Anyone know a good route from Hoboken to west Essex County? From Newark west isn't really an issue, but getting across the Hackensack and Passaic Rivers without ending up under a truck seems dicey.
Anyone?
TIA
- Jeff
Route from Hoboken to West Orange
Thu, 08/03/2006 - 9:36am
Thu, 08/03/2006 - 10:23am
#1
Getting across Hackensack and Passiac Rivers IS dicey
The short answer:
Take the PATH train from Hoboken to Newark.
The long answer:
The real barrier is the Hackensack River. The Passaic can be crossed in several places near downtown Newark via local streets. The Hackensack can be crossed only by major highways, in ascending order from south to north, the NJ Turnpike extension, Truck Routes 1&9, Routes 1&9 (Pulaski Skyway), Route 7, Route 95 (NJ Turnpike Eastern Spur) and Route 46. Route 7 goes from Jersey City to Kearny, but the access roads are extremely dangerous. I don't know anyone who uses it regularly by bike. Some people brave Route 46, but that is a good deal north of Hoboken crossing from Bogota to Little Ferry. There is a local street crossing from Ridgefield Park to Hackensack, but that is even farther north.
We desperately need some bike-friendly bridges in that area. I know there is an East Coast Greenway being planned and that it supposedly will cross from Newark to Jersey City. How it will navigate the mighty Hackensack, I have no idea.
Thu, 08/03/2006 - 12:14pm
#2
Hey Jersey Guy,
We're abandoning the city in favor of Montclair. Can you point me to any good sources of info on routes and rides? I don't want to have to find out about things like the Hackensack river issue by trial and error.
Thanks,
-Donald
Thu, 08/03/2006 - 4:04pm
#3
montclair
Plenty of decent riding from Montclair and a lot of bikers around there. You can ride to Bergen County and do a lot of the tried and true routes around there, or head south and west and climb the Wachtungs. You just can't easily get across the Meadowlands from there, and the trip to the GWB is not that pleasant.
Thu, 08/03/2006 - 1:41pm
#4
Is truck 1&9 that bad over the river? Does it have a decent shoulder?
I figure if I can stay off T1&9 except for right at the river, I might be able to do it.
Thu, 08/03/2006 - 1:56pm
#5
Well
If you don't mind the wake (wind) generated, in particular from 18 wheelers, and other smaller vehicles traveling at 70 mph, even though the speed limit is 35 mph, then, by all means go for it. I'm not exaggerating, by the way.
Maybe you could draft behind one like in the movie, Breaking Away. Just be sure you are in the big ring, the really big ring.
--
As for the original inquiry, Mordecai Silver has mapped out a route or two and has ridden it on Sunday mornings. If you are going ride such a route, that is the best time for sure. I recommend taking the PATH train out to Newark and starting from there as someone else has suggested.
Thu, 08/03/2006 - 2:05pm
#6
Why just Sunday morning?
My route out to Essex County is low-traffic most of the way, as those who were on my ride Sunday can testify. I'd ride my route out to West Orange anytime, even during rush hour.
Thu, 08/03/2006 - 2:09pm
#7
Why just Sunday morning?
My route out to Essex County is low-traffic most of the way, as those who were on my ride Sunday can testify.
I think you answered your own question: low traffic.
Thu, 08/03/2006 - 2:31pm
#8
By your logic...
...the best time to ride any route is Sunday morning. Why mention it here?
Thu, 08/03/2006 - 3:03pm
#9
unabridged and final response to pecksniffian nit picking
"I am a club A rider, who often rides a bike in city traffic, lives in the area of interest to you and who also drives a car and at one time or another have ridden my bicycle on many of those same roads. From my experience, considering the alternatives such as the PATH train and NJ Transit, and looking at a map to see how densely populated the surrounding area is, NJ drivers having the highest car insurance rates, the cough-cough summer time exhaust from cars, trucks and busses en route, if you are going to consider such, in my opinion, the only time I would doing consider this ""junk miles"" route by bicycle is on a Sunday morning.
"
Fri, 08/04/2006 - 8:25am
#10
More nitpicking
"unabridged
The abridged response would have been silence, because your arguments add up to zero.
final
Is that a promise? I know you well, Peter. You always have to have the last word. I predict that you won't resist the temptation of replying to this post.
pecksniffian
Evidently, you take Pecksniffian to mean ""excessively carping, caviling, nitpicking."" No, a ""Pecksniff"" (a character in Dickens' Martin Chuzzlewit) is an unctuous hypocrite, a canting humbug. My advice to you, Peter, is that if you're unsure about the meaning of a word, look it up in a dictionary before you misuse it.
I am a club A rider
I can't see how on earth that's relevant. Did the OP ask, ""I'd like to lead an A-ride that goes through West Orange, with as few 'junk' miles as possible""? If he's willing to ride on the highway, is he really trying to avoid ""junk"" miles? And will he be on scenic rural roads if he takes the PATH train and rides from Newark to West Orange?
who often rides a bike in city traffic
Do you only ride in city traffic on Sunday morning? You remind me of a co-worker of mine who recently bought a bike but only rides it early Sunday mornings because he's afraid of being hit by a car.
who also drives a car
I don't drive a car, so I look for bicycle routes to anywhere that it's feasible to ride to, even when the route partly consists of ""junk"" miles. I enjoy exploring new areas, even urban and suburban ones. To each his own. I'm not advising you against doing what you enjoy. Feel free to ride your centuries around and around and around Liberty State Park, no matter how mind-numbingly boring it seems to a sane person.
looking at a map to see how densely populated the surrounding area is
If you avoid densely populated areas, you should never ride in the five boroughs (except on Sunday morning, of course).
NJ drivers having the highest car insurance rates
Than you should avoid NJ altogether (hard to do when you live there). But it seems that you're co-leading a ride tomorrow that goes through New Jersey?
the only time I would doing consider this ""junk miles"" route by bicycle is on a Sunday morning.
I recall that you have a NJ Waterfront ""junk miles"" route in the cue sheet library. Why did you bother posting it there, and why didn't you warn that the route should be done on a Sunday morning?
A few months ago, a poster asked for a route from Fort Lee to South Orange. You replied to her, with ignorant assurance, ""There is no remotely direct way to get to South Orange by bicycle without taking your life into your hands from NYC."" Never admit that you were wrong, Peter!"
Thu, 08/03/2006 - 2:11pm
#11
Across the Hackensack
As Jersey Guy says, the problem is that all the roads that cross the Hackensack near Hoboken are highways, with fast-moving traffic. The closest decent crossing is Route 46 (which I cross on the sidewalk). You can get there by taking JFK Blvd East to Palisade Ave and making a left on Edgewater Ave in Cliffside Park. If you're interested, e-mail me and I'll send you a cue sheet that goes from the GWB through West Orange.
Thu, 08/03/2006 - 4:01pm
#12
"If you're going to go up to Route 46, go a little further north and there are three crossings in Hackensack that are fine for riding. But even Route 46 is about 30 miles out of your way!
Route 3 also crosses but you can't ride on that. Although I once saw a cyclist do it (from my car) - he was walking his expensive bike on the six inch ""sidewalk"" and rightfully terrified.
Your only shot down there is Route 7, which is ridable but just barely."
