NJ Leaf Peeping
Saturday, October 21, 2023
Trenton --> Mount Tabor, NJ
90 miles
Saturday, October 21, 2023
Hey hi hello,
I'm hoping to get in a long ride 🚲 through pretty parts of Jersey in October using NJ Transit lines.
The ride:
Note: 43% of the currently planned route is on canal/rail trails, which are nice and smooth but are unpaved. There are parallel roads you can take if you'd like, but my hope is to ride the canal and rail trails for some peace and quiet - worrying about car traffic all day is tiring. If absolutely no one has wheels for this, I can create a new route that is all-road.
The ride is 90 miles, so I am planning to eat/snack a couple times, drink a lot of water, probably get ice cream, and do some stretching throughout the day. Elevation gain is 3,500 feet, which is reasonable but not nothing. No singlular significant climbs but there are definitely consistent hills in the second half of the ride (after we leave the flat canal trail).
The combined ride and transit will take your entire Satruday. RidewithGPS estimates almost 7 hours of riding, and that is without breaks. A wise rider once said to estimate about 1 hour for every 10 miles of a ride accounting for breaks, so this ride will take 9 or even 10 hours total, including the breaks.
All said, we'll get a chance to pass through some cute towns like Frenchtown and Lambertville along the Delaware River!
Shorter route option:
If you'd prefer to do only half of this, you can ride the first half, and then break off and head toward the Raritan, NJ train station (goes along the aptly-named Raritan line). Option is ~59 miles total.
Meeting:
The NJ Transit timetable for the Northeast Corridor from NY Penn Station to Trenton transit center indicates ther is a 8:14am train that should get us to Trenton by 9:47am. There are earlier trains but... who wants to wake up that early on a Saturday. Not me! Learning from prior mistakes, just go straight onto the train 🚆 as soon as you arrive and don't wait to meet others in the station, so that we can secure seats for all of us. Too long a ride to stand with your bike...
Weekend trains run out of Mount Tabor station every ~3 hours, so we should aim to get the 8:13pm train, which gets us back to NY Penn Station at 9:39pm. If we miss this train, which I don't think we will, the next and final train of the night is at 11:13pm.
I haven't been but Mount Tabor is supposed to be a nice town, so we'll probably have dinner in the area while we unpack the day and wait for our train.
Related links:
Northeast Corridor line to get to Trenton in the morning - NJ Transit weekend schedule.
Morris/Essex line to get home from Mount Tabor in the late afternoon - NJ Transit weekend schedule.
Shorter option via Raritan Valley line to get home from Raritan in the afternoon - NJ Transit weekend schedule.
NJ Transit system map, if you need a visual.
Ride Details
| Distance | 90 miles |
| Start Location | Sent to registered members |
| Date | This Ride is cancelled |
| Meet Time | Sent to registered members |
| Start Time | Sent to registered members |
| Level | B - Steady Eddy |
| Speed | 13 mph, or whatever works for you |
| Ride Organizer | Stephan P. |
RIDES AND EVENTS CALENDAR
SAT
14
JAN
WED
18
JAN
WED
01
FEB
SAVE THE DATE - NYC LGBT Sports Network Spring Season Kickoff
SUN
12
FEB
THU
16
FEB
SAT
18
FEB
SUN
26
FEB
SUN
05
MAR
SUN
12
MAR
SUN
12
MAR
SUN
19
MAR
SUN
19
MAR
SUN
26
MAR
THU
30
MAR
SUN
02
APR
FRI
07
APR
SAT
08
APR
SAT
08
APR
SAT
15
APR
SUN
16
APR
SAT
22
APR
SUN
23
APR
TUE
25
APR
SAT
06
MAY
SAT
06
MAY
MON
08
MAY
SAT
13
MAY
SAT
13
MAY
SUN
21
MAY
SUN
21
MAY
TUE
23
MAY
SAT
27
MAY
SAT
03
JUN
SAT
03
JUN
SAT
03
JUN
THU
08
JUN
SUN
11
JUN
SAT
17
JUN
SUN
18
JUN
SUN
18
JUN
SUN
25
JUN
SAT
15
JUL
SAT
22
JUL
SAT
22
JUL
THU
27
JUL
SUN
20
AUG
SUN
27
AUG
SUN
03
SEP
SAT
23
SEP
SUN
01
OCT
FRI
06
OCT
SUN
08
OCT
WED
11
OCT
THU
19
OCT
SAT
21
OCT
SUN
22
OCT
SAT
28
OCT
SAT
11
NOV
SAT
18
NOV
SUN
19
NOV
SAT
02
DEC
SAT
02
DEC
SAT
09
DEC
SAT
09
DEC
SAT
16
DEC
TUE
19
DEC
WED
28
FEB
THU
07
MAR
MON
18
MAR
THU
04
APR
SAT
06
APR
SAT
06
APR
THU
11
APR
SAT
13
APR
SUN
14
APR
SUN
14
APR
SAT
20
APR
SUN
21
APR
SUN
21
APR
SAT
27
APR
SAT
04
MAY
SAT
04
MAY
SUN
05
MAY
WED
08
MAY
SAT
11
MAY
SAT
18
MAY
SAT
18
MAY
SAT
18
MAY
SUN
19
MAY
THU
30
MAY
SAT
01
JUN
SAT
01
JUN
SAT
01
JUN
SUN
02
JUN
SUN
09
JUN
THU
01
AUG
MON
02
SEP
RIDE LEVEL KEY
A - Speed Freak - Fast paceline ride
B - Steady Eddy - Moderately paced ride
C - Easy Rider - Gentle paced ride
The 'Ride Speed' indicates the target cruising speed on flat roads.
Question or comment about this ride? Ask here.
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