A ride from Edison to Princeton, NJ

[ak08820]

Last Sunday (4/29/2012) I rode from Edison, NJ to Princeton, NJ and back.
I chose to avoid the Rte 27 as much as possible, even though it is the most direct route and has shoulders on much of its length. I took back roads to Landing Lane bridge over the Raritan River and D&R Canal. I could have gone on to the D&R Canal to DeMott Lane in Somerset, but I knew from a previous visit that the bridge across the canal is not there. I emailed Google Maps to correct it as it is shown in the route on Google maps but I received an email that they have conflicting info and my correction was ignored.

So, I took back roads in Somerset and then S. Middlebush road to end on Rte 27 and then to Princeton.
While coming back, I took Rte 27 all the way to Edison.
In New Brunswick, the driver of a big American SUV honked to indicate that he was passing me.
A few yards ahead, a young woman, cell phone in hand, in a Scion xB coming from the opposite direction, took a left turn at a high speed to beat me.
In Highland Park, a guy in a luxury vehicle overtook me and slid in a parking spot in front of me. I shouted to his closed window that he is not supposed to pass me and he ignored me. So, I waited till he parked, he took a long 5 minutes sliding back and forth between tow adjoining parking spots, finally settling to occupy both the spots. When he got out I shouted some angry words expressing his stupid behavior and moved on.

Shortly, in S. Edison, I heard a honk and a landscaper in a big van towing a trailer motioned me to get on the sidewalk. There is no shoulder on this stretch of 27 but there are 2 lanes and unless you are towing an extra wide trailer, you could easily pass me in the slow lane as I ride on an imaginary shoulder.

Later, I stopped at Costco to test my new backpack to pannier conversion, parked unlocked near the front entrance as I had not brought the lock, found a shopping cart dangerously close to the bike and a guy still parked in the fire lane where I saw him when I went in and toted a gallon of milk to home.

This is typical bike riding in the North East.

[neilfein]

This is why I avoid route 27, it seems to be populated mostly by thru traffic, much of which is (I suspect) trying to avoid traffic on the more-or-less parallel route one. I go to great lengths to avoid 27, even in downtown Highland Park where traffic is reasonably calm. This road is not typical of the area, only of similar roads with no shoulder and two travel lanes in each direction. (Northeastern New Jersey - mall country - is home to the highest concentration of inconsiderate drivers in the state.)

Unfortunately, there is no alternate on-road route from Princeton to Edison at the moment, at least none that doesn't involve some acrobatic routing. And local commuters are likely to resist any attempts at shoulders or bike lanes on route 27; the lanes are already quite narrow, especially in Edison, and they'd have to cut capacity to do this.

A couple of years back, I ran into a guy at the New Brunswick train station once who claimed he rode every day from New Brunswick to Edison on the double yellow line in the center of route 27. Perhaps I misunderstood him? I didn't call him a liar or an idiot to his face, but I was thinking it. I never rain into him again; I hope he's stopped doing this.

[ak08820]

He can't be serious about riding in the middle of the road. If he was, may be that is why you don't see him any longer.
My commute, if I do it by bike would be along route 35 from Edison to Middletown, NJ, about 23 miles and I cannot imagine doing it either. Route 35 is almost identical to rote 27 with lots of lights, side streets and shoulderless patches. I see some S. American workers riding but they ride on the sidewalks, as they almost always do in this area. May be they are right as the sidewalks are abandoned by the car loving suburbanites. In Edison, in the reign of the former mayor George Spadoro, each end of the sidewalk where it crossed a street was sloped instead of stepped and pained red. May be it was to make it bike friendly.
I wonder why the DOT cannot/would not acquire additional land from the owners (under eminent domain)to widen the roads where needed, like they do to build the road in the first place. I have seen it done in other countries. What was my my grandparents front yard is almost gone now and the current occupants are practically stepping into the street from their front door.

[indyfabz]

This is typical bike riding in the North East.

In that particular part of the northeast. Yesterday I finished a 3-day tour from Port Jervis, NY to Philadelphia. Only had problems on two short stretches of road. Fortunately, I was able to educated four drivers on PA's new four-foot passing law that went into effect last month.

The rest of the route was awesome. Came down through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area to Worthington State Forest. Down the river from Delaware Water Gap, PA, crossing into NJ again at Belvidere and then back into PA at Upper Black Eddy to get to reach a camprgound. Between Montague, NJ and Wirthington, maybe 30 moving vehicles. (it's big sihing season.) Between DWG and Belvidere, maybe 20 moving vehicles. Between Belvidere and Phillipsburg, maybe 10. Same for the stretch south of Phillipsburg to Milford, NJ.

Took the trail from Frenchtown to Lambertville and then crossed over to PA again. Didn't get moderate to heavy traffic until I neared Philly, which is expected, but even then I was able to take some car-free routes to get home.

There are plenty of places in the northeast where there is good cycling. Hunterdon and Warren Counties in NJ are particularly nice if you know where to ride and don't mind hills.

[ak08820]

You are correct. The problem is not on the backroads of countryside. The problem is in the closely packed suburbs with shoulderless 2 lane state routes with no alternatives. I rode last year from Edison, NJ to Easton, PA and the whole route (28, 22, 193, 22)was great except in Phillipsburg where I erred and took the Rte 22, instead of the Main Street parallel to it. Even with 3 lanes, drivers were swearing at me.

[indyfabz]

I rode last year from Edison, NJ to Easton, PA and the whole route (28, 22, 193, 22)was great except in Phillipsburg where I erred and took the Rte 22, instead of the Main Street parallel to it. Even with 3 lanes, drivers were swearing at me.

To me, that sounds like no fun compared to the more scenic and less travelled road options available. E.g., after Bloomsbury, get off 173 and take Warren Glenn to Municipal Dr. to CR 519 to Snyders to Oberly to Carpentersville to 122 into the center of Philipsburg. Or you could stay on 519 into Alpha, make a left on High St. and a right onto Carpentersville to 122. Other options further east, like from Somerville/Raritan through Neshanic Station and Ringoes. The route along the river north of Milford is fabulous until you get to Philipsburg.

[Biker79]

I would love to join you next time but I don't think I can keep up with you. I have a walmart MT bike and I prefer to ride on the Canal next to the canal st.

[nd2010]

I sometimes ride on route 1 from New Brunswick to Princeton Junction. There's a shoulder as wide as a car lane all the way from Route 1/Jersey Avenue intersection. I get off Route 1 at Ridge Road and take the back roads through Plainsboro. It's really not that scary as it sounds with a 55 mph speed limit since the only time I interact with cars are at the jughandle intersections, and the cars slow down at those.

[ak08820]

That is an act of courage. I cannot imagine going thru the interchange at Rte 130. I suggest you do the same trip on Rte 27 which I consider safer.

[Bacciagalupe]

So, I took back roads in Somerset and then S. Middlebush road to end on Rte 27 and then to Princeton. While coming back, I took Rte 27 all the way to Edison.

Based on NJ Bike Maps, it does look like the sections between Edison and New Brunswick are pretty crappy. Once you're in NB though, it should be easy to find great routes to Princeton.

One I use commonly, including this weekend, is taking Hamilton to Amwell to Canal Road. There are lots of other scenic route options which involve crossing the D&R Canal earlier.

I'm sure with a little work, you can find a slightly better route between Edison and NB. Try a few experiments on ridewithgps.com

A few yards ahead, a young woman, cell phone in hand, in a Scion xB coming from the opposite direction, took a left turn at a high speed to beat me.

You shouldn't expect that drivers can actually see you. Even if they aren't on a cell, they could be adjusting the radio, checking directions, disciplining a child, or just not expecting you to be there at all -- and if they aren't looking for you, they are not likely to see you.

In Highland Park, a guy in a luxury vehicle overtook me and slid in a parking spot in front of me. I shouted to his closed window that he is not supposed to pass me and he ignored me. So, I waited till he parked, he took a long 5 minutes sliding back and forth between tow adjoining parking spots, finally settling to occupy both the spots. When he got out I shouted some angry words expressing his stupid behavior and moved on.

This is a terrible idea.

All you're doing is escalating the conflict. The driver is not likely to respond well to being berated by a cyclist, and you aren't going to be safe if you forget that the driver is in a two-ton motor-powered vehicle. It's emotionally satisfying, but counter-productive.

I highly recommend you read Bob Mionski's comments on the matter: http://bicycling.com/blogs/roadright...-to-road-rage/

This is typical bike riding in the North East.

Your experiences are not typical for me.

Granted, it's not all puppies and hugs; occasionally a car gets too close, and once in a blue moon people yell obnoxiously. But it's nowhere near as bad here as in some other parts of the US, where you can get beer cans hurled in your general direction, or more intentionally run off the road. So it could definitely be better, but it could also be a whole lot worse.

[neilfein]

Based on NJ Bike Maps, it does look like the sections between Edison and New Brunswick are pretty crappy. Once you're in NB though, it should be easy to find great routes to Princeton.

One I use commonly, including this weekend, is taking Hamilton to Amwell to Canal Road. There are lots of other scenic route options which involve crossing the D&R Canal earlier.

I'm sure with a little work, you can find a slightly better route between Edison and NB. Try a few experiments on ridewithgps.com

Woodbridge Avenue is a good alternative to Route 1, in some areas. The only real areas of concern are when you go through Raritan Center and the Route 1 overpass just before you get into Highland Park, but these are over with fairly quickly.

[nd2010]

That is an act of courage. I cannot imagine going thru the interchange at Rte 130. I suggest you do the same trip on Rte 27 which I consider safer.

The Route 1/Jersey Ave interchange is south of the Route 130 interchange, so I don't go through that at all. Route 1 is shoulderless in parts of West Windsor, which I don't go through because I'm cutting through the back roads. I feel safer on the stretch of Route 1 between Jersey Ave and Ridge Road than on some "local" streets. At least on route 1 since the shoulder is over a car width wide, the cars passing me won't need to do anything to get out of my way, and it's fine if they don't even see me at all. Route 1 is perfectly straight, so it's the shortest distance.