Since today it’s grey outside and raining a bit, I’m not sure yet if I’ll be riding my bicycle. They said it’s going to clear and be sunny by noon, so for now, I thought I’d write about where I usually ride on the New Jersey side and what I’d see.
When I get ready to ride, here are some of my rules and/or safety tips. Sneakers, close-fitted pants (many times I see women wearing skirts, blowing in the breeze and I’m hopeful they won’t get caught in their bicycle wheel spokes), comfortable and/or warm top, hair back, water bottle, power bar, bicycle clip-on bag, lock and helmet. READY!
Starting out on Central Avenue in “the Heights” of Jersey City, I ride down Congress Street till I get to the elevator at the 9th Street (Hudson Bergen) Light Rail station. It connects Jersey City with Hoboken easily and has been there since 2000 when they built the Light Rail system. Down the elevator and across the tracks, crosstown and north a bit, till I reach 11th… then across 11th to the waterfront.
Now, the big decision, should I go left (north) towards Weehawken & Port Imperial, towards the George Washington Bridge or right (south) towards Jersey City with lovely views of lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty? Either direction the length of the waterfront walkway is about 5-6 miles. This is as far as you can go given they haven’t built or connected all the walkways yet; eventually it will be much longer.
Going south along the Hudson River there are some new piers in Hoboken, small parks, even a tiny beach created at around 11th street. Riding downtown there are a few construction obstacles when approaching Frank Sinatra Park, and since part of the pier fell into the water due to decay and not being built with steel reinforcements, that whole area is blocked. It’ll be interesting to see how long it takes to repair, now that Fall is upon us. Below is a photo I found of the collapsed pier taken by Hoboken411.com.
Frank Sinatra Park pier collapses in Hoboken, photo by Hoboken411.com
Approaching the Hoboken (Erie Lackawana)Terminal I must ride through the terminal (where people walk around and board trains) to get to the far end and the entrance to the walkway, newly opened last month that connects Hoboken with Newport. Below is a photo of the new walkway.
I can finally just follow this “greenway” as it weaves along the coastline, around buildings, hotels, and condos. There are a few spots that have wonderful views and are worth a stop.
Going in this direction you can ride safely till the “Colgate” sign which is where the walkway ends for now. At this point you have a beautiful view of Battery Park in NYC, Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.
*A day after writing this post, I did a 20 mile ride from “the Heights” of Jersey City, down to Hoboken, following this route to Jersey City, then turned around and rode back, continuing on to Weehawken and north to Edgewater. I’ll write some more about the northern direction, soon. In the meanwhile, enjoy my photos (gallery).
**Also, inside of Hoboken terminal, they now make everyone walk their bicycle through.