I'm considering a motorcycle road trip and am looking for alternative
routes from Washington DC to Manhattan that involve as little traffic
and as few tolls as possible.  Are there routes from Washington DC to
Manhattan that don't involve tolls or major freeways?  If so, which
seem to be the fastest?  The most scenic?  Thanks a lot.

---

Request for Question Clarification by byrd-ga on 14 Oct 2003 14:30 PDT

Hi Withers,

As a biker myself (back half of a 2-up team) who loves touring, I was
intrigued with your question, and have spent some time looking around
to see what I might find for you.

I posted your query on several biker forums I belong to, but so far
have received no reply, well, if you don’t count the derisive
laughter.  :-)   I also asked a friend who hails from that part of the
country and received a few good suggestions from him.

But I need a little more direction from you before proceeding.  First,
it appears you can have either fast, or you can have low traffic and
scenic, but you’re not likely to able to have them all in one trip. 
The fastest route between D.C. and Manhattan is just under four hours,
and as you seem to know, involves both tolls and freeways and very
little in the way of nice scenery.   My friend’s suggestions seem to
have some promise of nice scenery and low traffic, but would certainly
add a great deal of time to your trip, doubling it at least, very
likely tripling it or more.

So then, here’s what I’d like to know.
1)How much time are you willing to allow for the trip?
2)Are you familiar with the area yourself and/or have any intermediate
destinations in mind?
3)What make/model of bike do you ride?
4)What exactly do you expect by way of an answer?  The reason I ask
this is because actually planning the route for you and presenting you
with a finished and detailed itinerary would likely require more time
and effort than the price of this question would normally allow –
unless of course, one of our Researchers already has a finished
itinerary ready to go!

But if not, what I could do instead is provide you with guidance on a
general  route, with some intermediate waypoints, and include links to
a trip planning site(s), where you could then input the details
yourself to generate your own itinerary.  I could also give you links
to riding clubs in either the D.C. or NYC area (or both), which you
could contact on your own for some local info and/or advice regarding
specific roads.

Please let me know whether/how you’d like me to proceed.  In the
meantime, I’ll be glad to leave the question open, in case another
Researcher more familiar with the area might have some suggestions or
an answer for you.

Best regards, 
Byrd

---

Request for Question Clarification by byrd-ga on 14 Oct 2003 14:53 PDT

I have just received two replies to earlier queries.  Both include
itineraries of two different suggested bike routes between D.C. and
Manhattan.  One is 4-5 hours, the other nearly 7.  Both include
highways, but no tollways as far as I can tell.  If these would
suffice as an answer in lieu of or in addition to the above, please
let me know and I'll be glad to post them.

--Byrd

---

Clarification of Question by withers-ga on 15 Oct 2003 10:19 PDT

Byrd,

Thanks for all the effort you've put into this question.  It's
appreciated.  To answer your questions,

1. Time is VERY flexible.  I'm most interested in a fun and relaxing
ride.  But, the fastest route would also be great for the return trip.

2. I currently live in DC and have made the trip in a car a few times.
 Want to avoid I-95 and the NJ Turnpike as much as possible.

3. I ride a Kawasaki Vulcan 1500 Mean Streak.  I know it's a Japanese
cruiser, but I love it.

4. I don't expect a lot of detail.  A general route with a few highway
numbers and points of interest would be great.  Or, the links to the
travel planning sites and DC riding clubs that you mentioned.  I would
also be very interested in the two replies you received from your
personal inquiries.  Certainly, if you provided all of this, it would
be more than adequate.

Thanks again,

withers

Hi Withers,

Ok, great!  Thanks for the clarification.  That helps a lot. 

To begin with, the fastest time between these two cities (that I've
been able to find, based on posted speed limits and available
routes)is 3 hours 50 minutes.  The reason I asked you about make/model
was because H-D has a nice easy-to-use ride planner on its member-only
site and I thought I’d steer you there if you could use it.  But hey –
a Vulcan’s a nice ride, no apologies needed.  :-) And no matter, you
can get the same result with Mapquest’s Trip Planner.  I know because
I checked and they both come up with the same roads and the same time.

Here’s the link to Mapquest’s Planner: http://www.mapquest.com/rtp/
and a link to the results on your trip: 
http://www.mapquest.com/rtp/routeoverview.adp?rtpid=3f8d949d%2d0008e%2d071d5%2dcdbcf366

Of course, that takes you exactly where you don’t want to go, i.e.
I-95 and the NJ Turnpike, so then here are the actual route
suggestions I received in reply to my query, which may provide you
with some alternatives to those.  The first is from someone who
regularly travels this route in connection with his job.  The second
is a clarification and/or adjustment to the first, also from someone
familiar with the area:

================================================================================

1) “270 North to 70North
   70 North to 81 North toward Carlisle / Harrisburg
   81 North to Rt 78 EAST
   78 East to exit #59 to US Hiway 1&9 NORTH
   US Hwy 1&9 North to (Becomes) Pulaski Skyway (North East)

Pulaski takes you through Jersey City and to the Holland Tunnel**(See
below for an alternate to this)

Go through Holland Tunnel and take Avenue of the Americas NORTH Avenue
of the Americas North will take you right through Manhattan and to
Central Park (tell em to get a Map and see where they want to go)
Broadway goes South, Avenue of the Americas (6th ave) goes NORTH

Now, if they are touring, as soon as they get out of Holland Tunnel,
Greenwich Village is just north of the tube.  Canal Street South will
take you to the Brooklyn Bridge (Great Photo OPP)  It IS mostly
highway, but easy highway until New Jersey. From There well, you are
on your own.”

================================================================================

2) “’78 East to exit #59 to US Hiway 1&9 NORTH US Hwy 1&9 North to
(Becomes)   Pulaski Skyway (North East) Pulaski takes you through
Jersey City and to the Holland Tunnel’
  
This area is terrible, also depends when you are going through here..
This is right by the Airport. A MESS. Tons of construction etc..

It may be better to get on the Garden State Parkway, (Much better than
the NJ-Tpke) and take it north, to Rt-3 then go east right into the
city, via Lincoln or Holland tunnels, are both accessible from Rt-3.

Also you can take 78 all the way into the NJ-TPKE extension, and it
will send you right into the Holland Tunnel.”

================================================================================

The other route I was thinking of, that was closer to 7 hours, was an
email, but it wasn’t in reply to an inquiry, but rather the result of
my inputting your info into yet another trip planner.  I got mixed up
about which was which.  Nevertheless, this is still a pretty good
route as it does avoid tollways and tries to include some scenic
roads.  If you’d like to play around with it yourself with some
intermediate stops, the url is http://www.freetrip.com  Here’s what I
got on your main route:

0 	0:00 	Starting at: US 1 & US 1 14th St 	311 	6:46 
		Start North on US 1 US 50 Const.Avfor 0.5mi 		
1 	0:02 	Junction With US 1 US 50 6th St 	310 	6:44 
		Cont. North on US 1 US 50 6th St for 0.8mi 		
		Turn East on US 50 New York Av for 5mi 		
		Cont. East on US 50 for 0.5mi 		
6 	0:11 	Entering Maryland (max speed limit 65 mph) 	305 	6:35 
6 	0:11 	Junction With Rt 295 Balt-Wash Pkwy 	305 	6:35 
		Turn North on Rt 295 Balt-Wash Pkwy for 24mi 		
27 	0:32 	Approaching Vicinity of Baltimore MD 	284 	6:14 
30 	0:35 	Junction With I-195 	281 	6:11 
		Turn West on I-195 for 2.6mi 		
33 	0:38 	Junction With I-95 	278 	6:08 
		Turn North on I-95 for 2mi 		
35 	0:40 	Junction With I-695 	276 	6:06 
		Turn West on I-695 for 17mi 		
52 	0:58 	Junction With I-83 	259 	5:48 
		Turn North on I-83 for 13mi 		
65 	1:11 	Junction With Rt 138 	246 	5:35 
		Turn East on Rt 138 for 9mi 		
74 	1:24 	Junction With Rt 23 	237 	5:22 
		Turn West on Rt 23 for 5mi 		
79 	1:31 	Junction With Rt 136 	232 	5:15 
		Turn East on Rt 136 for 19mi 		
98 	2:03 	Junction With US 1 	213 	4:43 
		Turn North on US 1 for 11mi 		
109 	2:19 	Junction With Rt 273 	202 	4:27 
		Turn East on Rt 273 for 12mi 		
121 	2:40    Junction With Rt 213 	190 	4:06 
		Turn South on Rt 213 for 7mi 		
128 	2:51 	Junction With Rt 279 	183 	3:55 
		Turn East on Rt 279 for 4mi 		
132 	2:56 	Junction With Rt 2 	179 	3:50 
		Cont. East on Rt 2 for 1.1mi 		
132 	2:56 	Entering Delaware (max speed limit 55 mph) 	179 	3:50 
133 	2:57 	Junction With Rt 2b 	178 	3:49 
		Turn North on Rt 2b for 2.1mi 		
135 	3:00 	Junction With Rt 273 	176 	3:46 
		Turn East on Rt 273 for 8mi 		
141 	3:08 	Approaching Vicinity of Wilmington DE 	170 	3:38 
143 	3:12 	Junction With US 13 	168 	3:34 
		Turn North on US 13 for 2.6mi 		
146 	3:17 	Junction With I-295 	165 	3:29 
		Turn East on I-295 for 1mi 		
		Cont. East on I-295 Del Meml Br for 4mi 		
150 	3:22 	Entering New Jersey (max speed limit 65 mph) 	161 	3:24 
		Turn North on I-295 for 39mi 		
190 	4:01 	Junction With Rt 38 	121 	2:45 
		Turn East on Rt 38 for 6mi 		
195 	4:09 	Junction With Rt 541 	116 	2:37 
		Turn South on Rt 541 for 6mi 		
201 	4:18 	Junction With Rt 70 	110 	2:28 
		Turn East on Rt 70 for 22mi 		
223 	4:50 	Junction With Rt 539 	88 	1:56 
		Turn North on Rt 539 for 21mi 		
245 	5:26 	Junction With I-195 	66 	1:20 
		Turn West on I-195 for 3mi 		
247 	5:28 	Approaching Vicinity of Trenton NJ 	64 	1:18 
248 	5:29 	Junction With US 130 	63 	1:17 
		Turn North on US 130 for 24mi 		
272 	5:59 	Junction With US 1 	39 	0:47 
		Cont. North on US 1 for 18mi 		
290 	6:21 	Junction With I-278 	21 	0:25 
		Turn East on I-278 for 1.3mi 		
		Turn West on I-278 Goethals Br$ for 1.3mi 		
291 	6:23 	Approaching Vicinity of New York NY 	20 	0:23 
291 	6:23 	Entering New York (max speed limit 65 mph) 	20 	0:23 
		Turn East on I-278 Staten Isl Exwy for 7mi 		
		Cont. East on I-278 Verrazano Br for 1.7mi 		
		Cont. East on I-278 Gowanus Exwy for 6mi 		
		Cont. East on I-278 Brook-Queen Exwyfor 3mi 		
309 	6:40 	Approaching Manhattan Brg 	2 	0:06 
310 	6:42 	Junction With Bowery 	1 	0:04 
		Turn North on Bowery for 0.8mi 		
311 	6:44 	Junction With 3rd Av 	0 	0:02 
		Cont. North on 3rd Av for 0.6mi 		
311 	6:46 	Ending at: 3rd Av & 14th St 	0       0:00
		
This does include a few short segments of I-95 (less than 10 miles
worth) to deal with, but that might not be too bad.

================================================================================

Now my other friend who knows the area suggested that if you didn’t
mind staying away from the coast, you could head west through MD, go
on up through Central PA (or at least stay west of Philly), cross over
to northern NJ, and on into the city from there.  He had an uncle who
had a farm in northern NJ, and says that, despite the state's
unfortunate reputation, the northern part is really quite beautiful. 
Of course, the scenic part will end when the city begins, but this
would give you a very nice ride through some rural, hilly areas,
likely to be especially pretty this time of year with the leaves
changing and all.

Try plotting a route along the Potomac to the west of the D.C. area,
then up through say, Germantown, MD to Mt. Airy to Manchester on up to
Pennsylvania.  From there you could head to York, Lancaster, Reading
or Pottstown, thence either straight east or on up to Allentown and
over into New Jersey.  From there you could either take I-78 straight
into NYC, or go via back roads like 57-517-24(510), and pick up a
freeway whenever the stoplights started multiplying too fast.

================================================================================

In addition to the links above, here are a few other online trip
planning sites you might want to try:

Plan-Your-Trip:
http://www.plan-your-trip.com/ 

RV Trip Planner:
http://www.rv.com/ 
 
Rand McNally Trip Planner:
http://www.randmcnally.com/rmc/road/rtgHome.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1240491622.1066248193@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccccadcjilkdedlcgencfhjdfiidfjk.0&cmty=0

================================================================================

Here are a few clubs you might consider contacting for further advice
and some possible local info.  (Another reason I needed to know what
you rode was so I didn’t steer you to some inappropriate
Particular-Model-Only club.)

Vulcan Riders and Owners Club (VROC):
http://www.vroc.org/dbva/index.html    Vulcan Riders
Association:http://www.vulcanriders.org/
Kawasaki Owners Club: http://pub143.ezboard.com/bkawasakiownersclub
South Central Pennsylvania Vulcan Riders Association:
http://www.scpavra.com/

Southern Cruisers (open club) – NYC: 
http://www.scrcnyc.org/index1.html

Southern Cruisers (open club)  – Long Island:
http://www.southerncruisersofli.org/index-old.html

Roadrunners MC – Philadelphia (family oriented, all bikes welcome):
http://members.aol.com/rrunnermc/CLUBPAGE.html

Herd of Turtles MC - Philadelphia:
http://pjgillam.tripod.com/herd_of_turtles.htm

Buffalo Soldiers MC of Maryland (black club – but I’m sure it wouldn’t
matter if you were black or not just to ask a question): 
http://buffalosoldiers-md.com/

Don’t know why, but I had a hard time finding general-purpose all-bike
clubs in the D.C. area.  Maybe they just don't have an online presence
yet.  I'd suggest getting in touch with a local Japanese bike dealer
and see if they know of any.  But I did find a few gay-only MC clubs. 
Whether or not you share that persuasion, they might nevertheless be
willing to share ride/road info with you if you email them with an
inquiry.  Couldn’t hurt to ask.

Potomac MC: http://www.dcpride.org/potomacmc/

Spartan MC: http://www.dcpride.org/SpartanMC/index.html 

Here’s a BMW club in D.C. Again, if you asked, I’d bet they’d be happy
to pass along some advice: http://www.bmwbmw.org/

================================================================================

Thank you for the opportunity to research this interesting question. 
I've really enjoyed it.  Please do use the “Request Clarification”
feature to ask if you don’t understand anything before rating and
closing the question, so I can be sure you have what you need.  Best
of luck, and I hope you have a great trip!

Regards,   
Byrd

Search strategy:

I used a lot of personal bookmarks for trip planning and club listing
sites.

In addition, I used the following search terms:
free online road trip planning OR “trip planner” 
“washington dc” motorcycle clubs OR associations
“washington dc” kawasaki motorcycle clubs OR associations             
        kawasaki japanese motorcycle clubs "washington d.c." OR
"washington DC"

Queries were posted on http://www.harleydavidsonforum.com  This is a
national forum and you have to register, but it’s free, and you do NOT
have to own a H-D motorcycle to join it.  They have topics dedicated
to Japanese cruisers and touring bikes as well as H-D and, because
they are national, you can frequently get a lot of good info here.

I also used the Rand McNally United States Road Atlas to check on
roads and possible routes.

---

Clarification of Answer by byrd-ga on 15 Oct 2003 13:38 PDT

Hi Withers,

I'm so sorry, it appears the formatting on the detailed itinerary got
messed up, so I'm going to try to repost it here (without the
minute/mile marks) in hopes that it will be easier to follow:

HIGHWAY DISTANCE: 234 CITY DISTANCE: 77     
                    
Starting at: US 1 & US 1 14th St
Start North on US 1 US 50 Const.Avfor 0.5mi                     
Junction With US 1 US 50 6th St Cont.
Turn East on US 50 New York Av for 5miCont. 
Cont East on US 50 for 0.5mi
Entering Maryland (max speed limit 65 mph)
Junction With Rt 295 Balt-Wash Pkwy
Turn North on Rt 295 Balt-Wash Pkwy for 24mi
Approaching Vicinity of Baltimore MD
Junction With I-195  
Turn West on I-195 for 2.6mi                                    
Junction With I-95
Turn North on I-95 for 2mi                                      
Junction With I-695
Turn West on I-695 for 17mi                                     
Junction With I-83
Turn North on I-83 for 13mi                                     
Junction With Rt 138
Turn East on Rt 138 for 9mi                                     
Junction With Rt 23 
Turn West on Rt 23 for 5mi                                      
Junction With Rt 136
Turn East on Rt 136 for 19mi                                    
Junction With US 1
Turn North on US 1 for 11mi                                     
Junction With Rt 273
Turn East on Rt 273 for 12mi                                    
Junction With Rt 213
Turn South on Rt 213 for 7mi                                    
Junction With Rt 279
Turn East on Rt 279 for 4mi                                     
Junction With Rt 2 
Cont. East on Rt 2 for 1.1mi                                    
Entering Delaware (max speed limit 55 mph)
Junction With Rt 2b 
Turn North on Rt 2b for 2.1mi
Junction With Rt 273
Turn East on Rt 273 for 8mi
Approaching Vicinity of Wilmington DE
Junction With US 13
Turn North on US 13 for 2.6mi
Junction With I-295
Turn East on I-295 for 1mi                                      
Cont. East on I-295 Del Meml Br for 4mi
Entering New Jersey (max speed limit 65 mph)
Turn North on I-295 for 39mi
Junction With Rt 38
Turn East on Rt 38 for 6mi
Junction With Rt 541 
Turn South on Rt 541 for 6mi  
Junction With Rt 70
Turn East on Rt 70 for 22mi
Junction With Rt 539 
Turn North on Rt 539 for 21mi 
Junction With I-195
Turn West on I-195 for 3mi
Approaching Vicinity of Trenton NJ 
Junction With US 130 
Turn North on US 130 for 24mi
Junction With US 1 
Cont. North on US 1 for 18mi
Junction With I-278 
Turn East on I-278 for 1.3mi
Turn West on I-278 Goethals Br$ for 1.3mi 
Approaching Vicinity of New York NY
Entering New York (max speed limit 65 mph) 
Turn East on I-278 Staten Isl Exwy for 7mi
Cont. East on I-278 Verrazano Br for 1.7mi 
Cont. East on I-278 Brook-Queen Exwyfor 3mi
Approaching Manhattan Brg
Junction With Bowery
Turn North on Bowery for 0.8mi                                  
Junction With 3rd Av
Cont. North on 3rd Av for 0.6mi 
Ending at: 3rd Av & 14th St

---

Clarification of Answer by byrd-ga on 16 Oct 2003 09:03 PDT

Hi Withers,

Here are two additional replies I've received to my query regarding
your planned ride:

================================================================================

"Went to Manhattan in September, arrived on a Saturday, two hour wait
to get through the Holland Tunnel. Great if you like a hot motorcycle.
Have fun. Manhattan is easier to get around then most cities, watch
out for potholes."

================================================================================

"Instead of crossing through Jersey, continue up 81 to 84 then take
that to NYS thruway and come down that way. a little stress thru that
metro area but you are not going to avoid it. The traffic and
conjestion in the tri-state region in unbearable. but you would get to
see the pocono's and part of the catskills as least."

================================================================================

Cheers,
Byrd

Fantastic.  More than I expected.  With this info, I should be able to
plan a pretty good trip.  Thanks,

Withers

Hi Withers,

I'm so happy you were pleased with the information.  Thank you very
much for the five-star rating and very generous tip. They are most
appreciated. It was a pleasure working on this question.  Happy riding
and keep the shiny side up!

Cheers,
Byrd