# From Princeton to NYC?



## perplex (Sep 22, 2011)

What route should I take if I want to ride from Princeton NJ to NYC?

Google Maps has me taking the ferry Belford.. There must be a better way!


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

I think the big issue would be the crossings. I am in Union County and it would be a breeze other than tunnels and traffic.

I think the ferry might make sense. Or the Nj transit from Princeton Junction.


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## perplex (Sep 22, 2011)

I was hoping to get on the east side of the I-95 (that is the easy part) and then work my way up through NJ and NY and then getting to the GWB and enter there...

But it might be more easily said than done


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

perplex said:


> I was hoping to get on the east side of the I-95 (that is the easy part) and then work my way up through NJ and NY and then getting to the GWB and enter there...
> 
> But it might be more easily said than done


I definitely would not want to ride on I95. 

Getting to the bridge might be fun along River Road in Edgewater. 

As far as getting near Ny, my Lbs does a ride from Westfield to Princeton. Have not done that but there are plenty of options. Including the canal path. Have to cut through Bound Brook though. If you do that, you could cut across 22 and ride Washington Valley Road aways. Some turns to cut through short Hills. Into West Orange. Somewhere around Montclair turn East.

Just thinking aloud.


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## gpcyclist25 (Mar 22, 2011)

My guess is that it could be done, its just a question of how roundabout you can tolerate. I mean, you could take 27 directly but that would take you straight through high density urban centers, which you probably don't want. 

On the other hand, from Princeton you could head north over Sourland towards Peapack and it would be fairly straight towards Morristown. From Morristown I would guess you could put together a safe route to the GW. Or not.


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## gpcyclist25 (Mar 22, 2011)

On second thought, for it to work you'd probably have to entirely detour around Paterson and Hackensack and come through Tenafly and come back south towards the bridge. Otherwise to me it would be too dangerous. It would make for a pretty long trip.


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

gpcyclist25 said:


> On second thought, for it to work you'd probably have to entirely detour around Paterson and Hackensack and come through Tenafly and come back south towards the bridge. Otherwise to me it would be too dangerous. It would make for a pretty long trip.


I don't think you need to go north of them. I would try south. But yeah cycling through Paterson is not bright.

Bloomfield is not beautiful and parts of the oranges are bad but it seems possible that way. Seems like a fun group ride.


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## perplex (Sep 22, 2011)

I recently moved to NJ, so I don't know all the good/bad places to ride yet when I get to far north from Princeton.

I tried to use MapmyRide and got to around 60 miles for a ride to NYC, but that is without knowing IF I can ride those roads/bridges (And no, I didn't map the I-95 

I went something like this:
Princeton Junction to Cranbury, cross the 130 to Cranbury South River Rd, Cranbury Rd, Washington Rd up to South Amboy.

From there there was a Bridge (Convery Boulevard/35) - Can I cross that?

Then I cross the 440 (Outerbridge Crossing) on to Staten Island if possible. From there it should be possible to get to the Ferry at St. George...

Or perhaps cross the 440 onto Jersey (if possible) and to up to River Rd and GWB?

I might be rambling, but as i said, I don't know the area to well yet.


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## perplex (Sep 22, 2011)

Never mind the idea of getting to Staten Island. I checked out the njbikemap.com and all bridges from NJ to Staten Island are off limits to bikes...


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## gpcyclist25 (Mar 22, 2011)

I'm not sure that will work. The problem is this: the population density in the areas you're talking about, especially once you hit South Amboy, goes up exponentially, and the road use is tilted very heavily towards cars, meaning no shoulders, high speeds, etc. In terms of safety, its just not there. Hence why I suggested taking a more roundabout way. If you look at in google maps, especially street view, it should be obvious how hairy it is.


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## perplex (Sep 22, 2011)

gpcyclist25 said:


> I'm not sure that will work. The problem is this: the population density in the areas you're talking about, especially once you hit South Amboy, goes up exponentially, and the road use is tilted very heavily towards cars, meaning no shoulders, high speeds, etc. In terms of safety, its just not there. Hence why I suggested taking a more roundabout way. If you look at in google maps, especially street view, it should be obvious how hairy it is.


Yeah - I have already given up on that. Can't cross the bridges to SI...

I'll try the roundabout way and see if that is possible without doing a Century


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## gpcyclist25 (Mar 22, 2011)

I'd be surprised if it could be done in under 85 miles, given the restrictions we've discussed. The other problem is that the route I'm suggesting is going to be fairly hilly. I've done a few centuries this season, and one was in Princeton, one went from Morristown towards the west, and the other from Mahwah towards the southwest. It's hilly. The one virtue of heading east immediately is that its generally pretty flat. However, it simply may not work.


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## jkmacman (Feb 6, 2009)

here's how i cross i 95 and hackensack river via hackensack and I go up to gw bridge:thumbsup:

<iframe width='465' height='548' frameborder='0' src='http://connect.garmin.com:80/activity/embed/113241285'></iframe>


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

perplex said:


> Yeah - I have already given up on that. Can't cross the bridges to SI...
> 
> I'll try the roundabout way and see if that is possible without doing a Century


If you are willing to take a ferry, you can do that from as far south as monmouth county. If you want to ride in, its the GW. 

Work your way back but I think Edgewater would be a good start.


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## Terex (Jan 3, 2005)

Ride to the Dinky, take the Dinky to Princeton Junc., and NJ Transit to the City. Duh.


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## bq_or_bust (Oct 27, 2007)

*Bayonne Bridge into Staten Island*



perplex said:


> Yeah - I have already given up on that. Can't cross the bridges to SI...
> 
> I'll try the roundabout way and see if that is possible without doing a Century


bayonne bridge between bayonne, nj and staten island. have to walk up (just a bit) the bike on nj side. i haven't done this since a couple of years ago, but, there is a dedicated path.


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## jmoryl (Sep 5, 2004)

Not a ride I would enjoy, that's for sure. Lots of congestion and traffic.


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## NJBiker72 (Jul 9, 2011)

Mapped it during a slow minute at work. 78 miles. Not nice at first but not too bad. Look at Google maps.

Cut through Overpeck park. Head to eagle Rock Reservation. Then south Mountain. Then the watching Reservation. Then Washington Valley to mountain View Road and the canal path. Fun trip.


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