I love combining my bike rides with a bit of history.
So to coincide with a couple of one-day road closures of busy Canal Road in Franklin Township, I’ve organized some family-friendly bike rides for the East Coast Greenway. On the first one, a couple of weeks ago, a half-dozen of us braved the rain to pepper Bob (from the non-profit D&R Canal Watch) with questions about the canal, once one of the busiest navigational canals in the country.
You know the song about the Erie Canal? That one is far, far longer than the D&R, but the D&R is wider (75 feet across) and deeper (8 feet vs 4 feet), so it could handle more kinds of boats. And that line in the song about “low bridge, everybody down”? Not a problem on the D&R because there are no bridges to go under. So not only could it handle barges but also steam-powered boats.
Bottom line is it’s tougher and stronger than the Erie Canal, even if it is shorter. Call it Jersey tough.
Sometimes you just have to suck it up and ride hills.
We had decided we wanted to ride Bike New York’s annual Discover Hudson Valley Ride. And while we came to our senses and opted out of the 75-miler (with 4,000+ feet of climbing!), the 55-mile route still came advertised with 2,900 feet of climbing.
Lisa and Dee are riding the East Coast Greenway from Key West to Calais, Maine. I rode with them for one day.
Dee and Lisa
I’ve been religiously following the blog of the East Coast Greenway’s communications boss and her friend as they ride this 3,000-mile route from Key West to Calais, Maine, impatiently checking for the latest update. Their Florida stories hinted at what I have yet to experience, and once they reached Savannah, I could compare to my own recollections of riding the route, a one-week stretch every year for the past few years. But mostly I would just think: I want to be out on my bike too.
So of course I had to host them one night … and throw a weekday party for them. And when they suggested I ride with them the next day, how could I say no? (Unless my boss did, which he didn’t.)
The plan was to follow the D&R Canal towpath up to New Brunswick and then take the road as far as we got, until it was time to hop the train, me back home and them to meet a friend in New York City.
So off we pedaled, past a blue heron picking its way atop the pipeline already in place to dredge the canal, past a dozen or more turtles sunning themselves on one of the many partially submerged tree limbs, past ducks that hissed as we passed too close to their ducklings.
The surface varied. Parts were badly rutted: The canal had overflowed in some spots during recent heavy rains, washing away a coating of pebbles and exposing jagged spillway stones that our bikes weren’t happy about. Lisa’s front handlebar bag jostled loose at one point, and we couldn’t get the screw to reattach. Other damage probably dated back to some nasty Nor’easters in March. But as we moved further north, past East Millstone, the surface was smooth and we could lose ourselves in conversation rather than dodging potholes and puddles.
Of course, it couldn’t last. I got a flat tire around the time we crossed the Raritan River from New Brunswick into Highland Park. Although I had a spare tube and fixed the flat, my pumping skills left it soft enough to want a bike shop … or the train home.
I spent part of National Trails Day — June 2 — on the Middlesex Greenway, a 3 1/2-mile trail going through Metuchen, Edison and Woodbridge. Part of it doubles as the East Coast Greenway. It was amazing how many people were using the trail early on a Saturday morning. What a great community amenity— and it’s within blocks of the train station, new condos, downtown and a new supermarket, so really useful for transportation and running errands too.
A group of enthusiastic trail advocates are trying to extend it at either end. This is at the Metuchen end: rails still in place on one side with a rail-free section next to it perfect for a trail. But making that happen means getting Conrail and two rail operators to sit down and talk, and then say yes. One day…
Duke Farms has 7 miles of paved trails plus additional gravel miles open to bikes.
Here’s a family-friendly place to ride a bike that you might not expect: Duke Farms in Hillsborough, NJ.
This is the estate of tobacco heiress Doris Duke, and it was opened to the public in 2012 (before that, it was only open for tours). Not only does it have 7 miles of paved trails (plus more miles that are gravel) that go past ruins of the foundation for the grand mansion that was never built, man-made lakes, the one-time horse barn that comes with a clocktower and much more, but it also has a bike-share system!
It has 80 bikes — a mix of cruisers (with a few gears), adult tricycles, even bikes for kids. So even if you don’t know how to bike, there’s a solution for you. Cost is $5 for two hours, though they hardly seem to be timing the rental.
Note that although it’s called Duke Farms, it’s not a working farm. Nor is it a traditional garden. It’s certainly a lovely place to ride! You can read my take on it here.
Now to find a route that will let me bike there from home. Perhaps the D&R Canal towpath (and East Coast Greenway segment) for much of the way?
A chilly Opening Day for Trails from Rails to Trails (and for New Jersey’s fishing season) — but at least it wasn’t snowing. A good time to head down the D&R Canal towpath and do some prep work for the second year of the Historical Society of Princeton’s “Chasing George” bike ride.
Yes, this is a ride with George Washington, heading from the Battle of Trenton to the Battle of Princeton. Irresitable!
The bike ride is May 6. Sign up now, before it fills up.
And the trail today? Muddy in some spots. Deep ruts where heavy machinery has been on the towpath while doing work on the canal or bridge. The damage from the winter storms is evident. Several trees on the banks of the canal have been uprooted and have fallen into the water, and the same as happened to even more big limbs. Not great news for canoers and kayakers! There was only one big tree blocking the path where we had to lift our bikes, and I’m guessing that will be gone fairly soon.
This 9-mile trail goes from one end of Monmouth County to the other.
This is my latest New Jersey trail discovery. Well, kind of. I knew the Union Transportation Trail existed, but it was disjointed for several years while being built. The last segment was finished early last year, however, and now it’s a 9-mile stone-dust trail in Monmouth County stretching from the Mercer County line to the Ocean County line.
We explore the Mount Rose section of the Lawrence-Hopewell Trail, sandwiched between two gaps. With a lot of luck, one of those gaps might be closed this year.
Slowly but surely, the 22-mile Lawrence-Hopewell Trail is being built. My understanding is that the section from Bristol-Myers Squibb on Carter Road to a 90-degree bend on Cleveland Road will be built this year, taking the trail off a main thoroughfare that has no shoulder and can be unpleasant, especially if you don’t like riding with traffic. (SEE UPDATE BELOW) Right now, though, there’s only a small section on BMS property before you hit a “trail ends” sign (and then it becomes a private trail to the BMS entrance).
Wow was that fun! Kind of like you imagine one of those speeder bikes in “Return of the Jedi.”
OK, not quite that fast. And this bike was on the ground, not going through the air. But as long as you pedaled, it felt like you could fly thanks to the electric battery that provided a boost. That first time on an e-bike, I felt the assist kicking in — and it was set at the lowest level — and I couldn’t help but laugh with glee, like a kid building up speed going downhill. Me, who thinks motorcycles are scary.
But there I was, accelerating quickly thanks to the the rechargeable battery tucked behind the stem leading to the seat. After a few loops around the bike shop parking lot, it was off to the street. Just with that minimal assist, I went up a hill at 10 mph with no effort. And if you’re starting cold at the bottom of a hill? Flip the throttle for a second or too and the assist kick-starts the ascent. Just hold on for the jolt. Who needs to huff and puff? Or even change gears? Wow.
Then we headed to a quiet road behind the bike shop, experimenting with the different levels of assist. The model I was riding, the Blix Stockholm, has four levels that you can essentially toggle through (plus zero, for no assist) on the left handlebar, plus nine gears you can change like a normal bike just off the right handlebar.
I’m sure there’s a great balancing act between what gear you’re in and how much of an assist you take to stretch out the battery charge. To be honest, I felt level 1 was enough — and that was a 53-pound bike. Kick it up, and not even to level 4, and I could top 20 mph, no sweat.
This one tucks the battery behind the seat post.
So who buys an e-bike? The shop owner says they’ve sold a lot of them, almost always to people over 55. Sometimes it’s a bike widow/er who now can keep up with the other half. Often it’s someone who wants to exercise but finds it all so daunting. Especially if you live in a hilly area, which is where this shop is. You might not be powering yourself at 15 mph on a carbon-fiber bike that’s half the weight (and sometimes close to half the price), but you only get the assist if you’re pedaling — so you have to move. The owner told us of one customer who weighs about 300 pounds who has seen the numbers in his blood work come down substantially, even if his weight hasn’t. That’s the power of moving, of getting some exercise.
OK, the price is pretty hefty — this one was $2,300 in 2017, and the Brit was riding a $3,000 model. But I can see how this could turn you into a one-car family, using the bike to get to work just about every day if you have a reasonable commute. And when it rains? If you can’t hitch a ride with a co-worker, a cab (or Uber/Lyft) might not be a bad deal, especially given how much you save by not owning that second car. (You really don’t want to know the true annual cost of car ownership.) States still have to work out just how they view e-bikes — a bike or something more? There’s no assist if you don’t pedal, so it’s certainly not a moped). There’s also the question of limits on speed and power.
But my money is on prices coming down and batteries becoming lighter and more powerful, just like with phones and electric cars.
And who knows? One day I might own one too.
(Apologies for the delay in posting this one. We tested the bikes last winter.)
I love combining my bike rides with a bit of history.
You know the song about the Erie Canal? That one is far, far longer than the D&R, but the D&R is wider (75 feet across) and deeper (8 feet vs 4 feet), so it could handle more kinds of boats. And that line in the song about “low bridge, everybody down”? Not a problem on the D&R because there are no bridges to go under. So not only could it handle barges but also steam-powered boats.
I spent part of National Trails Day — June 2 — on the Middlesex Greenway, a 3 1/2-mile trail going through Metuchen, Edison and Woodbridge. Part of it doubles as the East Coast Greenway. It was amazing how many people were using the trail early on a Saturday morning. What a great community amenity— and it’s within blocks of the train station, new condos, downtown and a new supermarket, so really useful for transportation and running errands too.
This is my latest New Jersey trail discovery. Well, kind of. I knew the 
Exploring by bicycle 