Once again, the FreeWalkers are planning a long walk along the D&R Canal towpath past West Windsor as part of their Cross-Jersey Walking Challenge.
The Great Canal Walk, or TR2NB40, is a 40-mile one-day long-distance walk on April 7 that starts at the Delaware River. Do some or all of it, tracing the footsteps of this 175-year old waterway. This is a superb physical and mental challenge and the first event in a series of four walking events aiming to walk across New Jersey following the East Coast Greenway. The event is free and open to the public, and you can join at any point along the route.
Two other walks are planned: the NB2MP10 – The Tween Walk on April 14,? a 10-mile walk from New Brunswick to Metropark, and NJ2NY50 – The Big Walk on May 19, a one-day, 50-mile walk from Metropark to New York Penn Station.
Those interested in taking the Cross-Jersey Challenge have to walk the entire 100-mile New Jersey portion of the East Coast Greenway within the next 12 months and record their efforts on crossjerseywalk.org.You don’t need to participate in any of the three walks.
In addition, the FreeWalkers are planning a grand walk of about 30 miles all along the Hudson River on June 9. Did you know that the entire Hudson River Walkway from Jersey City to the George Washington Bridge is nearly complete and very walkable? Imagine walking all that way and across the GWB then down the Hudson River Greenway along the West Side Highway. Details will be available on freewalkers.org.
Want to cover New Jersey from north to south? Interested in a great, long ride in part of the state?
WWBPA member Dan Rappoport has mapped the routes for you. Dan got the idea for the project about three or four years ago, but started creating the cue sheets in earnest two winters ago.
The New Jersey Bicycle Route goes from Belvidere, near the Delaware Water Gap in the northwest, zigzagging to Cape May Point in the southeast in nine days. Daily distances vary from about 44 to 74 miles, with each day?conveniently?ending at a motel.
Dan also developed a New Jersey Bicycle Route Network of rides all around the state, with ways to avoid congested highways in densely populated parts of the state as well as routes in beautiful, rural settings. These rides range from 40 to 188 miles, though one could, naturally, break them down into smaller segments.
Dan also compiled a Bicycle Touring Resource Guide, including NJ DOT tours; New Jersey multi-use trails; Cycle Jersey 500 itinerary; cross-state, state-wide, multi-state, and regional bicycle routes and books.
We hope you’ll try some of these routes. Thank you, Dan!
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.
Once again, the FreeWalkers are planning a long walk along the D&R Canal towpath past West Windsor as part of their Cross-Jersey Walking Challenge.
