Bike Forums - Brooklyn to Newark

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Quote:

Originally Posted by noglider (Post 18201643)

I've ridden my bike in a huge variety of conditions, and the crossing from Jersey City to Newark is the worst. If he doesn't know what he's getting into, I can't recommend it. It is brutal because it's dangerous, confusing, loud, dirty, and sinfully ugly. I've been a cycling advocate for years, so I hate to tell someone not to cycle a particular trip, but that's what I'm doing now. At least have a backup plan. If you do decide to ride this, allocate 60 or maybe 90 minutes extra for the first trip to recover from a dozen things that will go wrong. I think it took me over two hours to ride from Hoboken to Maplewood once. And know where the train stations along the way are so you can bail yourself out.

I could not disagree with this more.

I have crossed both bridges with a 3 speed bicycle. LOL! You don't need a 27 speed mountain bike or a 21 speed road bike to cross those bridges.

I have crossed those bridges about 7 times and only encounter were men waiting at the bus stop in Harrison. It's not dangerous because you are riding sidewalks including a protected path and not the highway. I can't stress this enough that you are not riding in traffic until you reach Doremus Avenue. Guess what? On the weekend, there is no one on this road!! Riding Doremus Avenue on a Saturday or Sunday is like cycling in an empty parking lot. Seriously.

You are far more likely to be killed on the congested streets in Manhattan and Brooklyn than than crossing those bridges. If you ever road on the shoulder of any highway, that is more dangerous than riding over those bridges. I searched on Google to find if a cyclist was killed on those bridges and could not find any. However, the only people killed on them were in cars. Go figure.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Themonkey (Post 18203275)

Is there a safe place to leave my bike at either Penn or WTC? I'm getting the sense that riding my bike is going to be a bit of a bust. Cannot believe that the bike routes are so poor!

It's less dangerous than riding in Manhattan. If you can ride down Broadway with all that congestion, than riding on a protected bicycle path should be walk in the park. Broadway is far more dirty due to all the polution from cars, buses and taxis. Come to think of it, my bike was just a little more dirty than normal use. If you ride in rain or snow or just plain mountain bike, you'll end up far more dirty.

Once you reach the top of those bridges, the air is fresh from Hackensack and the view is breath taking. I will take picutures on the top of each bridge this weekend and post them later in the week. I'll show you what you're missing and it is alot!

You know, maybe we are referring to different routes. If so, I'm sorry. The routes I took were horrific, but if you say there are reasonable routes, then clearly, I should step out of the discussion.