Ferdinand NYC

I took advantage of the beautiful weather on Tuesday to make my first ride of the year through New Jersey. (I had gone over the George Washington Bridge once a few weeks ago; but that time I just went over and back.)

Every time I go through the cities of Hudson County, I like them more. Jersey City and Hoboken are both great for biking; and Hoboken explicity touts itself as bike-friendly, with bike lanes on many of the north-south avenues. While Hoboken has the reputation of being super-gentrified, the parts north of the train station offer a great urban environment.

Jersey City is much larger than Hoboken, and it has many bike lanes in its own right. It also has several great city parks, including the giant Lincoln Park. And, on top of that, it has Liberty State Park, in which you can ride your bike -- unlike in New York's state parks, as I found out when I got kicked out of Riverbank State Park.

I recently found out about the NY Waterway ferries that go from various locations in Manhattan to various locations in Jersey City, Hoboken, and Weekawken on weekdays. On weekends, there is only the ferry between the World Finanical Center in Manhattan and Paulus Hook in Jersey City. Has anyone here ever taken those boats? Are they as convenient as they seem? I might try that some time, so as to be able to spend more of my miles in Hudson County.

I passed through almost every Hudson County city, with the exception of Kearny (I wasn't going to Newark this time), Secaucus (I don't even know if there is a way to get there by bike!), and Bayonne (no point going down there as the Bayonne Bridge is still closed). But the other cities, such as North Bergen (home of the spectacular Braddock Park), Guttenberg, West New York, Weehawken, and Union City, in addition to the aforementioned Jersey City and Hoboken, are really enjoyable. And they are not very hilly if you are going north and south, though there are some drastic hills going west from the coast in North Bergen and Weehawken.

I admit that I, as an arrogant New Yorker, do my share of sneering at New Jersey. But Hudson County is definitely not what I am sneering at. Those cities are really comfortable to ride in, and feel like home. I wish that New York City could somehow trade Staten Island to New Jersey in return for Hudson County.

mediaavid

The NY Waterway ferries are convenient. Just a tad on the expensive side. You have several options of ferries in Hudson County. Port Imperial in Weehawken is $9 one way. The Lincoln Harbor and 14th Street in Hoboken are same ferry. Again, it's $9. Port Imperial, Lincoln Harbor, and 14th Street Hoboken (Hoboken North) go to 39th Street in Midtown. The ferry at Paulus Hook on weekends I think is under $5. Weekdays it's $7 I think. Paulus Hook goes to World Financial Center. Good news is all the ferries accept bicycles. Bad news is they charge $1 or $1.25 depending on the route. A folding bike when folded has no additional cost. Weekdays you can also take a ferry from Hoboken at the train terminal just past the waiting room. That goes to World Financial Center and Wall Street. If you can ride on a weekday, the best use of your $$ is Wall Street. $7 and longest ferry ride with the most scenery as you wrap around Manhattan and get dropped off just south of South Street Seaport.

Papa Tom

Just curious...did you ride the Waterfront Walkway from Hoboken to Liberty State Park, or did you take the roads?

Hokiedad4

Great place to bike. Just don't park your car there.

Papa Tom

Clarify?

Ferdinand NYC

I rode in the streets. And I went to Hoboken after I went to Liberty State Park. Coming down from the bridge, I had bypassed Hoboken, having entered Jersey City from Union City on Summit Ave. But, anyway, I didn't take the Waterfront Walkway.

After doing a lap around Liberty State Park, I left the park via Jersey Ave. I jumped over to Barrow St., and took it and then Erie St. up to where it ends at 16th St. I then made a right to go onto Newark St. for a few blocks, until it (almost) crosses with Observer Hwy. At that point I turned left to cross both Newark St. and Observer Hwy., and got on Madison St. in Hoboken.

Once in Hoboken, I grooved up and down many of the north-south streets, just enjoying the bike lanes. I finally started following the walkway/bikeway that is right on the river starting at around 15th St., which is pretty close to the city limits of Hoboken going into Weehawken. When that riverside path ended, somewhere in West New York or Guttenberg or North Bergen (not sure), I jumped onto the street called River Road, and took that all the way back up to Fort Lee and the bridge.

1nterceptor

I've been living in Hudson county, NJ for about 10 years now. I commute on the crappy local streets and over the GW bridge;
no other choice. But I do have a choice where I go on my weekend fun rides. Like most north Jersey and NYC riders; I go up
9W to Bergen county NJ to Rockland and Orange counties NY. Another option to the ferry is the PATH train from downtown
Manhattan to Hoboken/Jersey City. $2.75 one way. Try riding along Blvd. East also if you haven't yet. It's a bit hilly on some
parts but wide enough that cars don't buzz close to you. It starts by Hoboken/Weehawken and takes you up to North Bergen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOsE...IoDLA&index=88

Ferdinand NYC

I have been on JFK Blvd. East a few times, taking it only southward. It's pretty good in spots, though it gets a little nutty in Weehawken. I generally use Bergenline Ave. going south through Hudson County; and I use New York Ave. going north until Bergenline becomes two-way. Then I stay on Bergenline / Anderson (veering off onto Center Ave. when Anderson becomes one-way) up to the bridge.

Also, I wouldn't call the local streets in the Hudson County cities crappy. In my experience, they are well maintained. I really dig riding through those cities; for that reason, I am not attracted in Rockland or Orange Counties. My pleasure riding is all urban riding. In fact, tomorrow I am going to take a trip out to Paterson in Passaic County, which has a facinating history. (I hope I get weather as beautiful as today's.)

Ferdinand NYC

Following up on that, I will say that Paterson is a great place to ride, despite the lack of formal bike lanes. I really enjoyed being there, as opposed to the neighbouring areas of Elmwood Park (which changed its name from East Paterson, in an unsubtle racist move), Saddle Brook, and Hackensack, all of which are devoid of personality by comparison.

So, not only are the cities of Hudson County great, I now know of at least one great city in Passaic County: Paterson. And I mustn't forget the wonderful city in Essex County: Newark. In addition, when I rode to Seaside Heights in 2012, I loved passing through Asbury Park in Monmouth County. So I will note that I have now ridden to the hometowns of both Bud Abbott (Asbury Park) and Lou Costello (Paterson).

If anyone knows of any other bustling urban areas in New Jersey, I'd love to get suggestions.

P.S. - Those hills in Fort Lee and Leonia are no joke! I took them in first gear, and at about 4 miles per hour. But I never dismounted and walked.

Dahon.Steve

If you're going to Paterson, don't forget to check out the Great Falls and the museum! Google it!. When you reach Passaic NJ, walk, don't bike down Main Avenue. There's a large skyscraper in the middle of Main Avenue. Take pictures of it because the building is empty!

Dahon.Steve

I live in Bayonne so you have to try the pancakes at the Broadway diner! If you like Jersey City, ride down Broadway in Bayonne all the way to 8th street and take the lightrail back to Jersey City.

Since you're in Hoboken, why not take some of the trains to Morristown, Suffern and Montclair? I explored all northern NJ using the Hoboken train station and still do it today.

I recently discovered the bus bike racks and I'm having a ball using them each weekend to explore new roads. Since I buy the 2 zone bus card, I can travel all the way from Bayonne to Hackensack for $1.75! If I wanted to, I could actually travel there for free using the lightrail!

You can ride your bike to Secaucus but there's not much there but a train station and number of shopping outlets. Also, there are a lot of warehouses and a very small center of town.

Ferdinand NYC

I did see the falls! I passed by the museum; but I didn't go in. I listened to parts of the walking tour, narrated by none other than Brian Williams. You can hear it by calling 973-582-0654. The topics are:

0# - Introduction
1# - Alexander Hamilton
2# - The Great Falls
3# - Great Falls Bridge
4# - Mary Ellen Kemper Park
5# - Upper Raceway Park
6# - Rogers Locomotive Works
7# - Rosen Mill
8# - Middle Raceway
9# - Paterson Museum
10# - The City Beyond

I listened only to the intro and topics 1 and 2; and then I proceeded to do my own tour.


The Great Falls





Statue of Lou Costello





Mural of Larry Doby





There were more prosaic things to see, also. For some reason, I took a liking to the garbage pails that they have in the East Side Park area:





Interesting! But I never went through Passaic. From the George Washington Bridge I went from Fort Lee through Leonia then up to Englewood, over to Teaneck, down to Bogota, and over the bridge crossing the Hackensack River to Hackensack. There I took the street called first Essex St. then Market St. all the way to Elmwood Park (formerly East Paterson, as noted above). I turned north on the Boulevard, and took that to Broadway; there I turned left to cross the Passaic River and get into Paterson. (Side note: Market St. goes directly into Paterson; but it gets all tangled up with Route 80 first. So I didn't think there was a bikeable way to do it on that street.)

Coming back was mostly the same, except that I took a different bridge across the Hackensack River.

Here is the full route going out in Map My Ride.

With the trip there and back, and exploring the town, I totalled 85 miles that day.


I have been to Bayonne several times, and really dug it. On quite a few occasions, I did what I dubbed the "Around the World" tour: coming in over the George Washington Bridge, then going back over the Bayonne Bridge. Unfortunately, there is no bike access to the Bayonne Bridge until the reconstruction is done; so I haven't been down there in a couple of years.

I very much like that the person who owns the liquor store at Broadway and 42nd St. had the sense to call it "Times Square Liquors"! At the intersection of Broadway and 42nd St. in Queens, there is a bar with the name "Doyle's Corner". Whoever this Doyle bloke is, he deserves a smack for naming his bar after himself instead of using the name "Times Square". So it's Bayonne 1, Queens 0 on that one.

I'm afraid that pancakes would be right out, though. I really can't eat while I am riding; it makes me sluggish and sleepy. The only thing that I can eat while riding is cucumbers. I frequenly pass restaurants and diners that I would like to try; but I just can't do it. In fact, I don't eat at all during the day. My metabolism is so darn slow that, even with riding every day and eating only one meal that consists mainly of vegetables, I can barely keep from gaining weight.

I have never been on the Hudson Bergen Light Rail. I must try that some day. Whenever I have been in Hudson County, I have just ridden my bike everywhere.



I suppose I could do that. I have an aunt who lives in East Hanover, which is near Morristown; and I went out there last year. I have to be honest and say that Morris County doesn't really excite me. As I mentioned above, I am looking for urban rides. I am planning to take NJ Transit to Trenton and change to SEPTA to get into Philadelphia. I rode all the way to and from Philly last year; but that left me with only one day to ride in the town. This time I want to stay there for a few days and have several days to explore.



Just out of curiosity: how do you get into Secaucus from Jersey City by bike? The street Secaucus Road that comes out of 5th St. in Jersey City seems to have no shoulder according the pictures I have seen. Is that the street that you ride on?

____

Secaucus Road starts at Kennedy Boulevard ("becomes" 5th Street on the east side of Kennedy Boulevard), once you get down the hill and past US 1-9, it is two lanes in each direction, with a 25mph speed limit. Although there are no bicycle lanes or shoulders, it's perfectly fine.

The other ways to get out to Secaucus from the rest of Hudson County aren't as good; via Paterson Plank Road or via County Road. Paterson Plank is very busy between US 1-9 and Route 3. County is a very tight one lane in each direction with substantial truck traffic. Both of those ways are safe, they just don't feel so.

Dahon.Steve

You missed the museum which is the second biggest attraction. It’s easy to reach Patterson from the Hoboken train station by taking the Main Line. You don’t have to ride back and forth and do what I’ve been doing and take the train home.

I noticed you tend to ride on the fast boulevards but I prefer the main streets where the traffic is slower like Bergenline Avenue or Martin Luther King drive. A lot of people like the faster boulevards but that’s where most cyclist are injured or killed.

Ferdinand NYC

If I am going a long way, I suppose that I choose through roads, which tend to be bigger streets. Such is the case with Essex St. / Market St.

But when I am exploring within a city, I try to hit all kinds of streets. That was true in Paterson last week, as well as in Hoboken a few weeks ago. And that is my intention in Philadelphia this coming weekend, when I go down there by train.

Anyway, I use Bergenline Ave. often. When coming down from the bridge, I like to take Anderson Ave., which becomes Bergenline Ave. at the Bergen Co. / Hudson Co. border, and to stay on it until the 20s, when I jump over to Summit Ave.

flyjimmy

Wow . What an arrogant prick.

Ferdinand NYC

Quite.

____

A nice alternate option from the bridge south for two miles is the mostly converted former right-of-way of the Public Service streetcar line that ran from Weehawken to Fort Lee until 1938.

In Fort Lee this is mainly Abbott Boulevard, with a short pathway connection to Gerome Avenue and Main Street beyond that.

In Cliffside Park this is known as Railroad Avenue, the south end of which is around Columbia and Crescent Avenues which run perpendicular to it and Anderson and Palisade to which they both connect.

A typical run down from the bridge would take Main Street just past Lemoine, then left on Gerome and into Fireman's Park at the end, a couple of blocks of pathway then Abbott Boulevard until it ends at a school parking lot, but that is open to pedestrians and bicycles. From there Railroad Avenue until Columbia, and right there, then a left on Anderson and on the rest of the way to Hudson County.

There is far less traffic this way than on the parallel roads, no traffic lights, and a couple of stop signs. Worth a look.

flyjimmy

Arrogant, but I have to give you credit for your honest reply.

Ferdinand NYC

It is clear that that there is some unwarranted arrogance in this thread.


Thanks! I will give this a whirl next time.