I live in North Bergen and enjoy going up 9w. I am looking for other routes from 25 to 80 miles that are on bike lanes or low traffic. Any suggestions?

There's lots of route cue sheets for Bergen county on the web -- but I don't know how to sort thru all of them to find out which are low-traffic in the way you're hoping for.

For bike paths (not a bike lane) there's the Saddle River county park. But I wouldn't want to ride very fast on that because I remember a number of bad-visibility curves (going under bridges). Then there's the "river drive" in Palisades Park between Rt 9W and the Hudson River -- but I don't think that gets up to 25 miles.

I think Bergen county has lots of low-traffic streets in residential neighborhoods. So you could make up your own "low traffic" route with lots of turns that "curls" / "snakes" / "winds" inside various neighborhood areas, then find some clever low-traffic ways to connect between some neighborhood areas. You'd learn to savor different styles and periods of residential house architecture, and develop strong leg muscles from so many accelerations after slowing down for so many intersections. (Not sure anybody else would want to ride it with you).

I think the puzzle is finding a mostly low-traffic route which sorta goes somewhere. I'm not sure that really exists, but here's my own best attempt at a compromise between low-traffic and "going somewhere": Bear Mountain the complicated way
(If start from Englewood instead of the GWB, and skip climbing to the top of the mountain, I think it comes close to the 80 miles you mentioned -- though it still includes a few miles on Rt 9W)Hopefully this will inspire somebody to suggest a shorter low-traffic route with fewer turns.

Ken

www.njbikemap.com Rates practically every road in the state for cycling.

That website is a helpful resource, but I just looked at two of the detail maps on it which include Bergen county, and those detail maps do not come close to rating (or even showing) most of the roads and streets -- especially they omit lots of the low-traffic streets in residential neighborhoods.

Perhaps a more accurate description of the website is that is rates most of the primary and secondary roads in New Jersey -- and lots of smaller roads in rural areas.

In my town it includes no more than 5% of the total roads and streets -- and approximately 0% of the low-traffic streets.

Ken

Wow, talk about looking a gift horse in the mouth....

The colors of the roads indicate the expected level of traffic and type of road. Purple is suburban, green is country, etc. ( https://www.njbikemap.com/njmap/other/key.htm )

The maps definitely do not cover every street. As the website owner points out....

E.g. if you live in Hackensack, listing every street would make the map unreadable at that scale.

The only other alternatives I can think of are doing club rides, or use a topo/mapping program and carry a GPS with you.

Yes I think using a GPS could be a good way to address the problem of low-traffic routes tending to have lots of turns.

Sounds like Bacciagalupe and me and the website owner are in pretty close agreement about what the website is about. It's not intended to solve all possible bicycling route-finding problems. One of the problems it's not good for is finding low-traffic routes in urban and residential areas.

Ken

Westwood cycles used to have a good on-line library of cue sheets, but their link doesn't seem to be working. You could call them and ask.

I've done weekend rides out from Ridgewood on Van Emburg, Werimus and Chestnut Ridge for a ways into NY and return on Saddle River Road. Didn't see much traffic.
Heading NW I've used W. Crescent, Hillside, S Central, Darlington, Campgaw, Pulis, Forest and a bunch of back roads. It was also on a weekend, and traffic was not bad.
Even though it's on the NJ bike map, avoid Franklin Ave. I've seen bikes on 202 in Mahwah but I wouldn't ride that stretch.

That's what's helpful, some specific suggestions -- even better if they come with link to a map (like on Google Maps)
When I look at the "Map Key" for the njbikemap.com maps, it doesn't look like the author intends that every road shown on the map is recommended for bicycling. Like the explanation for purple roads says, "They will have lots of driveways and traffic." Doesn't sound like a recommendation to me.

Then the description of purple says, "Thicker lines denote busier roads". The problem is that the key doesn't show what "thicker" versus "thinner" lines look like. Near as I can tell the purple lines shown in the Map Key are the thicker ones. Looking on the map for my home area, the thinner purple lines are very thin, nothing like the lines shown in the Map Key. And I agree with the labeling: The purple roads with the very thin lines in my home area are ones that I use myself and would recommend to other riders with sound traffic-handling skills and judgment. The roads with the "normal" thicker width purple lines are mostly ones that I try to avoid.Anyway this whole question of which roads are low-traffic (or which roads are "good bicycling roads") is very tricky. So I can only express sympathy and admiration for the njbikemap.com author for even attempting to publicize anything like that.

Ken

wow guys. great response. i will get out and try some of these suggestions next week

Ken,

your web site rocks. i have used some of your routs in the past

A lot of the purple roads on the NJ map that I'm familiar with I have no problem with biking on. Even with lots of driveways and intersections I consider them bikable. But not Franklin Ave. What the NJ map needs is what many other bike maps have, another designation for roads that are not safe for bikes.
(I grew up a few blocks from Franklin Ave so I know it all too well. I even bike commuted on it to my summer job for 3 years running. Better to stick to the side roads and back streets thru there)

Ken - are you the Ken Roberts of the bikehudson site. If so, good job. I go to it a lot.
Been wanting to try the NYH route. Is the route info up to date?

Yes I know some normal-thick-purple-line roads on njbikemap.com that I happily ride on (also selected sections of thick-red-line roads).The Massachusetts bike maps published by Rubel make some attempt to identify roads less suitable for bicycling. But still it's a very tricky thing. And they do want you to pay to use their maps.
Yes. All the time Sharon and I were exploring and writing those routes in upstate New York, we were living in New Jersey. Though I was raised in the Mid-Hudson area, I didn't do hardly any riding up there until I was an adult living in NJ. Far as I know, everyone who published serious bike routes for the Mid-Hudson region lived somewhere else while they did it. When you're a local your perspective is different.
Funny I was thinking of riding around New York Harbor tomorrow -- but Sharon is more thinking of going up to Nyack.

No, it's not "up to date" -- or at least I don't know that it's currently accurate. A way to tell is to click on the "Reports" link, and check some of the recent reports . . . Looks like the last time I was on the "New York Harbor Circle" was more than two years ago.

"up to date" is a good question, because Sharon and I have been riding up in New York less often than we used to, and our style of riding has shifted somewhat toward silly things like this. So I've started putting dates on more stuff on the Bike Hudson Valley website, so that people have a clue how much to worry if roads or bridges might have changed - (and they do change).Ken

I think the only scenic route from GWB is 9W. It is tree lined and has an ample shoulder to ride on. From North Bergen I would go to the Hudson Valley to ride. The New Paltz area is nice, but a sort of tourist trap on Sunday afternoons with the traffic that goes with in. Walden, Pine Bush and Montgomery are nice areas to ride. It seems like the laws regarding the construction of roads are different in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Speed limits in New York seem to be higher than the same type in New Jersey. In Pennsylvania, the only roads that have a shoulder are the main roads like 202... Close to the border with New Jersey, all the roads are busy with no shoulder.


The closest “great riding” area to North Bergen is a car trip to Central Hunterdon County, within your 80 mile limit. During the summer, Sunday afternoons are great here. No traffic because everyone is stuck on the Garden State Parkway coming home from the Jersey Shore. Little to no traffic on a 35 mile ride. With Pittstown, Croton, Sergeantsville, and Frenchtown areas, you can't go wrong.


You could do a “real estate” ride on the side streets of Bergen County, but you couldn't do any kind of mileage like that.


Growing up in Union County, I am aware of riding on the side streets and finding paths that connect the dead ends. I still enjoy that type of riding. When you join a bike club, the rides always have a destination food stop. Nothing but primary and secondary roads because you're going somewhere. I had the reputation on club rides to make too many turns and used lots of smaller roads to go places. I wouldn't be on a road more than 2 miles before I made a turn.


Developing njbikemap.com, I stuck to the primary and secondary roads just because the map would be impossible to make with all the side roads. Keep in mind the road name letters are a scale 150 meters high. This makes it impossible to show side roads in urban areas. The closeness and population of suburban areas is too much for the scale I chose for the whole state.


There is a need, I think, for maps to show the “bike routes” through towns in suburban areas like Bergen County. By linking smaller, less traveled roads together, bike routes could be established that cross the county making it “safe “ to commute in these areas.


Keep Riding
Dustin.
Just a mapguy



Thanks for the good words.

To the OP: What about heading west into northern Passaic and Sussex Counties? I haven't had a chance to ride there much myself, but it looks like there are some hills that will give you a good workout. BTW, I find njbikemap.com an invaluable resource. It is less useful around heavily built up areas, but then I do most of my longer rides on the backroads of Morris, Somerset and Hunterdon Counties.

yes, lots of nice hilly riding in western Passaic/Sussex/Orange(NY) county, you can easily ride to Warwick via Upper Greenwood lake roads or via Sloatsburg which is by Ringwood State park. I do a lot of rides around there, (or really did, my road riding is very sporadic these days) but i still know the area well, growing up here and living in Morris County now. I know lots of nice centuries that can ride from Bloomingdale to Harriman State park and back that could be any mix of 17-100miles easily and much less traffic than Bergen County. I've ridden Pulis, 202, franklin and stuff, but usually at off-peak hours..

The Ramapo Rally (BTCNJ) they do in Sept will give you a great intro to riding in the western Passic, southern NY area... I've done the century there before.

Jay

Thanks much Dustin, for all your amazing work in checking out the roads of New Jersey. Surely you're right that trying to include every little road would be impossible for you, and wouldn't fit on your maps anyway.
I think often you can "go somewhere" with a route on mostly residential streets -- it just takes longer to get there and it's more complicated - (and that's not what lots of riders want, but that's their choice).

The "bike club" problem is that for a group of riders together, every intersection with a stop or turn is a big hassle and slow-down and potential danger. For only one or two (skilled) riders the problem is mostly only knowing where to make each turn - (arguably the need to accelerate back up to speed again adds to the exercise effectiveness). With a good GPS system giving voice directions, that problem of remembering the turns could get much smaller. And with a cell-phone to call for help if your bike breaks down, and a printed map in case your GPS stops working, lotsa bicyclists have less need to ride with a larger group.

So the desire for routes on low-traffic roads with more turns might grow in the future.
That's not how I feel about 9W. I think the riding itself is fun: interesting curves and variety of hills. From a scenery perspective 9W (in NJ) is kinda boring. The first 1000 trees are nice, but by the 12373th tree it's getting old for me. Anyway for trees, the "river drive" in Palisades park by the GWB has lots more of them -- and also views of rocks and the River.

Bergen County has other scenic riding: for starters the residential neighborhoods in Englewood next to 9W just north of Palisade Av are way more interesting than 9W (not to mention quieter). The path in the Saddle River park. East Saddle River Rd in Allendale.

I think the other regions Dustin suggested have a greater number and higher "density" of roads with a certain kind of scenery, but for someone who lives in north Bergen, it's certainly reasonable to ask for lower-traffic quieter routes which don't require driving an hour and back.

Ken

i have been studying the map in regards to your suggestions and the 202 north route looks interesting. the problem is the total lack of familiarity with the area. it seems i may try to drive about 20 miles to the paterson area and go north from there. any cue sheets would be greatly appreciated.

thanks again for all of the responses

Just caught up on this thread, tons of useful info. I've used Ken's bikehudson site quite a bit to put together short loaded tours in the area, I was totally unaware of the NJ Bike Map site. Looks like it could be useful for me, I'm always looking for variations to the normal NYC northbound routes. I do really like 9W between the GWB and Piermont though, as well as River Road, but it's nice to ride some different roads once in a while. 9W does provide that nice stretch of good shoulder and few intersections.

If you're looking for something on the east side of the river though... Check out the South and North County Trailways in Westchester.

https://www.westchestergov.com/parks/Trailways.htm

It's a rail trail, so nothing in the hill department really, but they've done a nice job and it runs all the way up Westchester to the Putman rail trail...

This summer I'm planning on doing a really long loop, heading up the 9W route to Bear Mountain, crossing over, and coming down the rail trail. I'd like to figure out a decent connection from the Westchester rail trail to the Bear Mtn. bridge...

===Edited===
Naturally, I forgot to add one important thing. Thanks Ken for one of the best cycling resources online, your site rocks. And thanks to njbikemapguy, I'll be exploring Jersey a bit more as well now.

I'd almost offer up some sort of Queens guide but it would probably end up as simply as a map of escape routes from the area using the discontinuous bike paths and greenways...

I don't really have any cue sheets, but just look at the roads. I've done some road rides through bergen county as far east as Glen Rock but since I live out here and Bergen County is really dense, I really don't know the roads there. However, you can do a very good estimate of the traffic density by looking at the road via a County map or Google Maps these days... Before I-287 was put in, 202 was a pretty major road and right now it still is a pretty high trafficed road with a narrow shoulder. It's a big commuter route for points between Oakland and Mahwah so I would pick a ride there non-rush hour. A good place to start would be the Ramapo Reservation which is a bergen county park for hikers and dog walkers. You might get questioned about your bike cause there is no MTBing in the park but presumably you're on a road bike and you can easily state that you're just parking there (free). You can connect to Pulis via any of the roads that go there, Darlington is one, you can even ride to Campgaw just to check it out and perhaps to add more mileage. It's a dead end.

Just doing the loop via 202 to Darlington to Pulis to Franklin and back is I think only 15 miles and just small rolling hills but a big downhill on Franklin just before it meets 202 in Oakland.

If you want something even more hilly, head even further west to the highlands region of NJ which Bloomingdale is at the base of. Riding from say Norvin Green State Forest, I'm going to spit out roads/landmarks which you can find on a county level map. I don't recall all the road names but with a county level map, you should be able to figure it out.

I would start at my house since I like to ride from my house, but since I don't live there anymore you could probably park at say the Samuel R Donald school which i'm sure you can google for an address.

1)Glenwild Ave head north and west (generally)
2)Becomes otter Hole road (a decent climb!, which is why i say start further away to warm up a bit)
Go past Norvin Green State Forest otter hole parking lot art the bloomingdale/west milford border
3)West Brook Ave going towards ringwood Ave and by the Wanaque Reservoir
4)Cross Ringwood Ave by the Skylands Diner and head towards Skyline lakes.
5)head north towards Skyline Drive (can be busy) via Hilltop (steep hill!!) and Altavista.
6)Make a left onto Skyline drive by the gas station and McDonalds (careful)
7)Descend steep downhill towards a triangle
8)at the triangle make a right onto Erskine road and go towards Erskine lake.
9)Start going clockwise around Erskine Lake but head towards Cupsaw lake
10)At Cupsaw, again go clockwise around the lake and almost go all the way around but make the sharp left to Glen->Stetson->Skylands road. this brings you into Ringwood State Park which you can MTB in and ride around getting to the double eagles at the park entrence which is Morris Road. Ride down a HUGE-ASS hill (be careful of potholes, seriously... to get back to Sloatsburg road.
11)make a right onto Sloatsburg to go into Orange county
12)make a left onto Long Meadow road at the traffic light
13)make a right onto Eagle Valley road
14)take Eagle Valley all the way to a left onto Sterling Mine road.
15)make a left (watch traffic on the downhill) back onto Eagle Valley
16)Make a left at the light onto Rt 17 for a very short time
17)Make an immediate right at the train station to Mill st and take the back way to Seven Lakes drive.
18)Now you're in harriman and you can do the race loop, ride out to Lake Tiorati or any numerous loops...

ride back south.... This is very easily 100+ miles because you can always do options of riding around the lakes completely, or you can even ride into Tuxedo park via Southgate road (just bike around the unmanned gate..shhhhh!). off of Eagle valley road. Heck, you can ride to frickin Maine that way because I did it before

Tuxedo park is a very nice ride cause, as a gated community, you wont find much traffic and you'll be riding among Bentleys and ultrarich mansions... And you can take a short 100ft bushwack to Warwick Brook road and then do a loop.. there too without going into harriman..

Jay

Also, I'd check out the Morris county area.. Morris county actually has a bike suitability map..

I do some Morris county rides and I always see more folks out there than when I lived in Passaic.

check the roads around Pyramid Mtn near Boonton/Kinnelon and look at the county roads between it, Rt 23 and Denville. Any of those roads there are good for cycling so long as you stay off of Rt 23, Rt 46/80 and Rt 202.. Boonton Ave, Kinnelon road, rides around Splitrock Reservoir. You can pretty much make your own loop and it wont be bad. it will be hilly but rolling hills for the most part. there are some steep climbs though if you want. And if you know how to cross things you can make longer routes.

To cross I-287

1)Waughaw road
2)Brook Valley Road

BOTH of these above though include some pretty nasty hills... definitely doable but just a warning. But those are bridges over I-287.. Obviously no traffic lights to cross them on but the bridges allow cyclists to cross them.

To cross Rt 23

Boonton Ave
Maple Ave (Off of Kinnelon Road as this goes over a bridge. very very steep descent)
Newark Pompton Turnpike extension (via the Boulevard or West Parkway)

check out this for Morris county:

https://www.morrisdot.org/BikePed/bikeped-general.asp


To cross Rt 46

-Hollywood Ave in Fairfield is OK
-passaic Ave is very dicey. (I've done it but not exactly nice)
-Riverview Drive is also very dicey but I've done that too. Wouldn't recommend it unless you are very comfortable in traffic. I'm a bike commuter..

In Morris County, you can cross Rt 80 and Rt 46 right by Denville, but I forget the road.. there's a light there to cross rt 46 and it goes under rt 80...

jay

i have been tasking all of your suggestions and building some routes. thank you. one idea i have is to take the nj transit from secaucus to somewhere between ridgewood and ramses. there is a bike club that has a lot of rides out of that area. it also keeps the car available for my wife.

Yep, you can also head south to Princeton, some amazing areas out thataway....

If you want a great view across the valley towards NYC, take the train to Ridgewood. From the station square go west on Ridgewood Ave, but take the second right (quick right) up Corsa Terrace (narrow road up a short, steep hill). Bear right onto Crest and keep bearing right along the top of the ridge. The view is worth the climb.
I like to zig zag thru the residential areas around here, taking the short steep hills. Cross Glen to Upper Ridgewood and you can use Hillcrest and Monroe to get to Waldwick, or over to Upper Blvd and the big hill down to Hohokus (that's a fun one to TRY to ride up)

The problem with the train, is you'll have to find a train that allows bikes. I believe bikes are allowed on the metro north that goes through Westchester, dutchess, and putnam.

If you can take your bike on the Sloatsburg line, my route goes right by it and you can easily bike east into Harriman or west towards Warwick and western Orange county.

I, not being a train rider, don't know which lines allow bikes but surely NJTransit may have info on their website.

There's also some flat riding if you can get on the Boonton Line towards Mountainview train station or the Towaco station on 202.... Or the Lincoln park station for that matter, all are on bike friendly roads, although 202 there has no shoulder, it's 2 lanes each way and not too much traffic outside rush hour.

Jay

Most do. NJ Transit allows bikes, no permit required. LIRR and Metro North requires a permit ($5 for the MN, get it at Grand Central; not sure about LIRR). MN conductors have never asked for my permit on a weekend.