Originally Posted by Corsaire
I'm from not too far from there, Clifton. But the particular area where you live now (very close to NY city), unfortunately, is highly congested; and most of the roads you're surrounded by are not really bicycle friendly. Your only choice might be to take a grand detour towards the North Bergen area and thru towns like Moonachie, Nutley, etc, to then turn left towards Lyndhurst, Clifton and them Montclair. It's doable but not too practical.
Corsaire
I live in Bayonne and have cycled from Montclair Heights many times. In fact, I've frequently visited the Paramus Park Plaza which is located in the middle of Urban Sprawl and virtually ALL the malls in Bergen county! I cheated by using NJ rail (Main Line) to get to the malls but I cycled back home each and every time. I frequently come back from the malls in Bergen County by heading to Newark New Jersey. It's all downhill to Newark and you can catch the Path to Hoboken. I find the area up there cycle friendly and frequently meet other cyclists in high end machines.
My advice is to get a copy of Microsoft Streets and trips or go to Mapquest. There are several bridges over the Hackensack river once you get near Fort lee. I discovered this one wooden foot bridge that has been closed off to motor traffic and considered a landmark used by the revolutionary war soldiers. The software will enable you to locate small obscure bridges that maps do not illustrate clearly. I was able to locate these brideges easily with my GPS using Streets and Trips to get coordinates. In fact, this is the REASON why I purchased a GPS in the first place was to locate bridges across the Hackensack river!
The problem with commuting to Montclair Heights is the massive HILL you must climb over. When coming back home on a weekend journey, I ususally hit 45-50 mph going down those hills. Incredible. Climbing over those hills into Fort Lee will be very difficult during the winter. You also have to climb over Palisade Avenue to get to Fort Lee!
Here's a better solution.
Buy a folding bike. An inexpensive folder like the Dahon Boardwalk 7 is allowed on NJ Transit trains during rush hour. Since you live in Hoboken, take the folder aboard the train and unfold it once you reach your destination. The beauty of this system is that you don't need to rely on the Montclair Line anymore and can now take the Main line which runs a lot faster and frequent! If you miss the Montclair train, just take the main line to Clifton and bike over to the next town.
I was talking with a young person who started a job in Teatobourgh (sp) Airport. The bus would leave him about 2 miles from his place of work and now he uses a folder in conjunction public transit.