300 Miles, 4 Flat Tires, & 1 Hip Realignment later…
My 3rd annual bike trip, dubbed…The Amazing Bike Trip (or in some circles, The Keystone-Empire-Constitution Iditarod), undertaken by me and a host of friends, was completed without (much) incident this past Sunday. Our journey from Philadelphia to New London, CT on, yes, bicycles is part young-adult camaraderie, part physical badge of honor, part great-opening-line-at-a-bar, and a partial inventory of non-motorized transportation facilities spanning the Northeast; the last point being most salient to me. During the sojourn through suburban Philadelphia, rural New Jersey, Port Elizabeth (drama), Manhattan, Long Island’s south shore, and multiple ferries, The Amazing Bike Trip was able to highlight the many components of America’s non-motorized transportation infrastructure, especially areas where alternative modes of travel were and were not accommodated.
For the most part, the sprawling suburban roads in Pennsylvania and New Jersey had lesser traffic or large enough shoulders that made bike lanes not entirely necessary. Rural roads proved a cyclist’s paradise, as they were essentially clear from other motorists save for our bike platoon. As the route wound up toward Elizabethtown in NJ, the issue of Port Elizabeth came to light. Admittedly, our biking itinerary is not a common recreational or even commuter course for most cyclists, a fact that Port Elizabeth— the third busiest import/export freight center in the United States—made perfectly clear. As expected, little pedestrian or bike facilities are present here, an understandable condition as I doubt the Port Authority has aspirations to make the place pedestrian-focused. However, it is one of the only efficient ways of reaching Hoboken—and the ferry to Manhattan—without adding significant length to an already 130 mile trip.
New York City and it’s boroughs were very welcoming to our bikes and our desire to navigate various Manhattan ‘hoods- Thank you, Janette Sadik-Khan! Traveling to Babylon, NY and further out to Sag Harbor to catch one of three ferries, eventually landing the platoon in Connecticut, I was impressed with the amount of designated bike lanes approaching and within the Hamptons. It’s encouraging that eastern Long Island planning commissions have been apt to provide the necessary accomodations for the cycling hoi polloi and Bentley drivers to co-exist on the road, if not lifestyles.
Not only was the 3rd annual Amazing Bike Trip, well, amazing, it offered a clear view of how cyclists are able to fit in fairly well into the transportation landscape of the northeast United States. As avid cyclists, we were more willing to ride where there were no bike lanes, but in every stage of the trip, having them present made even us, feel more conspicuous and therefore safer amongst motorists.
We returned to Philadelphia via public transportation (you thought we rode back too?!), and the Connecticut Commuter Rail and Metro-North’s lack of bike accommodations on their trains was less-than-desirable. However, judging that most of their clientele’s travel patterns don’t include such paraphernalia, perhaps this lack of allowance is justified. But if PizzaWorks at the Old Saybrook station in Connecticut keeps serving such delicious pizza and beer at ridiculously reasonable prices, I could deal with a cramped train cabin once in a while…
