Biking the New Jersey & New England Shore roads



A

Anono

Guest
Has anyone riden up from Rehobath, taking the ferry and then
up the NJ shore roads?

Two of us are thinking about going up to boston on bike,
staying as close as possible to the shore. Anythoughts on
riding conditions in NJ? Has anybody used a Yak carrier
trailer - does it REALLY slow you down. Is it stable in
braking situations? Any advice on camping near the ocean?
 
I can't tell you anything about the NJ portion of your trip,
but I have ridden the Connecticut coast from Bridgeport to
Providence, Rhode Island.

The CT coast is one of my favorite rides, but not because
there are that many shoreline views - or even places to stop
by the water, for that matter.

Anyway, your trip to Boston would be pretty far inland,
unless you go all the way east, through Providence. That's
adding a lot of miles to the trip, and I don't think you're
going to find any camping anywhere, unless you're OK with
sneaking onto one of the few small beaches you'll encounter.

I wouldn't let any of these things stop you, though. Just
check with some of the locals in Boston regarding a safe
route into the city. I had planned to ride from NY to Boston
years ago. Local riders convinced me that the last ten miles
would be no fun at all. Perhaps you'll find more optimistic
resources than I did!

"anono" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:p[email protected]...
> Has anyone riden up from Rehobath, taking the ferry and
> then up the NJ
shore
> roads?
>
> Two of us are thinking about going up to boston on bike,
> staying as close
as
> possible to the shore. Anythoughts on riding conditions in
> NJ? Has anybody used a Yak carrier trailer - does it
> REALLY slow you down. Is
it
> stable in braking situations? Any advice on camping near
> the ocean?
 
Being a NJ resident, I'd say, "Are you nuts?". (just
kidding) I can't think of any lightly traveled route from
northern NJ to the shore in the "on" season. If you took
route 1, 9, 35, or 18 they all have many retail stores,
traffic lights, and many cars.

Your only option might be to try to take strictly very local
roads from town to town on the way.

As far as camping goes, I don't think that there are any
ocean front campsites. There are some inland campsites in
Toms River area (near Seaside Heights), and Great Egg Harbor
(near Atlantic City)
 
funny for this topic to come up today..i will be riding from
cherry hill to the ferry tomorrow...73/322/50/9..works
well..good shoulders all the way..the adventure cycyling
atlantic routes also do the trick..r
 
On Tue, 25 May 2004 15:10:00 -0400, "anono"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>Has anyone riden up from Rehobath, taking the ferry and
>then up the NJ shore roads?
>
>Two of us are thinking about going up to boston on bike,
>staying as close as possible to the shore. Anythoughts on
>riding conditions in NJ?

Having ridden in New Jersey and Rhode Island I'd say this
is an impractical plan. Because of the barrier island
characteristics of most of the Jersey shore, any roads
that get close to and parallel the ocean don't go very
far. Any roads that parallel the shore and actually go
somewhere are so far from the ocean that you'll be lucky
if you ever see it.

Rhode Island (and I assume Connecticut) are similarly broken
up, but for different reasons. This shoreline is broken up
by many, many inlets, which has forced the through roads to
be built far back from the ocean (sound).

Then there's the whole problem of traversing the New York
metropolitan area. :-(

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net
http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3
 
>>...Having ridden in New Jersey and Rhode Island I'd say
>>this is an
impractical plan....<<<<

As I said in my e-mail, I'd have to agree. The New England
shore is not what you might expect. Although a quick glance
at a map might suggest that it's all along water, there
really aren't many roads with any kind of great water views
or access.

What you might want to do is plan your route to use the
north shore of Long Island as far east as Port Jefferson,
where you can catch a nice ferry ride to Bridgeport, CT. The
obvious north shore route is not really along the water,
either, but it's probably more pleasant than skirting the CT
shore past Stamford, Norwalk, etc. Once you get out of the
sleazy section of Bridgeport, there are some pretty cool
towns to ride through as you head along the coast toward
Rhode Island. I would stop in (New) Milford, Guilford,
Clinton, Indian Head, the Lymes, Old Saybrook, Mystic (of
course!), Stonington, Westerly Rhode Island (Misquamicut
Beach is really hopping in the summer), Narragansett,
Newport, Bristol, and Providence. From there, you can work
your way to Boston.

As an alternative, you can ride further east on Long Island,
past miles of farmland and waterfront resorts to Orient
Point, where a ferry will take you across to New London,
just 11 miles west of Mystic.

If you want some additional help in planning your route,
feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]

"John Everett" <[email protected]>
wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Tue, 25 May 2004 15:10:00 -0400, "anono"
> <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >Has anyone riden up from Rehobath, taking the ferry and
> >then up the NJ
shore
> >roads?
> >
> >Two of us are thinking about going up to boston on bike,
> >staying as close
as
> >possible to the shore. Anythoughts on riding
> >conditions in NJ?
>
> Having ridden in New Jersey and Rhode Island I'd say this
> is an impractical plan. Because of the barrier island
> characteristics of most of the Jersey shore, any roads
> that get close to and parallel the ocean don't go very
> far. Any roads that parallel the shore and actually go
> somewhere are so far from the ocean that you'll be lucky
> if you ever see it.
>
> Rhode Island (and I assume Connecticut) are similarly
> broken up, but for different reasons. This shoreline is
> broken up by many, many inlets, which has forced the
> through roads to be built far back from the ocean (sound).
>
> Then there's the whole problem of traversing the New York
> metropolitan area. :-(
>
>
> jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net
> http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3
 
Jonathan Kaplan wrote:
> Being a NJ resident, I'd say, "Are you nuts?". (just
> kidding) I can't think of any lightly traveled route from
> northern NJ to the shore in the "on" season. If you took
> route 1, 9, 35, or 18 they all have many retail stores,
> traffic lights, and many cars.
>
> Your only option might be to try to take strictly very
> local roads from town to town on the way.
>
> As far as camping goes, I don't think that there are any
> ocean front campsites. There are some inland campsites in
> Toms River area (near Seaside Heights), and Great Egg
> Harbor (near Atlantic City)
>
>

Actually, now that it's "in season" riding the local roads
through the shore towns is not very pleasent either. Lots of
cars fighting for too few parking spaces and not paying
attention to anything (not even other cars)

And I agree with other posters. Not great views. Either the
roads will be too far inland, or the beachfront houses,
shops, etc will block your view.

Janet
 
"NYRides" <[email protected]> wrote in message >
> As an alternative, you can ride further east on Long
> Island, past miles of farmland and waterfront resorts to
> Orient Point, where a ferry will take
you
> across to New London, just 11 miles west of Mystic.

Ditto this plan.

The north shore of Long Island is a far more pleasant ride
then the south coast of CT. At least the section from
Smithtown east to the Orient Point Ferry, which would be my
choice in any case. Lot's of pretty and quite routes, some
along the shore.

Problem is getting there. The ferry from Sandy Hook to
Brooklyn maybe, then down along the south of Brooklyn -
Coney Island, The Rockaway's, then into Nassau County is
preferable to straight thru the city to Westchester County
and along the Conn. (non-existing) shoreline. Better route
is the long way 'round the city thru central Jersey then
thru the Bear Mt. bridge area then maybe follow the AIDS NY-
Boston route thru CT.

If not, and the Long island route seems interesting - it
actually can be - including a nice campground in eastern
Nassau, then e-mail me off-list and I can give better and
more detailed directions.

Steve B.
 
I was just in Ocean City, NJ. Land is often very espensive
along the ocean in that part of the world and I don't look
to see (and indeed I don't see) any campgrounds along there.
But you don't have to go very far inland to start finding
camp grounds. Assetique island is the only place I've ever
camped near the ocean. There is a state park at Long Beach
island in NJ, but I've never noticed any camping there.

Go west young man (and get a campground guide).

In article <[email protected]>, "anono"
<[email protected]> writes:

>Has anyone riden up from Rehobath, taking the ferry and
>then up the NJ shore roads?
>
>Two of us are thinking about going up to boston on bike,
>staying as close as possible to the shore. Anythoughts on
>riding conditions in NJ? Has anybody used a Yak carrier
>trailer - does it REALLY slow you down. Is it stable in
>braking situations? Any advice on camping near the ocean

Tom Gibb <[email protected]
 
"anono" wrote...
> Has anyone riden up from Rehobath, taking the ferry and
> then up the NJ
shore
> roads?

I don't know what's up with all these nay-sayers. I can only
speak for South Jersey. I would not hesitate to tour up
South Jersey. The rest is up to you.
 
anono wrote:

> Has anyone riden up from Rehobath, taking the ferry and
> then up the NJ shore roads?
>
> Two of us are thinking about going up to boston on bike,
> staying as close as possible to the shore. Anythoughts on
> riding conditions in NJ? Has anybody used a Yak carrier
> trailer - does it REALLY slow you down. Is it stable in
> braking situations? Any advice on camping near the ocean?

Does anyone have an old cue sheet for the Coast the Coast
MS150 bike tour? I goes from Sandy Hook to Cape May. The few
years I did that ride the roads they route you on were
pretty low with traffic. That might help out for part of
your ride.
 
Mark wrote:
>
> anono wrote:
>
>
>>Has anyone riden up from Rehobath, taking the ferry and
>>then up the NJ shore roads?
>>
>>Two of us are thinking about going up to boston on bike,
>>staying as close as possible to the shore. Anythoughts on
>>riding conditions in NJ? Has anybody used a Yak carrier
>>trailer - does it REALLY slow you down. Is it stable in
>>braking situations? Any advice on camping near the ocean?
>
>
> Does anyone have an old cue sheet for the Coast the Coast
> MS150 bike tour? I goes from Sandy Hook to Cape May. The
> few years I did that ride the roads they route you on were
> pretty low with traffic. That might help out for part of
> your ride.
>
>
Sounds like a good idea for a route. But if I remember
correctly (I didn't do the ride, but read about it), the
ride was not held during peak tourist season, but off
season. Many of the roads along the shore area are low
traffic off season, but very overcrowded in season.

Janet
 
On Mon, 31 May 2004 02:59:07 GMT, Janet <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>
>Mark wrote:
>>
>> anono wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Has anyone riden up from Rehobath, taking the ferry and
>>>then up the NJ shore roads?
>>>
>>>Two of us are thinking about going up to boston on bike,
>>>staying as close as possible to the shore. Anythoughts on
>>>riding conditions in NJ? Has anybody used a Yak carrier
>>>trailer - does it REALLY slow you down. Is it stable in
>>>braking situations? Any advice on camping near the ocean?
>>
>>
>> Does anyone have an old cue sheet for the Coast the Coast
>> MS150 bike tour? I goes from Sandy Hook to Cape May. The
>> few years I did that ride the roads they route you on
>> were pretty low with traffic. That might help out for
>> part of your ride.
>>
>>
> Sounds like a good idea for a route. But if I remember
> correctly (I didn't do the ride, but read about it), the
> ride was not held during peak tourist season, but off
> season. Many of the roads along the shore area are low
> traffic off season, but very overcrowded in season.
>
>Janet

The summer along the Jersey shore is crowded but I have
ridden and ride the roads all the time. The biggest problem
will be the Northern New Jersey, New York City area. That is
not good cycling any time of the year. You will have to take
the George Washington Bridge into NYC.
 
See my cryptic post on the Greenway thread for some information on dong the
NE US northof Philadelphia. I hope to have a more detailed report posted in
the next couple of weeks. In planning my ride, I quickly became convinced
that an ocean route was out of the question for a "through" rider with
limited time. I'm not too proud of the routes I did use, either. The only
really good riding on the whole trip was not in the US at all, but the 185
mile segment on Quebec route 138, along the St. Lawrence from Montreal to
Quebec City and on to Ste. Anne de Beaupre. It's mostly level, very scenic,
especially approaching Quebec city where some moderate heights provide a
majestic view of the river coursing northward, and on a wide road with not
much traffic.
"anono" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:p[email protected]...
> Has anyone riden up from Rehobath, taking the ferry and
> then up the NJ
shore
> roads?
>
> Two of us are thinking about going up to boston on bike,
> staying as close
as
> possible to the shore. Anythoughts on riding conditions in
> NJ? Has anybody used a Yak carrier trailer - does it
> REALLY slow you down. Is
it
> stable in braking situations? Any advice on camping near
> the ocean?
 
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