Alon623

Hey guys,


I'm planning a trip from NYC to D.C. and I'm checking out routes. I looked at East Coast Greenway and it looks like that route is around 375 miles, unfortunately I don't have that much time on my hands (only so many vacation days from work).

Does anyone know if Google Maps will work for planning this out? That's definitely a shorter route, but idk if it's going to take me to places I'm not allowed to bike.

Via Google Maps, My tentative plan is as follows:

July 17: NYC to Colonial park New Jersey (50 miles)
July 18: Colonial Park area to Philly (55 miles)
July 19: Philly to Elkton (50 miles)
July 20: Elkton to Havre De Grace (33 miles)
July 21: Havre De Grace to Baltimore (36 miles)
July 22: Baltimore to D.C. (42 miles)

Originally I had this in 5 days, but one of the days was 68 miles, and I felt like that was too much.

Also, if anyone has any advice as far as where to stay along the way, or things I should know, it would be a great help. Happy and excited to be a part of the community!

SBinNYC

My club used to run a NYC-DC 24 hour ride. If you're interested, send me a request through bikeforums.

The US 40 bridge between Elkton and Havre de Grace does not permit bicycles. Your route should use the Conowingo Dam on US 1.

If you are uncertain regarding anything, use the street view feature of google maps. It should show any "No Bicycles" signs.

Ferdinand NYC

I did this last year. My intent was for it to take three days of riding; but, due to a flat and some rain, it took four days of riding.

On the first day I went all the way to Philadelphia. On the second day of riding I went from Philly to Perryville, Maryland.

The next day I had the intention of going all the way to Washington. I took the bridge that connects Perryville and Havre de Grace, which had just begun allowing bikes -- and then I promptly got a flat in Havre de Grace. [Edited to respond to SBinNYC and to emphasise that the bridge on US 40 now does allow bikes.] Fortunately, the puncture wasn't too big, so I stopped several times to refill the tire with air. But Havre de Grace has no bike shops! I was more than ten miles away from the closest one. So I just continued on my way.

Then it started to rain, which caused me several delays. Because of this, I decided to stop in Baltimore, and continue on to Washington the next day. I am glad I did, because I got to explore Baltimore a bit; I enjoyed it so much that I went back the next week (taking my bike on the bus), and rode around in that town a little more.

I finally got to Washington on my fourth day of riding.

In Philly I stayed in the Four Points Northeast Philadelphia, located on Grant Avenue, where I have stayed several times. In Perryville I stayed at the Days Inn on Route 222, a small hotel that caters mainly to truckers. In Baltimore I stayed at the Days Inn Inner Harbor (which was f-ing luxurious, and not very expensive). And in Washington, I stayed at my favourite hotel of all, the Windsor Inn. It is a homey little place located on 16th Street NW at T Street. I would stay at all of these places again. If you decide to go to the Windsor Inn, you can tell the French guy at the desk that Ferdinand Cesarano, the guy with the bike from New York, sent you.

There was no greater thrill than arriving in Washington, knowing that I had gotten there from New York all on my own power. Good luck. I hope you enjoy the trip. And I hope that you can spend some time grooving around Washington, which is the greatest bike city.

Alon623

Thanks so much for the info guys! I will look into all of these places and thanks for the advice.

indyfabz

Are you envisioning taking PA 291 and U.S. 13? If so, prepare yourself for some miserable miles. They don't call PA 291 Industrial Highway for nothing, and the fumes from the Marcus Hook refineries should be quite nice if it's warm out. And are DE 9 and 273 also part of your planned route?

Alon623

Oh wow, I actually have no clue about that Infyfabz. Elkton was just about 50 miles away from philly. What would be a better way to go?

shotwellian

Actually, since last year the US 40 bridge over the Susquehanna (Hatem Bridge) has been open to bikes on weekends: Hatem Bridge bike riders will be limited to weekends, holidays starting Sept. 6 - The Aegis

Alon623

I see what you mean now, what do you think would be the best route?

Alon623

Thanks for all of this. May I ask the route you took from Philly to Perryville?

Ferdinand NYC

I don't know if I can reproduce the exact route. But here are the important bits.

I left Philly on Woodland Avenue, which I picked up at 38th Street. That street curves west, and intersects with McDade Boulevard in Darby.

I think I turned off of that street at Bullens Lane, and made my way down to 9th Street in Chester (after a stop at the Philadelphia Union's stadium).

I continued southwest on that street until it ended, then jumped down to 10th Street, and continued southwest on that. At the Delaware border, this became Philadelphia Pike, which I took into Wilmington.

I don't remember the details, but I made my way to Maryland Avenue (Rte. 4), and took that all the way to where it intersects Rte. 7. I made the left and took Rte. 7 for a while; but I somehow got off of it before it turned into a full-fledged highway, I think by getting back on Rte. 4. I then rejoined Rte. 7 after it became a navigable street again in Christiana, and took it south to Bear, where I hit U.S. 40. I turned right to go west, and took U.S. 40 all the way to Perryville -- and, ulitmately, all the way to Baltimore.

Alon623

Thanks so much for that, I really appreciate you taking the time to help me out. All the best.

greaterbrown

Can't speak to any miles above Havre de Grace other than rt40, which is good.
Bridge over Susq. is fine, however check their bike crossing hours. It is still time restricted. Super annoying that they charge bikes $8 to cross. tsk, tsk, DOT.

southbound on rt40 to Martin State Airport is fine. (northbound is NOT) you will want to come off 40 and get to Eastern ave to get into Baltimore. (I can give directions if you want).

I lead a ride from Baltimore to DC every year and am well acquainted with it. My route:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0By9...ew?usp=sharing
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/7391490



-Bob

vilago

resurrecting this. can anyone who has done the ECG route from Delaware to DC tell me if it would be appropriate for a road bike with road tires for the entire stretch? I was thinking of planning a trip along this segment and visit family in DE then return to DC. I think I can handle a little bit of unpaved surface but would be good if its all paved or at least can detour around the unpaved surfaces easily.

greaterbrown

Monkton to Ashland is on the NCR/Torrey trail. It's not many miles, but is wood chip and dirt. Decent on 28's unless it's wet.

Jim from Boston

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alon623

Hey guys,

I'm planning a trip from NYC to D.C. and I'm checking out routes. I looked at East Coast Greenway and it looks like that route is around 375 miles, unfortunately I don't have that much time on my hands (only so many vacation days from work).

Does anyone know if Google Maps will work for planning this out? That's definitely a shorter route, but idk if it's going to take me to places I'm not allowed to bike.

I live in downtown Boston and was in a suburb 14 miles south of the City on Saturday (yesterday). I just so happened to encounter a large contingent of well-appointed cyclists at a water stop. It turns out they were on the Muddy Angels Ride (National EMS Emergency Medical Services Memorial Bike Ride) to “memorialize and celebrate the lives of those who serve everyday, those who have become sick or injured while performing their duties, and those who have died in the line of duty.”

This was the East Coast Ride, from Boston to Washington DC, one of a few other Regional Rides. Their itinerary is:

Day 1 (May 12) – Boston, MA to Coventry, RI
Day 2 (May 13) – Coventry, RI to East Haven, CT
Day 3 (May 14) – East Haven, CT to Yonkers, NY
Day 4 (May 15) – Yonkers, NY to Toms River, NJ
Shuttle service from Lower Manhattan to Toms River, NJ
Day 5 (May 16) – Toms River, NJ to Cape May, NJ
Day 6 (May 17) – Cape May, NJ to Annapolis, MD
Ferry boat from Cape May, NJ to Lewes, DE
Day 7 (May 18) – Annapolis, MD to National Harbor MD
National EMS Memorial Service at National Harbor May 19, 2018

Now I can’t endorse glomming onto a charity ride as a “bandit,” (see the thread, “Can I ride on a century event if I'm not registered?," but perhaps their routes are freely available.

Many riders were wearing those blue and orange jerseys as seen below.

Note: I just noted that this is a zombie thread, but maybe this information might be useful, at least to inform BF about the Ride(s).

StarBiker

The NCR has a lot of crush a run on it as well and rocks. I would not take a road bike on it. And I have biked the trail numerous times. I can bike to the trail in about a half an hour from where I am typing if I want to take my life in my hands on Paper Mill Road.
To funny leave Maryland and drive into Pennsylvania, and the roads are in significantly worse shape, but cross over from Maryland to Pennsylvania on the NCR and it goes from rocks, and dirt to being paved for a long stretch.

jpescatore

If you use Greaterbrown's route from Baltimore to DC, if you would like to avoid some city road riding there is now a fine paved trailfrom about his mile 39.5, where he leaves the Anacostia River Trail. You will end up a bit further south, so it depends on where you plan to end in the DC area.

Stay on the Anacostia River Trail heading south and in less than a mile you will see a bike/pedestrian bridge on your left which goes over the Anacostia River. Follow this well-signed paved path for about 9 miles and you will reach the Frederick Douglas Memorial Bridge that will take you back over the Anacostia into DC at the Washington Nationals baseball stadium in the amazingly updated Navy Yard/Wharf area.

Info on the trail here, map here.

zowie

If anyone has any advice for routes, lodging or pitfalls to avoid . . . I'm thinking about going DC area (MD suburbs) to NYC next month via York PA. "Credit card" trip with minimal luggage.

Day 1+2 to York PA via Torrey Brown/York Cnty Heritage Trail - with overnight stop where? (Alt. - do it all on Day 1 and take Day 2 as a rest day).
Day 3 toward Valley Forge area
Day 4 to eastern Bucks County or Princeton area via Schuylkill
Day 5 to NYC

Especially interested in days 1-3. Found a few routes for day 4. Have ridden day 5 several times. Thanks for reading!

Edit: thought I was posting in Touring. Hope this is ok.

indyfabz

Wut? The Schuylkill doesn't flow through NJ or Bucks County. And where do you plan on crossing the Delaware?

zowie

No, it doesn't. I wasn't so clear. Schuylkill for Valley Forge to central Phila. Would then go to Trenton or Washington's Crossing to cross.

indyfabz

If you will be passing through York you could follow PA Bike Route S (with some modifications) to the Schuylkill River Trail, which will take you into central Philadelphia.

I recently made this for someone who is going to be touring across PA, etc.:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/29935285?beta=false

The maps starts east of York, but Route S basically uses PA 462 to cross the river then get through Lancaster to PA 340, where my map begins. The map deviates from Route S in some places to make for better (and safer) riding. I do camping tours, so the route is designed to take advantage of French Creek State Park. While I haven't measured it, it looks like you could cut off some miles by making a right from Park Rd. at mile 29.7 onto Harmonyville Rd. and taking that all the way until it meets back up with the mapped route at mile 35.9. Can't comment on the road conditions as I don't recall ever going that way. Whatever you do, I would resist the urge to take PA 23 immediately west of Morgantown. It can be very busy with fast traffic, and the section through Emlenton has no shoulder. last time I rode it the miles immediately east of Morgantown were pretty banged up in a lot of places, with a good deal of gravel on the shoulder. Where the mapped route picks up PA 23 in Knauertown the shoulder is very wide and in good shape. (Just did an overnighter from Philly to French Creek last month.)

The mapped route ends at the Betzwood areas of VF Park, where there are bathrooms. Last time I was there (last month) the NPS had not tested the water at Betzwood, so the taps and fountains were covered. There are water and bathrooms at the Port Providence Trailhead at mile 52.5. There is also trailside water a couple of miles east of Betzwood. The SRT continues on to Philly.

zowie

Thank you very much. Will look carefully at that.

jpescatore

I live in Ashton MD, about 20 miles north of DC, and have ridden to York from here. The shortest route is about 75 miles, the flatter route is more like 85 - so from DC you be doing pretty close to a century ride.

One option: you can cut off 20 miles by putting your bike on the Baltimore Light Rail from Glen Burnie to Timonium. I've done it with my kids to go to the State Fair, not with bikes, and it isn't much faster than biking - there are so many stops that it takes over an hour!

If you are interested in major changes to your route, a few weeks ago a bicycle touring couple stayed with us on their way up the east coast. The followed the East Coast Greenway route all the way from South Carolina, up through NYC and are now north of Boston. They have been giving the route very high marks - they are not camping, mostly staying at warm showers hosts, AirBNB or motels..

The ECG map is here. It maximizes miles on paths so it is not necessarily the fastest route. It takes you north from DC up the Anacostia trail system, over to Annapolis, up the Baltimore/Annapolis trail, etc. You end up just doing the first 5 miles of the Torrey Brown trail up to Monkton, then it cuts NE on roads. I've done most of it in pieces up to Belair, it is a nice route.

You can see Janice's Cycleblaze journal from MD north here, but she doesn't include maps, just photos. But they pretty much stuck to the ECG route. One note: biking across the Susquehanna River bridge on this route is only allowed on weekends.

zowie

Thank you jpescatore. I've done the DC to Annapolis piece. Some inviting photos!