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« on: January 10, 2017, 11:40:32 am »
It's funny you should ask the question about how to get away from Sandy Hook. I was going to post that exact question to the group for input from other New Jerseyeans. My plan was to ride from Sandy Hook to Florham Park, where I live, and start from there the next day. But getting out of north-central NJ is a problem due to congestion. I can go from the shore up through Rahway, Springfield and Summit, or swing west toward New Brunswick and Bound Brook before heading north.
Heading north from NJ, I plan to pick up the NY State Bike Route, Route 9D at Bear Mountain Bridge. Again I'll have to deal with the congestion of northern NJ. A direct route from Florham Park would be through East Orange and Hackensack before picking up the Pallisades Parkway. That would be suicide. Instead, I'll mostly stick to Route 202 through Montville to Harriman and Bear Mountain SP.
From there, I parallel the Hudson River to Albany and the Erie Canal to Niagara Falls, using part of the Northern Tier Route. I'll follow the Lake Erie Connector along the northern border of Lake Erie, across central Michigan and take the ferry to Manitowac Wisconsin. I'll then take North Lakes Route to Minneapolis before rejoining the Northern Tier route. Overall, it's 3700 miles over 62 days with 6 rest days and 65 miles a day when riding. I don't have a firm end date and may add a few more rest days.