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DC to BOS road advice plz

ridgerunner

New member
I gotta ride one way from DC area up to metro-Boston in one day next Sunday (slabbin by necessity). 95 is the most obvious choice but any parellel routes that are fast and prettier / safer would be appreciated. (For example, the Baltimore Washington Parkway looks better for that leg.) Is route 40 Baltimore to Philly any good? Tentatively planning NJ Turnpike to Garden State to 87 to Saw Mill then 684 to 84 to Mass Pike. Any advice appreciated. (Also, if by some fluke another rider is doing this route 9/12 from say noon-8, lmk, I'd love the company.) Tx!
 
I've driven (and ridden!) the DC to Maine and back loop at least once a year for the last 25 years, and the only good thing about it is that it will be over eventually. Scratch that, there is another good thing, the Blue Colony Diner on I-84 exit 10 - that is almost exactly half way between DC and Lincolnville, ME and has been the rest stop of choice for most of those drives.

Depending on where you are starting in the DC area, the BW Parkway to I-895 Baltimore Harbor Tunnel is usually the best and quickest way to way to get from DC to north of Baltimore. From there it is just a straight shot up 95 to the NJ Turnpike. During the week or when there is bad traffic I usually peel off the NJTpk to the Garden State Parkway to the Tappan Zee bridge, but when I am doing the drive as an all-nighter (far preferable - leave at 7pm, arrive at the ferry at 6am and catch a few hours of sleep...) or early on Sundays I take the GW Bridge in NYC and hit I-684 that way. From 684 it is I-84, to I-90 and Boston.

Note that you need an EZPass to do this without imploding in a fit of rage. All the toll booths from DC through NYC have thick pads of motor oil badness that have been collecting for years and must be carefully avoided, the tolls are maddeningly close to each other and the lines WILL be long (as in hot, let's see how many bars there are after the max on my RID), and the total you will pay is so frustrating that it is just easier to pop an EZPass in your tankbag and forget about waiting, forget about stopping every three miles (Hello Delaware) and most of all, forget for now how much it costs :) Oh, and buy your gas on the New Jersey Turnpike, it will be the cheapest of the trip - just don't let the attendants bully you into having them pump it, they make allowances for motorcyclists.

Now if you were leaving during the week after Labor Day and driving sun up to sun down, there is always the longer but emptier, easier, far cheaper, and way faster (as in velocity) I-81 option :)
 
95 is the most obvious choice but any parellel routes that are fast and prettier / safer would be appreciated.

Just avoid I-95 between northern NJ and New Haven, CT. Any way around is a good way around, especially on a Sunday during the day.

On the other hand, I've taken I-95 through NYC hundreds of times before dawn. At that time of day, it's usually the fastest way and when I'm slabbing it, I want it over quickly.
 
Now if you were leaving during the week after Labor Day and driving sun up to sun down, there is always the longer but emptier, easier, far cheaper, and way faster (as in velocity) I-81 option :)

just took it from nyc to winchester va a few hours ago, pretty hassle free and cheap. i'm no expert on the dc to philly portion, but if you get up near nyc on 95 and want a break, take the hutchinson to meritt parkways from nyc up to north of new haven, it'll get you off 95 and away from the trucks for a while.
 
adjusted route

thanks for all the good advice. i have decided to entirely shift west. from dulles it's 15 north through gettysburg, 81 thru harrisburg to scranton, then 84 the remainder. only adds 18 miles, and i can avoid a lott of traffic and trucks. looking wet sunday though...:brow
 
Watch the trucks on 81! At Fishkill NY stop in at the I-84 Diner for a good meal. Have fun. I always look for a secondary road that parralells the Interstate.
 
There will definitely be more trucks on I-81 but far less traffic and the average moving speeds tend to be much higher. There are also several construction projects in PA between Harrisburg and Scranton. Safe ride, the scenery is also much better on the western route :)
 
thanks for all the good advice. i have decided to entirely shift west. from dulles it's 15 north through gettysburg, 81 thru harrisburg to scranton, then 84 the remainder. only adds 18 miles, and i can avoid a lott of traffic and trucks. looking wet sunday though...:brow

Not a bad choice although Hartford will suck Sunday afternoon and the Pike will be heavy near Sturbridge.

If you can leave early enough after Hartford drop down to the Vinalla Bean in Pomfret, CT. There will be a lot of bikes (lot's of beemers too) and from there you could have some fun to Boston.

DC to RI is one of the most tatical rides in the country. No one route works every time or every time of day. The Garden State and Tappan Zee can be worse than the GW Bridge, Hartford can be a mess and Fairfield County is the new L.I.E. (long island expressway, a famous parking lot).
 
i know, but it must be done!

i know it's not great, but adding a new '02 roadster to my stable, so gotta go when the opportunity presents. (kinda thought the european motorcycle event at lars andersen would pull riders from the bean....sorry to miss it though)
 

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i know it's not great, but adding a new '02 roadster to my stable, so gotta go when the opportunity presents. (kinda thought the european motorcycle event at lars andersen would pull riders from the bean....sorry to miss it though)

I suppose you're correct as I've always gone to Larz and I'll be there again this Sunday.

Have a great ride.
 
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