Originally Posted by
UniChris
I've been thinking of my own version of this:
Day 0: Train from NYC to New Brunswick, ride thirty something miles down the D&R and get a room in Lawrenceville just inside 295 after leaving the trail at the Bakers Basin Rd. Bridge. Did all but a mile of this last weekend as a round trip, it's a bit rougher and messier southwest of Princeton but not bad, the rest of the D&R was just like it is in summer, occasional puddles but otherwise fine.
Day 1: Ride through Trenton just after dawn figuring that's the best time. (Optional plan: don't do the day zero half ride but just take an early train to Trenton). Ride a bit over 68 miles up the NJ or PA side (TBD) and get a room in Bethlehem.
Day 2: Ride 60 miles north to Whitehaven PA and then 4 miles east on the shoulder of rt 940 and get a room just west of 476
Couple of things...
1. The trail on the NJ side ends just short of Milford, where you have to go up a bumpy dirt road to access the road between Frenchtown and Milford. (The trail does not go through to Milford because there is a Superfund Site that has not been remediated.) Above Milford the rail line is still active. You have to switch to the PA side of you want trail.
2. Between Easton and Bethlehem there are some stretches that are like flat, single track riding in the sense that there is only a narrow portion of the trail visible. The rest is foliage. I will try to remember to post a photo.
3. There is a large gap in the trail between Allentown and Northampton. You have to take roads. Some of them are quite busy. It was frustrating trying to navigate through the area. At least the bridge at Jim Thorpe is open (I think), which means you no longer have to climb over the mountain starting at Bowmanstown.
4. PA 940 towards I-476 is not fun to ride on. At least some part has minimal shoulder, and traffic can be not nice. It's also got hills. The intial section out of White Haven is quite steep. (I spent a night at the campground on PA 940 just east of White Haven during a cross-PA bile tour.) Been a while since I have driven it to I-476, but IIRC, it's mostly up hill heading east. The traffic around the interchange between I-476 and I-80 can be very heavy during certain times of the year. Also, if I-80 is backed up at the interchange some traffic, including truckers, will take PA 940 to skip ahead.