s_9

Anyone know if this is safe to ride? I need to get from New York to Pennsylvania next week for Thanksgiving. I've searched the NYC-Philly posts, and nothing really suits my needs. My route needs to take me to the Allentown area - Easton, to be specific. Shouldn't be more than 70-80 miles, but I need a route! (and someone to take my luggage on the bus, but that, I'll figure out on my own). Route 46 goes most of the way through the state, and will deposit me pretty close to where I need to go. I've been told it's bikeable, but I'd like to know if anyone has any direct experience with it.

Thanks in advance.

ohmyspokes

Hi, I haven't biked 46, but I do recall it looking bikeable in the western part of the state.

If you pick up 57, it will bring you down into Phillipsburg, then you can walk your bike over the "free" bridge into Easton. 57 is a two-lane (one each way) rural highway with a 50 mph limit.

Good luck, this trip sounds like fun. Hope you enjoy your holiday in the Lehigh Valley.

Brian McDonough

Near Dover bicycling on rout 46 is ok but near Paterson NJ its too dangerous.

s_9

yeah, I figure I might have to wiggle my way into Jersey for a while before 46 becomes safe enough to ride on. If I can find someone with a car, I might scout it out this weekend or early next week.

Thanks for the advice, ohmyspokes. I always have a good time in Easton. My 10 year HS reunion is next weekend too - just want to be able to casually mention that I rode my bike home from New York.

Brian McDonough

the best sugestion I can offer is to take NJ transit to Dover than bike from there I biked to Rockaway NJ from NY and it was very hilly mountainous is a better word. Good biking to ya anyway you do it.

ohmyspokes

Oh, and duh...57 turns into 22. You'd want to make a right onto Red School Lane before that, then a left onto Belvidere Road. But I'm sure you know your local stuff, being a native and all.

Did you go to Easton High?

s_9

Once I get into P'burg, I'll be comfortable enough taking the back roads & whatnot.

Yeah, i went to Easton. Class of '95. Where are you from? & what kind of bike do you ride? I'm going to try & ride my fixie home from New York.

ohmyspokes

I graduated from P'burg Catholic in 1992, and eventually ended up back in this area in Bethlehem.

I ride a bianchi road bike and a pista. The pista I bought for track racing, but I've been putting more road miles on it than my geared bike lately.

You are going to melt their brains at that reunion. Not only are you travelling all that way, but fixed. I've got to say, the last time I saw someone else riding fixed around here, they were 'going fast, turning left'.

Have fun!

Dahon.Steve

This past summer, I rode from Dover to Newark Penn Station. I love taking New Jersey Transit trains to the end of the line back to Newark Penn Station. I did almost all the Train routes this summer except for some of the commuter lines and I never got lost thanks to my GPS. It takes time to map out a route but it's worth it because roads like Route 46 are impossible to cycle.

There is NO WAY I would take route 46 and just looking at the road map gives me the chills once you get close to Patterson and riding near that airport would be a crazy.

If you have a Gamin Legend, I can send you the GPS coordinates of the long route I took (from Dover to Newark) and it was fun. I was coming down from Morristown but you'll have to go in reverse which is uphill. There was this one part where I went down this mountain and I'll never forget that white knuckle ride. I'll take that to my grave. ;-)

If you don't have a GPS, you're better off taking NJ Trainsit and getting off at Dover. I would do the same and get yourself a GPS because roads don't have names and you can really get lost. The most direct roads are often horrible and were built for motorcars. I learned this the hard way and have since learned how to read maps. The cyclist has to take the indirect route often more hilly but safer. Whenever you see a route that cuts through and travels in a straght line for miles or looks thick and red, you'll probably looking at a fast roadway impossible for cycling.

Marge

as a native of New Jersey, (expat these 28 years in Seattle) there is no way I'd bike Route 46.
As I recall, (and I visit there at least once a year) it's a a dangerous ride filled with angry commuters,
careless shoppers, truck drivers, and not one person expecting to see a cyclist.

s_9

crap. It's sounding more & more like 46 is a deathtrap. Keep in mind, I'm an ex NYC messenger, so I'm used to crazy traffic, and I do the 9W ride to Nyack all the time. Of course, I'm fooling myself if I think highway traffic is at all like city traffic. And 9W is pretty bike-friendly. Extremely bike-friendly, actually.

Is there any point at all that 46 is at least moderately bikeable? I don't mind following more rural routes to Dover, for example.

Dahon.Steve - I don't have a Gamin Legend or any other GPS thing. I suppose there's no other way for you to send me those directions, huh?

dogpound

yea, 9W is heaven compared to most roads, and it's a highway alt rt, full of locals who (like it or not) are use to folks on 2 wheels.

s_9

how about route 24 in Jersey?

Brian McDonough

I've been using a gps navigation system on my bike for over 8 years now and it the greatest way to travel so like the commercal says don't leave home without it . also its more accurate in counting miles than a cyclometer . I have a Garmin III+ and I use mapsource for storing routes in my computer that is easy to download into my garmin . really cool stuff . Enjoying the new tech . That I never had when I was a kid.

Bikepacker67

C'mon man!
Load up those panniers!

Dahon.Steve

Agreed.

I would never have attempted to travel long distances without a GPS. I tried using paper maps and discovered right away that system was not going to work. I know many people use them but I found too many roads without names and making a mistake can take lots of energy getting back on track. I also discovered that it would take me 15 minutes to locate myself on the map. The elements like rain or wind also effected the map holders.

I'm building a library of trips on my GPS that I intend to share someday when I create a website.

Brian McDonough

It seems to me that not too many cyclists realize that biking and the GPS is like a ball and a mitt " it goes hand in hand together ." It really is a great companion to have on a dark and lonely road and you can see exactly where you are and how far away you are from your destination . I always feel safe and sound with the GPS as my guide for getting around in this world.

Jay H

ABSOLUTELY don't try it near Wayne, NJ. I commute to Wayne but I work and live north of Route 46 and Route 80, noway I would go near 46, especially now since there is a ton of construction going on. I avoid Rt 46 in a damm car/SUV!

Lots of traffic from pretty much the Hudson to perhaps all the way to Parsippany and after that, it wont be pretty.

Jay

Corsaire

Ditto. I commute from Totowa to Fairfield, NJ (close to Wayne) so I had to avoid crossing Rte 46 due to
all the maddening construction there. Rte. 46 is definitely not bike friendly, at all.

Corsaire

Brian McDonough

here's a route that will take you to Dover from NYC by biking let me remind you that it is very hilly next to mountainous https://tinyurl.com/7u8l3 turn right on route 46 and continue to Dover. a short distance away.