington Bridge via another route. Some of the other crossings of the Hackensack River seem doable. (I imagine that it might be sensible to start a northbound leg within Harrison, via the 4th St. Bridge from Newark, so as not to have to deal with the Passaic River.)>>>>>

You can't cross the 4th St Bridge from Newark.

>>>>>But the obstacle seems to be that creek that's an offshoot of the Hackensack River, the one in Fort Lee. (Google Maps does not label it; but I now see in Bing Maps that it is called Overpeck Creek.) The Street View shows that there is no shoulder DeGraw St. / Ft. Lee Rd.; so that's out. I guess the only way would be to go up and around that darn thing, right?>>>>>


You really have to go pretty far up to get past Overpeck Creek. If you're not going to take U.S. 1-9 Truck, the only other way to get to the GW Bridge from Newark is the Hendricks Causway! I would ride the path and not the street because it's narrow. Here's the problem with the Hendreicks Causway. Once you get past it, there is a HUGE climb to the GW bridge! I don't think you'll make it so it's more like a 30 minute walk up the mountain.

Ferdinand NYC

I did this yesterday! (Sorry for not waiting for your reply! But I took the day off because of the glorious weather; and I had to try this out.)


> Let me explain in more detail. When going from Jersey City to Newark, you'll cross two bridges. The first Bridge is easy once leaving Lincoln Park.

I saw that fence from Lincoln Park. However, I didn't enter the first bridge from the park; I entered from Communipaw Avenue. I lifted my bike over the rail onto the sidewalk right at the beginning of the bridge (right next to the entry from the park). It is true that that first bridge is very nice.


> The second Bridge has issues becuase the floor has litter and much smaller.

Right! The sidewalk area is very thin! Also, there is some tree/vine overgrowth right at the beginning of it.


> After you cross the second bridge, you'll see a ramp that will lead you down to Doremus Avenue. About fifty feet before you reach this ramp are the stairs! These stairs are dangerous and look like they haven't been repaired in decades! I am concerned about going down the ramp because it's a blind curve and the cars go fast through that turn! I will start a letter writing campaign to get the city of Newark to repair those stairs. It's up to you on taking either ramp or stairs. If you take the ramp, try to go down it as quck as possible.

To be honest, I didn't see those stairs. I just went down the circular ramp, hewing to the right side. I found it no more/less problematic than most big streets.


>> Also: is it not possible to go north on Doremus, to get to Raymond Blvd., rather than going south to Wilson

> No. Raymond Blvd at that point is very dangerous because of the Turnpike entrance.

Right; I saw that. Indeed, at that point, that east-west road isn't really so much "Raymond Blvd." as much as it is Truck 1 & 9!


>> The most important question: does the fact that I'd be lifting my bike over a rail mean that this is someplace where bikes are not allowed? (I really don't want to get a ticket!)

> You won't get a ticket because it's not against the law. This bridge had stairs for people to walk on when it opened decades ago. It was never used except for homeless individuals and poor dock workers ever since. DOT foolishly built a guard rail seeing that very few if any people used the stairs in decades. It's not against the law and the intent of restoring the entire walk way was so that people can once again use those stairs. Lets start calling and writing to get the city to fix them!!

Good thought! It would be good to have the stairs as an option at times when the traffic is hairier than what I experienced yesterday. Also, if one is going in the other direction (from Newark to Jersey City), then using the stairs is a must, assuming that one would be going east on the westbound side. (Ah, this brings up another question: is there a bike / pedestrian lane on the Jersey City-bound side of these two bridges?)


>> My hope was to go north after Newark, and then to come back to the George Washington Bridge via another route. Some of the other crossings of the Hackensack River seem doable. (I imagine that it might be sensible to start a northbound leg within Harrison, via the 4th St. Bridge from Newark, so as not to have to deal with the Passaic River.)

> You can't cross the 4th St Bridge from Newark.

Really? I am surprised to read this. Since when is it not possible to bike across that bridge? I am pretty sure that this was doable in 2002. On the day the Bears won their first Atlantic League championship, I believe I got off the PATH at Harrison and took the 4th St. Bridge down into Newark.

Anyway, yesterday I took the Bridge St. / Harrison Ave. bridge into Harrison, and picked up 4th St. from there.


>> But the obstacle seems to be that creek that's an offshoot of the Hackensack River, the one in Fort Lee. (Google Maps does not label it; but I now see in Bing Maps that it is called Overpeck Creek.) The Street View shows that there is no shoulder DeGraw St. / Ft. Lee Rd.; so that's out. I guess the only way would be to go up and around that darn thing, right?

> You really have to go pretty far up to get past Overpeck Creek. If you're not going to take U.S. 1-9 Truck, the only other way to get to the GW Bridge from Newark is the Hendricks Causway! I would ride the path and not the street because it's narrow. Here's the problem with the Hendreicks Causway. Once you get past it, there is a HUGE climb to the GW bridge! I don't think you'll make it so it's more like a 30 minute walk up the mountain.

Actually, I didn't have to go very far out of the way at all! Here is what I did:

I picked up Hackensack St. in E. Rutherford, and I took that north through Carlstadt and Wood-Ridge. (Incidentally, the hills in Carlstadt were ridiculous! Those hills scared me off of making a side trip to the Meadowlands down Moonachie Ave. then Washington Ave., as I had originally intended to do. However, I figured that there would be a long downhill down to the low-lying swamps, and then a crazy climb back up to Hackensack St. So I decided to forego that bit of the plan.)

Hackensack St. becomes Terrace Ave. in Hasbrouck Heights; in Hackensack it becomes Polifly Rd. and later 1st St. I took this street up to Anderson St. (Well, almost; 1st St. becomes a one-way against you a couple of blocks before Anderson; so I had to ziggety-zag a bit in order to actually get to Anderson.)

I then took Anderson east; it becomes Cedar Lane in Teaneck. I then went north on Teaneck Road, to hit Forest Ave. And Forest Ave. crosses Overpeck Creek easily; the creek is very narrow at that point.

I eventually picked up Grand Ave. in Englewood, and took that down to Ft. Lee Rd. in Leonia. (Ft. Lee Rd. was another big hill!) And Ft. Lee Rd. becomes Main St. in Ft. Lee.

And then, finally, back onto the George Washington Bridge. (I say "back", because I came in over that bridge as well. Of course, I could have gone to Communipaw Ave. in Jersey City via Bayonne. From my starting point in Woodhaven, Queens, that would have been closer; but doing it that way would have meant taking the Staten Island Ferry. And, as we all know, sitting on a boat for a half hour ain't the same thing as bike-riding!)

So the trip was great fun! I did 87 miles in all, including a little exploring in Newark (my mother's hometown), and a little unintentional exploring in Rutherford and E. Rutherford after I had made a few wrong turns.

Thanks a lot for inspiring me to do this with your initial info about the connection!

____

An alternative to the Lincoln Highway (Communipaw Avenue) bridge between Jersey City and Kearny is the Route 7 bridge that lines up on Newark Avenue in Jersey City. There is a sidewalk on the north side that dead ends onto a stairway down to Fish House Road (instead of following the road around the circle at the west end of the bridge). The route then is Fish House to Pennsylvania to Jacobus and the under the highway to the south sidewalk of the Lincoln Highway bridge between Kearny and Newark.

From Doremus Avenue south successive rights on Roanoke and Foundry then a left on Roanoke and you're in the Ironbound. Hawkins-Rome-St Charles-Kossuth-Main-George-Magazine-Ferry for example will line you up toward Penn Station, Newark. It's a little faster than going as far as Wilson on Doremus.

Up north, an alternative to the west-to-east climb of the cuesta on Fort Lee Road is the north-to-south climb on Jones Road. This you would pick up about five blocks east of where Forest Ave ends, then follow Jones Road south to its intersection with Main Street in Fort Lee. The climb covers the same elevation, but over a longer distance. Note that this involves a dogleg on Edgewood and Ridgeland near where the old Jones alignment was eliminated in the construction of Route 95 below here.

Bacciagalupe

Yeah, that actually sounds worse.

They're replacing the Wittpenn Bridge, so that area is more of a nightmare than usual. They are closing the bridge on weekends for the next two months. For some reason I cannot understand, they put in two big loops of road, which means you're going to have a lot of confused drivers not paying attention. Just driving over there right now is bad enough.

Plus, you still end up on Lincoln Highway and cycling through parts of Newark. AFAIK that area isn't a total disaster, but it's not exactly scenic.

Crossing the Hackensack River isn't much of an issue once you get up near Fort Lee. The river is much smaller, and crossings are frequent.

Considering that it takes a whopping 20-30 minutes to get from Exchange Place to Newark Penn, I'm sticking to the train.

Dahon.Steve

I can see your point in not taking the Lincoln Highway bridge. However, taking the train eliminates the experience and isn't that what we are looking for? I was impressed taking the route for the first time and even the second. There is nothing to fear but fear itself.

Having lived in Jersey City and Bayonne my whole life, this is like a totally different town! I never went down there before in my life and I've been here 45 years! It's like a whole new world was opened and I will continue to explore this new community only available by car.

noglider 

I'm confused. My wife and I rode from Maplewood to Hoboken on July 4. (Interesting ride!) We took Lincoln Highway. We were able to use the sidewalk crossing the Passaic River, but there was no usable sidewalk crossing the Hackensack River, so we ended up riding with the trucks and all. Is the path in place? Should we have taken the north (eastbound) side?

Here are shots I took from the bridge over the Passaic River.

Ferdinand NYC

comment to Tom - Yes, the path between Kearny and Jersey City is on the eastbound side. I am very interested to read that, on the trip from Newark to Kearny over the Passaic River, you found a sidewalk on the westbound side! I have done this only going west; I wasn't sure whether there was a westbound sidewalk on the bridge over the Passaic River. From Steve's messages in this thread, I gathered that the only sidewalk on the bridge over the Hackensack River is on the eastbound side. But (as you will see in my comment to him below), I don't know how to get onto it from Newark, other than riding against traffic on the ramp up from Doremus Ave.

comment to Steve - Yesterday I crossed again from Jersey City to Newark. Getting to Newark, I once again did not see these stairs that you are talking about. And, when I got down to Doremus Ave., I didn't see any stairway from there either. Sorry to be dense; but could you clarify where this is?

general comment - I did this crossing as part of a longer trip, all the way down to Seaside! I am here now; actually, I am in a library in Lavalette. I used to come to Seaside every year as a kid, up through 1980. I then visited in 1992 and 1994; and this is my first time down here since then. And it's my longest ride ever -- 117 miles from Woodhaven, which is on the Brooklyn/Queens border.

I used 27 out of Newark, which was not nearly as bad as some reports I had read suggested it would be. It was just fine, actually. Then I picked up 35 where it hits 27 in Union County. Of course it was necessary to get on and off 35 several times, because it becomes a highway for many miles. The only bad stretch of 35 that I hit was in Perth Amboy, where it is a regular street, but where the shoulder is narrow and gravelly. I then picked up 36, and took that around through the Atlantic Highlands area, and onto the penninsula. From there I got 35 again, and also had two separate stretches on 71.

My pace was far from blistering: in riding time, I covered the 117 miles in about 13 hours. (The total elapsed time door-to-door was 15 hours; but I am subtracting two hours for my various stoppages -- to buy drinks, to pee, all the umpteen pauses to glance at my maps and my written directions, and two full-on breaks of a half hour each.)

Gong back home, I am going to do it the easy way; I will take the train out of Bay Head. But it's great to be down here for the first time in 18 years; and it's a thrill to set my personal high again this summer, and to do my second century ever. Before this summer, my biggest one-day ride was 70 miles; I did my first 100-mile day in July.

Dahon.Steve

HI

I'll try to take pictures next time around. I hope this explains and makes it easier but please be VERY CAREFUL about walking down those stairs. They are dangerous and you are actually safer in some respects going down the ramp providing there there's little traffic.

Let me try again. When going from Jersey City to Newark, you'll cross the Hackensack river and on to the Passaic. Once you cross over the second bridge but before you hit the ramp to Doremus avenue, start looking over to your right because the stairs are there! They are covered in dirt about 30-50 feet before you reach the ramp. Go slowly next time. They are there.

Believe it or not, there is a dirt path to the West Side of the bridge but it's very steep. I can not recommend trying to carry a bicycle up that path but it does appear that dock workers have and did use it to get on the West Side of the bridge. There are no steps and it would be a difficult climb on a bicycle. I might be crazy to climb up that hill because the view from the west side looks real interesting!!! The West Side is also dirtier and there's a section where the sidewalk and the highway are just a few feet apart with no protection. Not cool.

What's so crazy is that there is a BUS STOP on the west side of the bridge so people are using it!

I'm impressed you went all the way to Seaside heights from New York! I would have avoided all the highways and took city streets. Each year I take the train to Long Branch and ride all the way to BayHead visiting each beach. You should see Asbury Park today! It is changing fast and will be totally different 20 years from now. Just five years ago it was a total dump!! I always make a trek to Keansburg just to visit the amusement park.

indyfabz

I am curious about this, too, but cannot form a mental picture in my mind. On the Sunday before labor day, our club will be holding its anual ride from New Hope to Brooklyn. We will be heading up Doremus Ave. and then taing the ramp up to Lincoln Highway. The group I lead has always ridden in the roadway. Traffic is not heavy on that day. But some riders are fearful of the highway and take the walkway on the bridge across the Passaic.

I would appreciate it if you could describe any alternative routing to get into Jersey City from Doremus, keeping in mind that I only ride up there once a year. Thanks in advance.

Ferdinand NYC

OK, I will look closely next time. But going down the ramp onto Doremus Ave. in the same direction as traffic has seemed doable both times that I have attempted it. I am more interested about coming east. For that I'd need to know where the stairs hit the street on Doremus.

Here's where I apologise again for being dense: "West side" of the bridge? What do you mean by that? Do you mean the westbound (north) side, i.e., the Kearny-to-Newark side, the side we are talking about, the side with the stairs that I haven't found?

OK, from this bit, it appears that it is not the westbound side that you are talking about; but, rather the other side -- the eastbound (south) side, the Newark-to-Kearny side. (Once again: please forgive my lack of comprehension! I thank you for going over this. I just really want to nail it down.)

Hehe, thanks! I'm impressed, too! The toughest part, mentally, was the beginning. The whole thing seemed terribly daunting at first. For example, after I had done 30 or 35 miles, it was almost chilling to realise that I still hadn't really made a dent!

I found that the trip was actually more challenging mentally than physically. (Though I was more laden than usual, due to the need to carry changes of clothes and other supplies. So my bags (plural) were heavier than the one bag I usually carry. This eventually gave me a bit of pain in my shoulder and back.)

But my perception finally adjusted at some point. I can remember looking at my watch and noting that 5 hours had passed. What seemed to me like only a few minutes later, I looked at the watch again, and saw that 6 hours had elapsed. After that, I was in the mental "zone"; it got easier mentally, and the hours began to tick off rather quickly.


I did do that! I avoided all of the highway-like stretches of 35, and anything crazy like Route 9. The other "highways" (27, 36, and 71) were all city streets.

Here is the route: https://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/119464677

(Though the bit heading towards the bridge in Jersey City is not what I intended to mark on the map, and not what I actually did. The site MapMyRide.com went a little nuts on me there. The route I intended to mark, and in fact rode, was a right off of Summit Ave. onto Communipaw Ave., and then Communipaw straight to the end of Lincoln Park, where I just went up onto the sidewalk over the bridge.)

I was really impressed with Asbury Park! I stopped there to make a call -- it was the only place on the way down where I found a pay phone. (No, I do not have a cell phone.) I love cities more than anything else; and Asbury Park felt like a real city. It felt like a Hudson County-type of place.

Anyway, I am back home now, and feeling pretty good about the whole thing. It's amazing how little sleep I got when I was down there, only about 5 hours each on Tuesday and Wednesday nights. I was just so psyched about being there.

On Wednesday I rode all around the area, going over the Rt. 37 bridge to Toms River, then back to Seaside and up the peninsula to Lavallette (where I went to the library to write my previous post in this thread), and back down; a total of about 20 miles. On Thursday I rode the 10 miles to Bay Head, where I caught the train to Newark and then the PATH to downtown Manhattan, and I rode the 10 miles home. (I didn't ride today; today I am just savouring the whole thing. I'm sure I'll do plenty of riding tomorrow in Manhattan, when they open up Park Ave. again for "Summer Streets".)