I rode this today, and it's (mostly) a good route. Here's the
route in Bikely.
Here are the highlights. Links are to Google Street View pictures.
- Leaving work on Passaic Avenue: A security guy in a safety yellow vest directing traffic waved me onto the road, pointing at my jacket and saying, "you're more visible than me."
- Passaic Avenue gets quite hilly, and quickly. Mountain Avenue is more so, and I had to walk one hill there (the only one on the whole ride).
- Mountain Avenue past Soth Street/ Glenside Road is pretty bad for riding, particularly in rush hour - two narrow lanes in each direction, traffic that just can't wait to get onto 78. The only way around this is (unless you have a Lucent keycard) to go through Watching Reservation - pretty, but very hilly indeed and very twisty.
- I used New Providence Road to get over route 22. There was a lot of backed-up traffic in this jughandle-style overpass. You're over the Watching Mountains at this point, and the big hills are all behind you.
- Front Street from Scotch Plains into Plainfield - It's a straight shot, and mostly good riding, but the neighborhood gets worse the further west you go (no surprise), and the potholes get bigger.
- Park Avenue (rt 531) through Plainfield is more of the same, but it smooths out a bit when you get into South Plainfield, but I still found myself wishing for a suspension fork from time to time.
- Talmadge Road was part of my old route home from Union, and from this point I'm on familiar ground. Wide lanes, good shoulders, and fast traffic (but the cars give me room). Watch out for the pavement after you get over 287 - it's like the surface of the moon for a bit, as if LCROSS hit Edison.
- Brunswick Ave - one moderate climb - into Plainfield, into Kilmer Road past the post office and the DMV.
- Cedar Lane is worth noting - two lanes in both directions, but the lanes are wide and the traffic is patient and gives you room.
- A left on Raritan Ave (one brickwall hill, but it's very short) , a right onto South First Avenue, and I'm home. Time for dinner!