Originally Posted by Dahon.Steve
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.
I thought about a folding bike, but I decided against one. The rules concerning taking a bicycle do not apply to reverse commuters like me - for trains going outbound in the morning, inbound in the evening, you are permitted to bring a full sized bike (wheelchair accessibility permitting - the train I take is only 30% full at any given time so this is not a problem.) Also, folding bikes don't have the versatility for long-range riding, and are pretty horrible on steep hills. But if I were a pure urban commuter, I would consider one.
The Montclair line actually runs as frequently as the Main line during weekdays. Montclair is in fact one of the busiest commuter towns to NYC, Clifton is also pretty big for that. The train is adequate for my needs, it only takes 22 minutes to get to work. And, yes, Hoboken is nice, although the moment I pay my dues at the company I work for, I want a job in Manhattan. Hoboken is a good place, but it is 99.999% yuppified, very homogenous, not really suited to me. I dream of living in Brooklyn - now there's a city with so much to explore on bike. The pathway down Ocean Blvd. is a lot of fun.