Trans New Jersey Trail

[racer514]

Anyone riding up tonight from South Jersey or even tomorrow and riding 2 days?
if so pm me or email racer514@comcast.net

[dedsmurf]

Originally Posted by racer514

Anyone riding up tonight from South Jersey or even tomorrow and riding 2 days?
if so pm me or email racer514@comcast.net

Im coming from boston tongight. havent made camping/motel arrangements yet but will call some of the sites rob posted.

I think ill stay at the campsite at the start and leave my vehicle there someplace or pay for the site for the whole weekend oif need be. Id rather do that then leave it in the walmart parking lot!
I still have some details to work out.. I'll be going light!

d

[Rode2Nowhere]

Any ETA on the end of the ride the 22nd?

I'm vacationing with the fam in Cape May (every year) and would love to see a pack of enduros....

... while I'm away from mine.

[sallydog]

hey rob, how many riders?

[rob23]

Thanks to everyone for coming out trying my whacky idea of ridding 1k miles in NJ in three days. I hope everyone had a good time despite the difficulty/length of the routes. Thanks to Airframe for ridding with me.

All in all this years routes were too long! Too much noodeling around to pick up the 1k miles and more dirt roads. You had to be a really good GPS navigator and had to know something about where you were going in order to make the best of the routes. For those that didn’t I hope you learned something new and I apologize for any inconveniences.

I now have data from an easier route from 2007 and a very hard route from 2008 so by 2009 I’ll definitely get it perfected! I took good notes and way pointed more good roads and more gated/private roads.

My stats
Total miles from home to home: 935
Total route miles ridden: 847
Moving Time: 24:56 (three days of ridding, I rode for one entire day, that’s 8 hours of ridding a day)
Stopped Time: 15:20 (turned gps off for camping etc.)
Moving Average: 35mph
Top Speed: :p

Friday (Solstice ride)
I rode alone all day and managed to ride all the routes and only cut off the last 30 miles because I ride those roads all the time. I put in 450 miles on Saturday alone. I started the day with some nice twisties and a few rocky mountain roads before heading up to Elias Cole for breakfast where I got a pair of runny eggs and some toast. I then set out to ride from 11am – 7pm non-stop (only for gas). I covered some great dirt roads and twisties and saw some nice sites.

My favorite route in the Northern NJ was through the Delaware Water Gap. The rest of the routes were good too and there were some real nice gems in between all the noodeling around. There were at least three abandoned mountain roads that I road that I’d like to do some more venturing around. I rode without camping gear all day and wasn’t prepared to camp that night. I decided to drop off my bike and get the car in order to take the other riders out to dinner so they could have a few drinks without worrying about falling off their bikes after a long and tiring ride.

Saturday
Saturday started off nice. I got to ride with Doug (Airframe) and we hit some of the dirt roads around the hills of Hopewell where I grew up ridding. I managed to cut off some of the route to make up some time.

We then headed down to Jackson via Assunpink where we picked up some sand and whoops. Ridding with camping gear on the back of an f650 through deep sand and whoops just stinks and that’s what I had to contend with all day (sand + motorcycles = whoops). Luckily, Doug saved me with a nice strap to keep my bags from flying off after my tie down died. Doug managed to show me a good bi-pass around the nasty new fence in Fort Dix (talk about clear cut environmental damage, those guys wiped out a ton of woods. Not to mention all the other housing and business development going on in that area.).

It’s funny, the three groups of riders all took different ways to get down but somehow managed all to meet at the Wa-wa on 539/70 and the same exact time, very strange. It was good to see everyone re-group and head into the woods for a much needed dirt fix. Doug and I then headed into Lebanon where the trails were nice but I was left really yearning for my YZ250 after getting bounced around in some of the whoops with my heaving gear. I got tired pretty quick so we decided to head into Greenwood and Forked River where the roads are flatter (some of them at least).

I had to check-in to camp at Bass River by 6pm so I decided to high tail it down Red Road to Beaver Damn road then to Lucile’s and use Stafford Forest to Bass River to get to camp on time (this is where knowing your way around the forest helped a lot). That worked out really well for us and we got to see a very threatening but cool electric storm pass us as we road through the burned out area of Stafford. I then checked into camp and setup. Afterwards, we road the routes through Bass River in reverse. I finally got to wick up some sand without the bags on and it felt great to ride again! When we got to Martha road I decided to take a swim in the lake near Bodine Field. I was thinking about this lake all day, jumping in was very cold and refreshing. I got a call where one of the groups of riders wouldn’t make it to camp because they liked Lebanon so much they decided to stay there instead (I couldn’t blame them but not ridding some of my routes to book the camp in time was a wated effort). So, I linked up with my buddy Todd (Pinehollow) and we shared a few beers and some much needed dinner. I then headed to camp and reviewed the routes before passing out cold.

Sunday
Packing up camp I was attacked by a swarm of May Flies that I had to contend with! This was a real shitty way to start the day!

Frustrated, I went to the entrance where I missed Doug and he rode around frantically looking for me thinking I left him behind. We eventually managed to link up and then headed to Todd’s to drop my gear off, get some coffee and chill out with him and his cool animals for a bit.

Sunday's routes started off nice. Most of the routes were from last year and therefore proven in some regard. There were lots of open dirt roads with hard packed gravel with some nice sweepers. There were also a lot of overgrown trails that really gave us the adventure experience. We managed to do some exploring and found a really long nice dirt road that lead to a dead end in a Cedar Swamp, so we turned around and on my way back I washed the front end out in a deep mud hole and managed to twist my rear brake into a pretzel! First and only crash of the weekend. Luckily, the metal on the brake lever was soft enough I could bend it back to shape and in no time we were off ridding again.

For some reason my GPS acted up by grapping an off-route waypoint near Make Peace WMA so instead of deleting it I had Doug do some guiding. He did an excellent job and managed to clear out some brush for me ;). Now, we have matching nose scars! I then decided to ride the optional loop to the Delaware Bay and ride the next route in reverse through Belleplain instead of ride down to Cape May and get stuck in shore traffic. That worked out pretty well for us. There are streets I need to cut out of the loop and some gated roads but we did manage to ride some cool stuff like a large power line trail that looked like something you’d see in California. After finishing the reverse route through Belleplain Doug and I parted ways and he decided to go grab some more dirt on his way home. I did the highway boogie for an hour and half in the hot sun where I was thinking how much of NJ everyone else really misses by taking the highway. My entire ride down I didn’t hit any traffic on the roads I traveled on.

All in all I had six days of ridding in June and put in nearly 2k miles. I must say the f650 is a great reliable bike with a great motor and it’s a blast to ride. My 2005 now has 22k on it!

p.s. I didn't bring a camera and only took one pic of Buttermilk Falls with the crappy camera phone.

Also, if anyone is looking for a similar ride in NJ but in a much more organized fashion (with real trails and access to private lands) I highly recommend trying one of these events.

Pine Barrens 500 (http://pinebarrens500.org & http://ECEA.org)
Hammer Run 2 day Dual Sport (http://TeamHammer.org & http://ECEA.org)
Meteor 2 day Dual Sport (http://MeteorMc.com & http://ECEA.org)

[intothenew]

You just tear me up talking about it. I thought about you guys a few times this weekend. up for all of your hard work.

We are going to try and gain some fruit from your labors in August.

The best thing that I heard was what I didn't hear, no major incidents.

[rob23]

Ok, after my 1k mile ride down this year I made some needed adjustments to the routes. I shortened some routes, cleaned up some turns, re-rerouted sections, etc. These routes should work flawlessly. I couldn't bring myself to remove some of my favorite roads included in some of the looping around but I did mange to trim down most of the unnecessary looping (it's really up to the navigator to decide (on a day ride one may want to noodle and on a three/four day ride one may or may not)).

I find these routes are used best for day rides, to ride a few consecutive sections on your own time or to build loops off of. Trying to ride everything at once, while possible may be overkill. Four days would make for the best timing to ride all the routes without haste. The best season to ride would be in the Fall or early spring before the bloom.

If you do ride the routes keep in mind you need a permit for large group rides in some areas. Also, take good notes (waypoint good roads, gated roads, posted roads, trail heads, out bridges, etc.) and send them to me along with your tracks.

Familiarize yourself with the routes and waypoints before you venture out.

If you'd like to request a copy please email me with your info. Name, Address, Email, Bike Type, GPS type at WoodsRacer23@ gmail . com.

Also please support these NJ events by attending:
--
PB500
Meteor Dual Sport
Tri-County Hammer Run Dual Sport
MCI Stump-Jumper Enduro
PBER Clock Run Enduro
--
ECEA.org for more info.

[Rode2Nowhere]

Sounds awesome, guys! Too bad you didn't hit Cape May; I was lookin for mudded-up scoots around town on Sunday.

Maybe I'll hit the next one!

Views from our rental house's deck



and on the beach

[rob23]

great shot!

that swamp looks much nicer at sunset

My uncle lived off Upper Lake Plymouth in Stillwater. There were some great dirt roads behind his house that lead to an old damn project where they started draining the lakes. There were a bunch of abandoned houses in that area too. What's become of those roads and drained lakes (good mx pits), can you ride back there now? I passed through that area on this year's TNJT Rundown but didn't give myself the chance to explore.

[Rode2Nowhere]

Originally Posted by rob23

great shot!

Thanks! I actually like this one more. Same direction but the lighthouse is just off the left of the frame.

that swamp looks much nicer at sunset

Unbelievably enough, ZERO mosquitos! Must be just enough breeze.

My uncle lived off Upper Lake Plymouth in Stillwater. There were some great dirt roads behind his house that lead to an old damn project where they started draining the lakes. There were a bunch of abandoned houses in that area too. What's become of those roads and drained lakes (good mx pits), can you ride back there now? I passed through that area on this year's TNJT Rundown but didn't give myself the chance to explore.

Do you mean Stillwater Reservoir? I'm actually in the Stillwater next to Saratoga. I've heard so much about the riding over there that I want to check it out, though!

[docgonzo]

It's a pretty short section of dirt on Section 113, (or is it 114?), but it sure is pretty. Here's a shot from today:



Again, Rob, thanks so much for putting this together. It's a real treasure.

[docgonzo]

Another shot from today. A very nice section of railroad bed, and no signs posted at the entry right off of river road.

If you look carefully, you can see the red line of the TransNJ trail on the GPS!

[Rode2Nowhere]

Great shots man! Reeeeaaally makes me want to ride it.

[intothenew]

The railroad down here is starting to get tough on trespassing. I assume that riding those tracks is the same there? I hate it, they are taking quite a few short cuts around tarmac from me.

[GS Weaver]

Originally Posted by docgonzo

Another shot from today. A very nice section of railroad bed, and no signs posted at the entry right off of river road.

If you look carefully, you can see the red line of the TransNJ trail on the GPS!

I live (and work) right by those tracks. It's still considered trespassing of course, but they aren't patrolled by the RR Police too often. I've never seen the RR Police on them actually, unless there is some event that they have to respond to. I've rode about ten miles on my GS on the tracks from Clinton down to Flemington. Fun!