New to NJ

Rez

Rez

New Member
Just came down today to begin begin a 2 year project. The project is located in Elizabeth which I see has zero riding😡. So I have been doing the rental house search. Does anyone have any suggestions? I would rather drive a little farther to work and have the trails a little closer. Going to West Milford to look at a house on Thrusday(more like get a ride in and check out the location) but i believe this would be to much of a daily commute. Looking for a commute about a hour or less , my hours of work are 6am to 3/4 pm. So I think i can beat most of the morning traffic. Any help would be greatly appreicated.


Yeah I guess i am asking for alot. But why not if i can


Thanks
 
West Milford may be a bit too far north and west to make commuting bearable. The roads out of that area make commuting a challenge.

I'd suggest looking west along the I-80 or I-78 corridors.

I-80 runs through Rockaway, NJ. It is 40 minutes from work and close to a number of riding destinations.

There are also a number of parks off of I-78 such as Chimney Rock and round Valley.
 
Morristown is a good location. Descent local riding at Lewis Morris, within striking distance to Chimney rock, Allamuchy, Ringwood, even mahlon dickerson, waywayanda and Blue Mtn are not too far. Boonton would be a little closer to the goods and still has a nice little park to ride in at the tourne, about 10 minutes more commute then Morristown.
 
WM to Elizabeth isn't that bad. Grew up in WM, moved even further up now. I do a lot of work in Union/ Somerset Co.

I'd say stick with Milly, you have 4 parks within 20 minutes. The Muchy 3 is 45 minutes away. From E-town, Chimney Rock is a quick shot.
 
Exit 19 off rt 80 less then hour away and in the heart of the country= low rent and enough trails to keep you busy (allamuchy). If you need a new park bring the bike to work and stop off at any easily accessible parks on the way home.
 
You may want to check out some parks to figure out which ones you like before you decide.

Being on the Central/Western part of I-80 offers you a bit of everything. Allamuchy has rocks, most climbing, as well as smoothness (Stephens). Nearby Mahlon has a bit of everything. And Lewis Morris if you just want to go fast. If I was choosing just for riding purposes, that's the area I would focus on. Kind of like what MattyB is suggesting.

Up North near the NY State border, you have Waway, Jungle Habitat, Ringwood. They're all good if you like rocks. It will also give you easier access to NY State trails like Stewart and Blue Mountain.

In Central NJ, you have Allaire and 6 Mile Run which are smoother and flowy'er. Hartshorne which is smooth but also has elevation. Sourlands which has tons of rocks and worth a weekend visit. Chimney Rock which has some elevation and some rocks. Round Valley if you like to torture yourself with impossibly steep climbs.

http://www.mtbnj.com/wiki/Category:Trail_Directory
 
Rez said:
Just came down today to begin begin a 2 year project. The project is located in Elizabeth which I see has zero riding😡. So I have been doing the rental house search. Does anyone have any suggestions? I would rather drive a little farther to work and have the trails a little closer. Going to West Milford to look at a house on Thrusday(more like get a ride in and check out the location) but i believe this would be to much of a daily commute. Looking for a commute about a hour or less , my hours of work are 6am to 3/4 pm. So I think i can beat most of the morning traffic. Any help would be greatly appreicated.


Yeah I guess i am asking for alot. But why not if i can


Thanks
Click to expand...

Where did you come down from? Up north? Boonton is probably your best bet as prices will be reasonable (assuming you rent, wouldn't buy anywhere if your just here for 2 years). You are 30min from Ringwood, about 45min from Wayway (best places to ride in NJ, IMO). Can do some quickies in the Tourne, plus the road riding in the area kicks ass if you're into that.
 
I'd say Bridgewater or Morristown are your 2 best bets, with a slight lean to Morristown.

But maybe some more info on what kind of riding you like, If you don't like rocky technical stuff then maybe not.
 
Thanks for everyones advise.

I rode mahlon dickerson and Jungle habitat last week both were real nice. Poeple told me ther were lots of rocks at the Jungle and to beware. But I found most of the trail to be pretty tame. mahlon dickerson was nice but I started my ride way too late. Came back to the car in the dark during that rain storm. I have yet to run into any skinnies at either place. Is this typical?

I think West Milford is a little far for my daily commute. So I'm going to look off of I-80 as suggested.

Man I didn't realize how spoiled I have actually have been with current living arrangments.

Thanks again
 
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Here are some rock from home

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3358378946_c692fe06f8_b.jpg
 
nice pics and welcome.

at that hours you're going to be driving, you'll mostly be fine with the commute...especially if you can duck out closer to three than four. i'm off of exit 30 on route 80 then a few miles in...call it 10 minutes. the town is succasunna in roxbury twp but there is also mt. arlington and lake hopatcong right here. from here i can get to Lewis Morris, Alamuchy and Stephens/Deer Park in under 20 minutes...Kittatinny Valley and Mahlon in about 25.

rockaway and boonton would also be good as you can shoot over to the tourne really quick or if you're up for an epic you can explore wildcat ridge (in rockaway). if you want a more social scene, i'd agree with norm on the morristown recco. if you don't much care about that, take your pick. FWIW, if you're thinking this area, try to steer clear of anything up rt 15. we didn't buy up there specifically b/c of the traffic build up.

anywhere south around 78 and Chimney Rock, i'm mostly clueless.

good luck.
 
Your working hours I think give you a good advantage as far as your early start goes so you will avoid a ton of traffic and like Matty said bring your bike with you to work so you can hit places on the way home because at 4pm you will start hitting traffic on the way home. By the looks of the pictures I would think Blue mtn would be up your alley.
Welcome aboard and good luck.
 
I've had my bike in the back seat of my truck, since i have been here.

I going riding somewhere today just not sure where yet. thinking of hitting up mahlon dickerson again since I had such limited time the other day.

As for a specfic type of riding, i have none. I have houses in both RI & NH which lead to all different types of riding. One day may be flow-ie (i.e. Kingdom trials) and the next day may be lift service with the big bike.

Just love to ride!!
 
I am not sure how much green you make a year, but Bound Brook, Dunellen or Greenbrook are decent places to check out and you are not that far from Elizabeth. I work in Martinsville, and down the street from Chimney Rock. You can also look into New Brunswick, Edison or Sayerville are and you are not far from work and you are not far from 6-mile or CR for that matter.

Welcome to stinkin Joisey.
 
Thanks for the infomation and the welcome.

smufguy,



I know Jersey doesn't all look like the Elizibeth waterfront and everyone isn't like the "Situtation"

The one thing nice about my job, is the company picks up the entire living expense. (within reason).
 
Rez said:
smufguy,



I know Jersey doesn't all look like the Elizibeth waterfront and everyone isn't like the "Situtation"

The one thing nice about my job, is the company picks up the entire living expense. (within reason).
Click to expand...

Rez,
It was good to meet you yesterday. Besides Mahlon, there are a lot of places to ride in this state. Check out these links:

MTBNJ Trail Directory:
http://www.mtbnj.com/wiki/Category:Trail_Directory

JORBA (Jersey Off Road Bicycle Association):
http://www2.jorba.org/index.php?title=Our_Parks

That should give you an idea of where to locate. Generally, the north western portion of the state has most of the hills & rocks and the central/southern portion of the state is smoother singletrack with less hills.

Joe
 
Joe

Tried to send you a couple of PM's not sure if they made it.

But thank you and everyone else for the tour yesterday.

Here is the link to Millstone which i believe to be better then KT but a little smaller. Basically KT 10 years ago. You think you have rocks. go to this place. The quarries are f'ing awesome, 150' deep cool clear water to swim after riding. And the place has a built natural AC. Not kidding!!
http://www.millstonehill.com/


Also if anyone is up my way the are welcome for a tour of my backyard
http://www.nemba.org/ridingzone/arcadia.html

or (which is 10 minutes away)

http://www.rinemba.org/big-river-cleanup/



Thank again
 
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