Community
Community to us means our neighbors
At Sourland Cycles, we love to help bring bikes and the bike shop, into people's lives, schools, churches/synagogues and work place; literally wherever we're invited to make a difference. Below is a list of the charitable organizations we support. Its generally our customers who lead us. This is not a thorough list but its the ones we can think of now. Please let us know if we left you out!
Sourland Conservancy Lawrence Hopewell Trail Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space
D&R Greenway New Jersey Conservation Foundation Trenton Kappa Foundation
People For Bikes Trenton Bike Exchange Mercer County Boys and Girls Club
Rails to Trails League of American Cyclists Girls In Gear
Tikvah Synagogue Hopewell Library South Brunswick Education Foundation
GMTMA Hopewell Elementary, High School PTOs Woodfern Elementary PTO
Sunnymead PTO Franklin Food Bank Ride FJCC Farmlands Ride
Mercer County Juneteenth Ride
Sourland Mountains and other lovely rural cycling areas in our area
Community also means where we ride. We are fortunate to live in one of the best road biking areas in the US... seriously. These include the Sourland “Mountains”, the area just east of the Delaware River between Route 78 and Trenton, and the flat area east of Allentown, NJ.
If you would like to enjoy some of these great rides, and get to know Rural NJ better, we suggest you purchase “Rural New Jersey by Bicycle Volume 1” by Thornton Holmes that was originally published in 1999 and just updated in 2016. This book of extremely well defined and lovely quiet bikes rides can be purchased here.
For Mountain Biking there are lots of options as well. We even have short trails near the shop for test rides.
Please support MTBNJ and JORBA, because trails just don’t build themselves. It takes people, time, tools, responsibility, respect and good will toward all park users.
Nearby we have BaldPate County Park, Sourland Mountain, Six-Mile Run, Mercer County Park, Mercer Meadows for beginners, Allaire State park, Clayton Park, the Water Company, and more. And in Pennsylvania, Core Creek and Nokamixon are close.
See for yourself.
Where to Ride
Road Ride Suggestions
This one goes up Goat Hill and down to Lambertville. Then climbs up to the High School and circles back to Hopewell: 31 miles and 2100 feet of climbing – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36014036
Here's a shorter one, 21 miles and about 800 feet of climbing, that goes through a bunch of the LHT in Lawrence Township. Good for those that want to minimize vehicle exposure – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/36710110
Hopewell to Goat Hill Loop. 32.4 miles, 1646 feet elevation – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41298671
Hopewell to Sergeantsville General Store. 34 miles, 2071 feet elevation – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41419052
Hopewell River Run (Bridges Tour) 38 miles, 2114 feet elevation – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41419178
Hopewell to Factory Fuel Coffee Shop, Flemington. 42 miles, 2167 feet elevation – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/38981588
Hopewell to Sweet Melissa’s (Best French Bakeshop in NJ) 56.6 miles, 3315 feet elevation – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41419149
Includes Hollow Road and Rainbow Hill. 29 miles and almost 2k of climbing – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37254375
This one includes the Poor Farm climb and a bit of Pleasant Valley Road, 26 miles and 1300 feet of climbing – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37078474
This flat-ish ride goes up to Mt Rose and through Nelson Ridge then through some flat riding in Montgomery Township. 28 miles and 1200 feet of climbing – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/37013856
Spectacular 62.8 mile 3,776 climbing – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/40334672
Spectacular 35.3 mile 2,076 climbing – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/40334199
Spectacular 26.9 mile 1,685 climbing – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/40333102
17 miles/1073 feet elevation - Getting started in the mountains, welcome to Lindbergh, some up and down.https://ridewithgps.com/routes/41289330
21 miles/1261 feet elevation - Right from the shop up Hollow, Ridge, Saddle Shop, Crusher Loop – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35748201
25 miles/1400 feet elevation - A few loops - Left from the shop up Lou Ellen/Stony Brook - Saddle Shop/Wertsville/Rileyville - down via Hollow - an extra loop through the burbs off Province Line to add/decrease mileage. – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/40512760
25 miles/1323 elevation - Tour of Skillman - right from the shop out towards Skillman, Cherry Valley, Burnt Hill Rd, cut through Skillman park, and back via Hollow - pass the shop and do the Crusher loop add-on – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/40844198
The Rapha Women’s 100 (km) – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28590966
Kerri’s 50-mile Birthday Ride – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28597124
A road ride with some gravel pieces thrown in; 40-mile Gravel course #1 – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/28935298
27.2 miles, 1767 feet of elevation gain, keeps us close to the shop – https://ridewithgps.com/trips/27202569
50.5 miles, 3301 feet of elevation gain – https://ridewithgps.com/trips/22833447
30 miles, 2139 feet of elevation gain – https://ridewithgps.com/trips/20208848
24 miles, 1653 feet of elevation gain – https://ridewithgps.com/trips/16831497
34.7 miles, 2548 feet of elevation gain – https://ridewithgps.com/trips/20929221
Round Valley Reservoir and back, 60 miles – https://ridewithgps.com/routes/29966160
Mountain Biking
For more Mountain biking ideas, locations and details, go to:
http://www.mtbnj.com/wiki/Category:Trail_Directory , https://www.trailforks.com/ and JORBA
Join One of Our Ride Groups
We have two women's ride groups typically leaving Wednesday night and Friday morning from the shop. And a beginners-intermediate ride group generally on Tuesday and Friday at lunch time. Call the store or send us an email to get on the list. Rides days will vary depending on the forecast and the season and available daylight.
Join One of Our Women's Ride Groups
We have two women's ride groups typically leaving Wednesday night and Friday morning from the shop. And a beginners-intermediate ride group generally on Tuesday and Friday at lunch time. Call the store or send us an email to get on the list. Rides days will vary depending on the forecast and the season and available daylight.
Lawrence – Hopewell Trail
This multi-use trail is a nearly completed 22-mile loop going from the D&R Canal through BMS-Princeton Pike, Lawrenceville, up through Mercer Meadows County Park. into Pennington and then toward the Stony Brook Watershed, and over toward Carter Road. Here there is an incomplete segment. The section from Pretty Brook, Province Line ETS, Carson Rd Woods, BMS Lawrenceville to Maiden Head Meadows park.
The trail map and parking and access points can be viewed here.
Delaware + Raritan Canal State Park Towpath - Frenchtown to Trenton
The section of the towpath was used by horses that pulled coal barges from Pennsylvania to New York City for over 100 years in the 19th and first third of the 20th century. Today it is a major bike trail over 26 miles long. This part of the trail is parallel to the Delaware River and can be easily found and accessed in Lambertville, Stockton and Frenchtown. Significantly there is also a trail on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware River which permits you to cycle up the river on the NJ side and return on the Pa side. You can cross the River at Stockton, Bull’s Island, Frenchtown and Lambertville.
The trail map can be viewed here.
Delaware + Raritan Canal State Towpath - Trenton to New Brunswick
This section of the D+R Bike Trail is about 30 miles long and can be easily accessed in Princeton where the trail crosses Alexander Road about 1/3 mile west of Route 1. Going north from Princeton takes the cyclist to New Brunswick. Going south from Princeton ends in Trenton. It is possible to connect to the Lawrenceville Hopewell Trail on this section of the D+R Towpath.
It is also possible to connect the sections of the D+R trail on each side of Trenton. However, there is no bike trail through Trenton.
A complete map of the D+R Towpath can be viewed here.
Local Bike Clubs
Princeton FreeWheelers and other bike clubs
The PFW Bike Club is a very active club with over 600 members and dozens of volunteer lead bike rides each month. The Club produces a monthly newsletter showing all the A, B and C rides. (If you are not sure of your relative level of fitness we suggest you start with the C rides.) To join a ride all you need do is to show up at the designated start point at the designated start time. The rides are listed in the monthly newsletter. All rides end where they began.
Other clubs include: Western Jersey Wheelmen and Central Jersey Bicycle Club.
More information about the Princeton Free Wheelers can be viewed here.
Bike Donation
Donate Your Used Bike To The Trenton Bike Exchange
Your donation supports the most effective charity in Trenton. Founded by Russ White.
More than ten years ago Russ White founded the Trenton Bike Exchange, an all volunteer group that collects, refurbishes and sells unused bikes. All proceeds go to the Trenton Boys and Girls Club. In six years, they have collected and sold over 20,000 bikes to needy families, and in the process raised $1 million for the Trenton Boys and Girls Club. Kids at the club have a 99% high school graduation rate, while the rest of Trenton is considerably lower.
Drop off at Sourland Cycles any bikes you no longer use and we will take it to the Trenton Boys & Girls Club Bike Exchange. The Bike Exchange will put the bike(s) in good shape and find a home for it. More information is at www.BikeExchangeNJ.org
Get the Gear You Need
Shop for the perfect bike before your next ride. We’re here to answer all of your cycling related questions.
