chandltp

So I want to ride from Erie, PA to Freehold, NJ this summer. I tried google bike route and that would take me forever to cut out all the little turns it takes.

Any suggestions on how to plan a good route? I don't mind some extra distance if it means I can make 2 turns instead of 20.

Carpe Diabolus

You'll def. save some wear and tear on your steerer bearings if you can avoid turning.

Unless you can find someone who's already planned the route, I doubt you'll avoid the hard work involved in route-planning. Although, I can't imagine how much harder it would be WITHOUT Google maps.

I'd recommend planning the route in sections. Even for short routes, I'm finding it's easier to figure out what my stopping points are first and then filling in the routes for each each section.

DW_Thomas

There are a few marked, "official" routes in Pennsylvania, but I can't claim much familiarity with them.

And the Rails-to-Trails folks have some pretty good resources for trail routes.

DaveT

chandltp

I don't hold much stock in those. I took a short ride on Route A a few weekends back, and the road conditions went anywhere from great with a wide shoulder to deplorable with no shoulder and 55 MPH + traffic.

chandltp

Sounds like a plan. I guess I'll just have to work through it with Google maps. The frequency of the turns really takes away my enjoyment of the ride as I spend all my time making sure I don't miss a turn.

indyfabz

Agree with you there. Part of the problem is that they are often designed around state highways. Some of them can be busy.

OP: The PA bike route across the northern tier passes close to Ertie has relatively few turns. You could take the spurr at the eastern end to Matamoras, PA and then come dow the river to central NJ and then across.

Whatever you do, you need to be mindful of the fact that the recent explosion of gas drilling in PA has drastically increased truck traffic in some areas.

DCwom

Along the Delaware river you'll find both the D&R canal path on the NJ side and the Delaware canal path on the PA side. Having ridden the D&R I can vouch for it as a decent stone dust trail suitable for 700/32 tires, but if you want asphalt NJ route 29 has wide shoulders and runs parallel to the path.

Freehold is an interesting end point, why not go the extra few miles and dip your wheel in the Atlantic? Lake Erie to Atlantic ocean...

chandltp

Thanks... I'll have to check those out. I only have 6-7 days to do this, so I do need to keep that in mind, otherwise route planning might be a bit easier.

DW_Thomas

The two trails along the Delaware don't begin until Easton, or slightly south in the D&R case; I have pedaled a bit of the latter. So you'd have to pick your way a fair distance from Matamoras to Easton. That NW portion of New Jersey has lots of secondary roads that are probably OK riding, but tend to get heavily into that "lots of turns" bit the OP wanted to avoid. The D&L Canal path website indicates some recent flood damage, but sounds as though most of it is back to usable. Both trails are quite scenic and pass through some very old settlements.

Looking at the maps, the PA Route "Y" northern tier crossing is mostly on Route 6, except for a bypass north around the Scranton area (a very wise move!) I've not cycled on it, but have driven sections through Potter, Tioga, Bradford and Wyoming Counties. It doesn't seem really heavily traveled and probably wouldn't be too bad. Route 6 has long been designated as a "Scenic Route," with some nice vistas along the Wyalusing area in particular. As an earlier poster mentioned, the Marcellus Shale gas drilling is having considerable impact across that part of the state, including huge tank trucks leaving tracks of mud balls on many roads, depending on weather conditions, so some caution is in order.

As I think more about it, Route 209 along the Delaware from Matamoras south through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is closed to trucks and probably not too bad a ride. Once you get below the Rec Area though, it starts turning into somewhat hectic tourist land. I've been through that in the car a number of times.

Regrettably (even though I'm a long time resident) I'd have to say Pennsylvania roads suck, and aren't likely to improve much given the state's current economic conditions. Even here in the far Philadelphia suburbs, most secondary roads have little to no shoulders, illogical routing and more traffic than they were designed to carry. I refer to them as "spray painted Indian trails."

At my current recently returned to cycling state, I can't imagine myself attempting that trip, but I'm sure it could provide a lot of memorable scenery. I hope it goes well for the OP and that he'll share what he winds up doing.

DaveT

chandltp

Wow.. I've got a lot to take in. Thanks guys. Unfortunately, I found out I would be out of work for 3 days, back 2, then gone 7 to make this trip at the alloted time. My boss wasn't so keen on this. Gives me lots of time for route planning, budgeting, and equipment acquisition to do it next summer.

indyfabz

A couple of last notes:

It's my understanding from people who rode in the Northern Tier that portions of U.S. 6 now carry much more truck taffic than previously due to the gas mining.

Don't ride the PA trail along the river. Parts of it are horrible. While they did do rehab work on it, there was subsequent flood damage. There is a portion right below the Black Bass Hotel that was unrideable when I saw it this spring. The D&R, which starts somewhere between Milford and Frenchtown, is much nicer. I have done the portion from Frenchtown to Bull's Island on 23c tires.

Farther north, the River Rd. from Carpentersville, NJ (just south of Phillipsburg) into Milford is a beautiful ride. I was just up there two weeks ago. Very little traffic as your way along a narrow road bordered by by rock walls in some places. There are also some pretty farms. At one point, the road narrows to about one lane.

SR 29 in NJ has a wide shoulder only until the north end of Stockton. After that, the shoulder disappears. The road widerns again as you enter Lambertville. Leaving Lambertville, you again go back to one lane in each direction with no shoulder. Deoending on the time of day are year, there can be havy traffic.