Join the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance and Eagle Scout Paul Ligeti for the inaugural bike ride of Paul?s 11-mile tour of historic West Windsor sites. Paul?s route points out many places beyond the imaginary Martian landing in War of the Worlds. Did you know West Windsor has two stops on the Underground Railroad? Or that a double murder in Dutch Neck in 1910 led to the first use of the electric chair in Mercer County? Woodrow Wilson used to bike from Princeton to walk around Grover?s Mill Pond, another stop on the tour. The red markers you see around town are stops on this route, which you can find on http://wwhistoricbiker.weebly.com.
We will meet at the kiosk at the trail?s starting point, next to the World War II memorial in Dutch Neck (corner of Village Road East and South Mill Road) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29 (rain date is Sunday, Nov. 13). Paul, a member of Troop 66, will say a few words about his project before we start. We will stop around the halfway point to hear more about War of the Worlds ? broadcast almost to the day 73 years ago, on Oct. 30, 1938.
While much of the route is on roads with bike lanes or on quiet residential streets, it does include a portion of Cranbury Road. Helmets are required, and children under 12 should be accompanied by an adult. Everyone should bring a signed copy of the waiver form available here: wwbpa waiver form. For more information, email [email protected].
If you want something more on Sunday, Oct. 2 than riding the sharrows in Princeton, consider this from our friends at the East Coast Greenway:
4th Annual Hudson River Loop Tour, Sunday Oct. 2
Join us for a guided bicycle ride on the East Coast Greenway along the Hudson River waterfront in New Jersey and New York, Sunday, Oct. 2 at 9 a.m. This 25-mile bike ride (easy-going pace of 9-10 mph) will travel along greenways (and a short on-road stretch), enjoying newly completed segments of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway.?At the Hoboken/14 Street dock, we will take the New York Waterway ferry to Manhattan, then return north along the Hudson River Greenway to and over the George Washington Bridge.
We’ll enjoy lunch at beautiful West Harlem Piers Park, just opposite Fairway Market where food and drinks can be bought.? We will return to Fort Lee Park at about 2 pm. ?Cue sheets provided.? Bring snacks and water, wear helmet.? Rain or shine. Start and end at Fort Lee Historic Park, Fort Lee NJ.
Pre-registration: ECGA member $10 / non-member, $20
(New Members can join the ECGA at a special $25 rate – this event only!)
Day-of registration:? member $15 / non-member, $25 Price includes cost of ferry (rider + bicycle)? -? Children under 13 – $10 (for ferry)
To pre-register: http://hudsonloopride.eventbrite.com
The WWBPA does a lot of work to make sure that West Windsor is friendly for bicycling and walking, but we also realize that many people want to bike to West Windsor from neighboring communities, and the best route isn’t always the same one they would use with a car.
So we asked Vince, who we met at BikeFest, to tell us about his 10-mile ride from Hamilton Square to his job near the train station. He rides to work three to four days a week. Here’s his route:
I start down Paxson Avenue in Hamilton, which is a 25 mph residential street with a fair amount of room, for about a mile. ?I then head south on ?Mercerville-Edinburg Road for about ? mile. This is the worst part of my trip, as the road is four lanes with no shoulder at all. It is slightly downhill, so I pedal hard and get out into the painted area to make a left on Flock Road. Then a quick right on the continuation of Paxson Avenue, which I take for about a mile to the way to the west entrance of Mercer County park. It?s about 3 ? miles through the park, then a left on Dutch Neck Edinburg Road. I love this part with the wide bike lane?. Then I usually take a left onto Village Road West to Penn Lyle. When I get to the intersection at High School South,? I take residential roads to Wallace Road at the train station. (I avoid Alexander Road completely, as there isn?t much room.)
He? adds: “If West Windsor was not so bike-friendly, I would never consider biking to work.”
We have a state highway map; now we’re going to get a state bike map!
The New Jersey Bicycle Map, funded through the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and managed by The RBA Group, is in the works. This will provide a map of the preferred bicycling routes for the entire state.?Their target is to have the map ready for the public in the summer of 2011.
Share your routes!? To make sure they hear the needs of cyclists from around the state, NJDOT is hosting three meetings (all during regular working hours, unfortunately for most of us).
North Jersey
Wednesday, December 1
10 a.m. to noon
Frelinghuysen Arboretum
55 East Hanover Ave
Morristown
Central Jersey
Tuesday, December 7
9:30am to 11:30am
NJDOT Headquarters
1035 Parkway Ave
Trenton
South Jersey
Wednesday, December 8
10 a.m. to noon
The George Luciano Family Center
Cumberland County College
Vineland
Prior to the meeting, all are encouraged to review the draft map on the interactive website, (http://bikemap.com/njbike/). You must register first and answer a few questions but then you can download PDFs of the latest drafts. If your town, county or other organization has data that might help in the correct or complete the map, you are also encouraged to upload it to that sight. Once you register on the site, you will receive e-mail notices each time a new map is posted.
Please RSVP to Elizabeth Cox, The RBA Group at 973-946-5736 or [email protected] a week before the meeting. Attendees will be sent an agenda and directions. If you are unable to attend, participation is encouraged through the website.
Once all the work is done, a PDF of the final map will be posted on a website. Printing of the maps will be sponsored by organizations interested in supporting cyclists. If your organization would like to help sponsor printing, please contact the NJDOT project manager.
Monthly meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month via Zoom. We will eventually resume meeting in the West Windsor Municipal Building. Email us at [email protected] if you would like the Zoom code.
Find us at the West Windsor Farmers Market (Vaughn Drive parking lot) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every other Saturday from May through Halloween.
Join the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance and Eagle Scout Paul Ligeti for the inaugural bike ride of Paul?s 11-mile tour of historic West Windsor sites. Paul?s route points out many places beyond the imaginary Martian landing in War of the Worlds. Did you know West Windsor has two stops on the Underground Railroad? Or that a double murder in Dutch Neck in 1910 led to the first use of the electric chair in Mercer County? Woodrow Wilson used to bike from Princeton to walk around Grover?s Mill Pond, another stop on the tour. The red markers you see around town are stops on this route, which you can find on http://wwhistoricbiker.weebly.com.
