$4.50
Start/Finish: Rochelle Park, NJ. Going through: Bergen, Distance: 40.6 miles, Climbing: 1,609′.
Description
A change of pace.
This ride feels different than the average wormhole ride. It has long park interludes. It goes in a different direction, makes a point to go through long park stretches, stick to flatter roads, does some criterium-style barrages through residential suburban neighborhoods, and only really encounters a hill of note at the very end.
I like it for those differences. The barrages take a little more thought than average, even though the streets are largely empty. The long park stretches take less thought, and can be a decent time to zone out.
The Parks.
There are two major park stretches in the ride, taking up nearly a quarter of the ride. One is Overpeck Park. The other is the Saddle River County Park. The first is on a road. The second, a bike path. Both are rare in the area for the relatively wide-open expanses you get to enjoy.
Long stretches of turn-free riding are contrasted with dashes through residential neighborhoods. Here, there are more turns, but the roads are almost as empty as the parks. Luckily, you only have to pay attention to the turns, not the oncoming vehicles. Turning is fun, and practice only makes it more fun.
Sometimes, the best way to ride is to find the bike path and take it. They’re generally in the middle of parks, and, outside of New York City, are usually empty. This ride takes advantage of the Saddle River County Park system, which rides alongside the Saddle River and Ho-Ho-Kus Brook for seven miles in the middle of pretty densely-packed suburbia. It’s been around for over 40 years, has slowly been expanded, and never has been overwhelmed with people recreating.
So, if you’re looking for a meandering, mostly flat (for the area), ride, where you don’t have to pay too close attention to automotive traffic, this is an excellent choice.
Particulars (Park Interludes)
Start: The New Jersey Northwalk Entrance to the George Washington Bridge, Fort Lee, NJ.
Finish: The New Jersey Northwalk Entrance to the George Washington Bridge, Fort Lee, NJ.
Going through: Bergen County.
Distance: 40.6 miles
Climbing: 1,609′
Includes: Two PDFs with intelligence (one for printing, one for electronic viewing) and a GPX file to upload to your bike computer or mobile device. A how-to can be found here. The PDF prepares you for the route and can be glanced at, printed out and/or uploaded to your mobile device. The GPX is to be uploaded into your bike computer or mobile device so you can let the machine give you the directions as you ride along.
