touring and airbnb
 

I live in the north east. there are quite a few great long trails like the east coast greenway and D&L canal paths that have several hundred miles of trail biking. However, there isn't much camping available. has anyone tried airbnb with touring. prices seem decent. Here's the route between philly and trenton. Unfortunately the route up the Delaware doesn't seem to have much available.

https://www.airbnb.com/s/Trenton-nj?...ss_id=ulkfihu8

I did some research on airbnb and a similar service whose name escapes me for several trips that we took in 2015. I was very disappointed in the results. In some cases, I simply could not find available lodging near to where we needed to stay. When we could find lodging, the prices were often comparable to hotels in the area that offered other amenities such as parking, free breakfast, maid service, etc. In one case, I found reasonable lodging close to a place I wanted to visit but the owner/landlord never replied to my inquiries. Needless to say, I was underwhelmed. This is not to say that nobody ever gets a good deal on airbnb and similar services. However, I think they are bit overhyped to say the least.

I would go with WarmShowers or stick with a motel if need be.

>>Needless to say, I was underwhelmed

I'm coming to the same conclusion. The one deal I've seen is some weekly rates seem pretty good. Philly has some good urban biking. Could stay there a week and bike and sight see. but for a single night a hotel seems like less of a hassle even if it cost more.

I havent brought a mobile phone on past tours , you probably do ..

I liked staying in Hostels. but They are sparse in the US unlike Europe and The British Isles

We used it twice on a tour in Europe this summer, once in Berlin, and once in Copenhagen. It was great. We were within walking or bus distance to the areas we wanted to see. The rates were very reasonable, and the accomodations much better than most motels. It allowed us to have our bikes and gear secured while we roamed around for a couple of days in each city.

airbnb is useful particularly in cities, but that's also where warmshowers has most of its members. I've used airbnb several times, but only once on a bike trip. The one time I used airbnb on a bike trip it was enormously helpful, because I needed a place for 4 nights. I would never attempt to impose on a warmshowers host for 4 nights. My friend and I found a 1 bedroom apartment with a secure place for bicycles, for much less than a hotel room would have cost us.

Nor would it likely. I don't think many of the residents in that area would want or need to open their doors for money. If you have the coin, you can stay in any number of inn/hotels B&B's north along the river north from Lambertville, NJ. There is at least one B&B in L'Ville. There is the Stockton Inn in Stockton, NJ. Cross the pedestrian bridge from Bull's Island into PA and you will be at the Black Bass Hotel, which has a great zinc bar that came from Maixm's in Paris. Right next to that is the 1740 House, which will set you back a minimum of $170/night. When you reach Milford, NJ you can cross the bridge to Upper Black Eddy and you will be right at the Bridgewater B&B. I believe there are others along the river on both the NJ and PA sides, although I would avoid riding on PA 32. The NJ side is much safer. For camping, there is Dogwood Haven on Lodi Hill Rd. maybe a mile south of the Bridgewater. It's dated, but not bad for a night or two. The owner is a nice guy. He charges cyclists only $10/night. Just stayed there again in October during a three-day tour from Port Jervis, NY to Philly. If you want to do some climbing you can ride from Upper Black Eddy up to Ringing Rocks Campground. It's about 3 miles off of PA 32 via Bridgeton Hill Rd. Ringing Rocks Family Campground - Directions

>>If you have the coin, you can stay in any number of inn/hotels B&B's north

The problem with spending money is I won't have the time to take in the ambience. I'd like to check in when its getting dark and be on the trail again early in the morning. I did the C&O a few years ago. camped 2 nights, it rained and the equipment was muddy so we got a cheap room, put the equipment in the bathtub washed it. The two other places sound great.

What sort of mileage are you planning? As mentioned, I can ride fully loaded with camping and cooking gear all the way from Port Jervis, NY to Philly in three days. There is also at least one motel (Best Western, I believe) in Easton, PA. There is a hotel in an old house in Belvedere, NJ, but it's expensive for what it is. The Deer Head Inn in Delaware Water Gap, PA is another old hotel with live jazz some nights. Nice spot, but also pricey. There is a regular motel in that town, but it sounds like a total dump.

I can probably do 60-80mi per day. i'm in New Jersey, not far off the AM TRAK line so i can get to Trenton pretty easily. I'm looking for some 2 or 3 day trips i can do around the area.

+1.
[MENTION=423867]kennj123[/MENTION], are you a member of Warmshowers? it's great.

One possibility is to take SEPTA and/or NJT to Seacaucus Jct., then the Port Jervis line to Port Jervis and then ride back to the Trenton or Philly area. You can do it camping or via motels. The ride through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is wonderful. Once you get to Lambertville you can either stay on the D&R feeder canal trail to Trenton or cross into PA and take roads to Philly. There is also a trail on the PA side, but I am not sure where it takes you south of New Hope. This is easily doable in 3 days. Recommended itinerary if camping is Port Jervis to Worthington State Forest campground, Worthington to Dog Wood Haven campground in Upper Black Eddy, Dog Wood Haven to either Philly or Trenton. There is also an option to skip Worthington and instead camp next to and then the next day visit the Lakota Wolf Preserve in Columbia, PA. The only SNAFU is that you would have to take the train trip to Port Jervis on Saturday or Sunday. That's because NJT changed its NEC schedule a few years back. Now, with the weekday bike on train restrictions, it's not possible to make the connection with the last morning train to Port Jervis, and the afternoon/evening trains in that direction do not allow bikes. Each time I have done that trip I have rented a car one way and dropped it off in Port Jervis. Avis has a one-way drop off location there in town.

Port Jervis -> Trenton sounds doable. I can get a train from Trenton to home. When did NJTransit make the bike rule change? I read the rules, they say foldiing bikes are ok. I have a Montegue, it not my main bike but i could tour on it. it has 26" wheels and folds so the rules apply.

For full size bikes, it's not a bike rule change. It's a schedule change. On weekdays, you cannot take a bike on a train that arrives at Penn Station on or before 10 a.m. That's been the rule for a while. There used to be a train that left Trenton that arrived at Penn Station slightly after 10 a.m. and stopped at Seacuacus Jct. in time to connect with the last morning train to Pt. Jervis. NJT changed their schedule so that that train arrived at Penn Station before 10 a.m. so bikes are not allowed. The next train gets you to Seacuacus too late to hook up with the last monring train to Pt. Jervis, and bikes are not allowed on the afternoon/evening trains there because it's the "rush hour" commute. Folders may be a different story.