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
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
TUE
07
MAY
WED
08
MAY
SAT
11
MAY
SAT
18
MAY
SAT
18
MAY
SAT
18
MAY
SUN
19
MAY
SUN
26
MAY
THU
30
MAY
SAT
01
JUN
SAT
01
JUN
SAT
01
JUN
SUN
02
JUN
THU
06
JUN
SUN
09
JUN
SAT
15
JUN
SUN
23
JUN
THU
27
JUN
FRI
28
JUN
SUN
30
JUN
SUN
07
JUL
TUE
09
JUL
TUE
16
JUL
TUE
23
JUL
TUE
30
JUL
FRI
02
AUG
SAT
03
AUG
TUE
06
AUG
TUE
13
AUG
TUE
13
AUG
TUE
20
AUG
THU
22
AUG
TUE
27
AUG
SUN
01
SEP
THU
05
SEP
SUN
08
SEP
SUN
15
SEP
SAT
21
SEP
TUE
01
OCT
FRI
04
OCT
SUN
06
OCT
SAT
12
OCT
SUN
13
OCT
SAT
19
OCT
SUN
20
OCT
SAT
26
OCT
SAT
26
OCT
SUN
27
OCT
SAT
02
NOV
SAT
09
NOV
SAT
09
NOV
SAT
16
NOV
SUN
24
NOV
SAT
07
DEC
SUN
08
DEC
SAT
08
MAR
SAT
15
MAR
WED
19
MAR
SAT
22
MAR
SAT
22
MAR
SAT
29
MAR
WED
02
APR
THU
03
APR
SAT
05
APR
SUN
06
APR
SUN
13
APR
SUN
13
APR
TUE
15
APR
TUE
15
APR
SAT
19
APR
SUN
20
APR
TUE
22
APR
SAT
26
APR
SUN
27
APR
TUE
29
APR
WED
30
APR
SAT
03
MAY
SUN
04
MAY
TUE
06
MAY
WED
07
MAY
SAT
10
MAY
SAT
17
MAY
SAT
17
MAY
SAT
31
MAY
SAT
21
JUN
WED
09
JUL
THU
18
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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