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[vdeane]

(re-posted from the TM Forum)

I don't normally post updates here, especially for daytrips, but this one is special.  Today I took a clinching trip to southwestern Chautauqua County from my parents house, despite the weather.  I went up I-390 north, looped over NY 390 to exit 22, south to exit 19, north again to exit 21, and south again to exit 19 to fully experience the new southbound configuration of the 390/490 interchange.  After that, I took I-490 west to the Thruway and headed west, my first time out west since the AET project was recently completed (for Ripley, the first time since it started, even!).  I got off at exit 61 and took Shortman Road and US 20 to NY 76 (clinching a reference route in the process, since I already had it north of there).  This is where I was certainly not impressed with Region 5's plowing effort, and was dealing with snow-covered roads for the next couple hours.  I took NY 76 south, NY 474 east, looped NY 426 to the PA border, looped NY 474 to the PA border, and took NY 426 north.  The entire time I was averaging 30-40 mph, sometimes down to 20 or below, trying to avoid skids (mostly but not always successfully, though I only had one of significance, fortunately with nobody else around).  From Findley lake, I looped NY 426 to it's other end at the PA border (in many ways, it's really a PA route that happens to dip though NY long enough to change shields, much like NY 440 in the other side of the state).  I then looped NY 430 to the PA border, and noticed that it seems like PennDOT was doing a better job of plowing than NYSDOT!  Interesting.  I took NY 430 east, and around Mayville (at noon) the snow on the road finally melted and I was able to drive normally again.  It sure felt like I was making good time at 55 after so long on snow-covered roads!  I looped Fluvanna Avenue (former NY 430, before a recent re-route) and completed NY 430, taking NY 394 east.  I stopped at the Wegmans east of Jamestown for a quick lunch and also finished my Christmas shopping nearby as well.  I took a slight detour to loop the remainder of NY 474, noting how much better it was from just a few hours ago (and noticing the reference markers all said "74"; it must have been renumbered around the same time NY 73 was split into NY 73 and NY 74; on NY 394, they all said "17" or "17J").  After that, I resumed taking NY 394 west and hopped back on the Thruway to Rochester.

Now, what makes this one special?  Well, not only did I finish Chautauqua County or Region 5, this also finished off the TM-clinchable routes in NY for me, making me the third TM user to finish it (right now TM is only showing one person with NY done, but I'm sure the other is only showing as less than 100% due to changes that happened after he entered all his data for NY).  That said, there are a few notes on some routes that may make finishing it debatable, depending on one's clinching standards:
-US 11: This is by far the most egregious note.  I haven't actually crossed the Canadian border here.  I've gone as far as is possible without going through customs and then turned around, which unfortunately is US 2.  This isn't the only route I've turned around before the border on, but the others have customs closer to the border and have better sight lines.  I have at least virtual clinched it with the real-time roadwaywiz video, but when or if I'll be able to clinch it properly is unknown.  IIRC, at least one other person has claimed US 11 in NY clinched prior to crossing there properly, so it's not completely unprecedented.
-NY 9A: Going by signage, there's technically a short piece between Battery Park and where FDR Drive comes in.  It's not inventoried as part of NY 9A, so I'm currently counting it as clinched under "one point per interchange".  What TM will ultimately do about this is unknown; claiming a sight clinch is hard there as I was going NB when I clinched it, rather than SB.  Might need to find an excuse to go back, depending on how TM handles it.  Might need to anyways, if the group trying to remove FDR Drive gets their way.
-Long Island Parkways: I treated a couple of these parkways similar to border crossings.  In both cases, I've driven at least part of the segment (given the way TM sets points and the interchange configurations) and had a sight clinch to the booths.  Then there's Sunken Meadow State Parkway, which is inventoried as ending at the booths (in fact, the road in the park isn't inventoried as a public road at all, unlike the Bay Parkway, where the remainder acts as a local extension of the reference route); signage is ambiguous as to what actually occurs.  I've never been on the road in the park here, but fortunately, it doesn't appear likely that TM will re-extend the route to include it.
-NY 206: Technically, the route goes to the WB ramps, while I've only used the EB ramps here.  TM has it one point per interchange, and I've probably at least sight clinched the rest.
-NY 232: Similar to NY 206, it technically goes to the NB ramps; the road to the SB ramps is a reference route.  TM has it one point per interchange.  I think I might have looped this portion (I used the SB ramps when clinching it, I'm pretty sure), but I don't recall for certain.

[1995hoo]

Not sure it counts as a "road trip," but I note it here because a particular member of this forum insists that nobody rides the Acela and nobody commutes between New York and DC. I will be commuting from DC to New York for part of this week via the combination of the Acela and the 7th Avenue IRT. (While I could drive, it doesn't make any sense to do so because the Acela takes 2 hours 50 minutes to make the trip and I can get home in time to watch the hockey game on TV on Wednesday night, which I could not do by car.)

[NWI_Irish96]

nobody commutes between New York and DC.

I can't imagine that the number of people commuting DAILY between NY and DC is any more than a handful, but the Acela is certainly used by many people who have to take occasional work trips between the two cities. During the year I lived near DC, I used Acela once for a work trip to NY and once for a leisure trip.

[hbelkins]

Not sure it counts as a "road trip," but I note it here because a particular member of this forum insists that nobody rides the Acela and nobody commutes between New York and DC. I will be commuting from DC to New York for part of this week via the combination of the Acela and the 7th Avenue IRT. (While I could drive, it doesn't make any sense to do so because the Acela takes 2 hours 50 minutes to make the trip and I can get home in time to watch the hockey game on TV on Wednesday night, which I could not do by car.)

I wouldn't want to commute by mass transit for any period of time, because the convenience of having your own vehicle and being able to follow your own schedule is very important to me, but at the same time, I cannot imagine trying to commute via private auto between NYC and DC because of the congestion.

[mrsman]

Not sure it counts as a "road trip," but I note it here because a particular member of this forum insists that nobody rides the Acela and nobody commutes between New York and DC. I will be commuting from DC to New York for part of this week via the combination of the Acela and the 7th Avenue IRT. (While I could drive, it doesn't make any sense to do so because the Acela takes 2 hours 50 minutes to make the trip and I can get home in time to watch the hockey game on TV on Wednesday night, which I could not do by car.)

I wouldn't want to commute by mass transit for any period of time, because the convenience of having your own vehicle and being able to follow your own schedule is very important to me, but at the same time, I cannot imagine trying to commute via private auto between NYC and DC because of the congestion.

DC to NYC as a daily thing is quite rare.  As a short term thing (less than six months), you definitely hear of people doing it like 1995hoo.  But if it's long term, one is more likely to move  to the other city.

Another issue, of course, is the expense.  If you earn a lot at your job, or your employer is covering travel costs, then it may make sense to be a supercommuter on the Northeast Corridor Amtrak train.  Pres. Biden did it as a senator, commuting regularly from Wilmington to DC.

More personally, I studied for a master's degree at NYU in a very specified field.  Many who attend the program are working professionals.  If you are a full time student, you can get the degree in one year, but for those who are part-time students with full-time jobs, it is more typical to do the program in 3 years.  Anyway, while I was living in Queens to attend the program, I met two students who were super-commuters.  One was a part-time student who commuted by Amtrak from Philadelphia. If they used the Acela, the commute would only be slightly more than an hour, which was about the same time as my shorter commute that consisted of buses and subways.

Another was a full-time student who commuted from Lawrence, MA.  Her commute was unbelievable, as she drove from Lawrence, MA to New Haven, then took the Metro-North Railroad to Grand Central and then walked a few blocks to the 6th Ave subway and took the B/D trains to W4th.   In her case, she was a single mother whose family lived in Lawrence and simply could not afford to move to NYC.  Her family took care of her kids while she took classes and commuted twice a week and kept a part-time job in Lawrence the other days of the week.  Later, I found out that the commute was so grueling so she was able to stay with a friend during the week in the city and stayed home on the days she did not have class. Well, at least she got her degree in a year and no longer had to do that commute.

[1995hoo]

I can certainly see why Sen. Biden commuted this way (I’m on the Acela now). It’s only 80 minutes between DC and Wilmington. I know people who drive more than 80 minutes each way every day.

Doing this every day to NYP would get tiresome very quickly, of course. I did have a former boss who was making three roundtrips between WAS and NYP every week for a year or so. I wonder how many Amtrak Guest Rewards points that netted her.

[andrepoiy]

I will most likely be embarking on a short road trip to Ottawa next week, taking the more scenic Highway 7. This will allow me to clinch a large part of it.

Then I will be heading to Cornwall ON, allowing a Highway 138 clinch.

Finally going back I take the 401, however, I did plan on going on the US side till Kingston (get some mileage on NY 37) but I was going to get a beer haul in Gatineau so nevermind that

[1995hoo]

I can certainly see why Sen. Biden commuted this way (I’m on the Acela now). It’s only 80 minutes between DC and Wilmington. I know people who drive more than 80 minutes each way every day.

Doing this every day to NYP would get tiresome very quickly, of course. I did have a former boss who was making three roundtrips between WAS and NYP every week for a year or so. I wonder how many Amtrak Guest Rewards points that netted her.

I was very pleased to be on the Acela last night: The Northeast Regional I might have taken instead was running an hour late.

Tell you what, though–while it's fine to do the trip for a couple of days, it's nice when it's over and you can get up at the normal time in the morning instead of having to set the alarm two hours early to get to Union Station.