Biking from Long Branch to Spring Lake
Description:
This is the most interesting portion of the Jersey Coast for biking. The seaside route passes through 8 small towns, each with its own individual microcosm of culture and architecture -- from the manicured mansions of Deal to the dreary decay of Asbury Park. Almost all the beaches are public, and during the summer there is much colorful action. All along the way there are boardwalks which can be ridden most of the year.
Length:
This route is 11 miles one way.
Surface and safety:
About 70% of this route can be ridden on boardwalks except for summer weekends. The roads are amply wide for biking on the shoulder (though the shoulder is unmarked). The only danger, and it is worth noting, is that when biking north there are many diagonal parking spaces for cars. Parking spaces are fought over during the peak season, and cars pull into and out of these diagonal spaces without seeing bikers.
Points of interest:
This route is full of colorful and picturesque sights. On the way south Deal has lovely mansions lining the road. Suddenly there is Asbury Park, which looks like bomb damage assessment photos from Iraq. Then comes the religious community of Ocean Grove with its tabernacle and victorian architecture. After a series of beach towns, each with its own culture, the route ends in the lovely town of Spring Lake with its shaded homes and beautiful park.
What's not to like:
If you are biking for exercise and just want to put on the speed, this isn't the place. In the summer it's crowded and there's lots of traffic. Otherwise this is as good as the shore gets. It's particularly nice in the late spring and early fall when you can ride on the boardwalks.
Parking:
During the summer beachfront parking is scarce, but if you are carrying a bike in your car, there is plenty of parking a few blocks west anywhere along this route. The exception to the scarcity is Asbury Park, where you can park anywhere at any time. Basically, there's no one home there.
Photos and comments:
Manicured mansions line the road through Deal
Another beautiful home in Deal
Heading south from Long Branch you have to leave the boardwalks and take the main road. Here the road is wide and you are rewarded with views of a succession of mansions like the two shown above. The homes in Deal deserve a few detours down sideroads. Every home is well manicured. To me, the flavor of the community is different from the that of the homes in Rumson. The lots here are generally smaller, and the homes bring more to mind the word "mansion" than "estate".
The road through Deal now has a marked bike path
The only people you see in this stretch are gardeners and nannies pushing baby carriages -- never a real mother. Quite often you will see black-clad orthodox children walking the sidewalks. My thought is that Rumson (see "Paths to the Sea") is Wall Street money, while Deal is wealthy merchants. Of course, I base this opinion on no facts whatsoever, although I have lived in the area for 40 years.
Greetings from Asbury Park
As you cross from Deal to Asbury Park (forgetting about a corner of Allenhurst that intervenes), there is an alarming and abrupt transition from manicured to devastated properties. This is the main street along the shore of Asbury Park taken in the peak of the summer season. Notice how few cars there are.
The construction you see in the picture above is not construction at all. It was the decaying skeleton of a half finished building from about 15 years ago. There are several of these monstrosities in the town. They are the legacy of a bankrupt developer and a corrupt local government. Incredibly, the building you see actually lay across the main road. For years this giant junk pile stood as the very symbol of Asbury decay. However, with months of effort in the winter and spring of 2004, that remnant was increasingly dismantled. Nothing much happened in 2005, but in April 2006 the skeletal building was finally demolished with a giant explosion.
The Steel Skeleton is finally demolished in April 2006
From Asbury Park down to Spring Lake you can stick closely to the ocean. All the beaches are public, and you can ride on all the boardwalks out of season or in the early morning. In Asbury Park you can ride on the boardwalk any time, because no one cares.
Ride on the Asbury Park boardwalk any time
Convention Hall lies across the boardwalk in Asbury Park
This is kind of an unusual biking treat. If no one is there to object, you can ride your bike through here. It is an eerie feeling, as your tires glide silently across the tiles with the smallest of noises reverberating like you're in an echo chamber.
I've been riding this route for decades and have seen the gradual and inevitable decay of Asbury Park. However, I am glad to say that in the last three years I've been seeing the first signs of rejuvenation here. There is a wide new boardwalk, and even a couple of small refreshment stands. Murals have been painted on a number of ocean-side structures and the Empress Motel -- a site of intense decay -- has been reconstructed. The town itself seems to be a giant construction site with lots of condos and high-rise apartment complexes taking shape. Still, I'd have to admit that there aren't many people in the boardwalk area here yet.
A couple of years ago I was riding the boardwalk all by myself when I saw a couple walking towards me. They flagged me down. "Where are the stores?" they asked. I could only tell them that there weren't any. The couple had driven from Philadelphia to see Asbury Park, no doubt stimulated by the Bruce Springsteen album.
Speaking of rock, the famous "Stone Pony" still exists and has a full schedule of visiting bands.
The boardwalk at Ocean Grove, looking north towards Asbury Park
At the south end of the Asbury Park boardwalk in 2006 you could bike through the hulk of the old casino. Moreover, as you biked inside you were treated to a display of pictures of Asbury Park through the years -- through its glory days to the present. In the spring of 2007 this casino began undergoing reconstruction. It has been open at times and closed at other times. When it's closed, you have to detour back into the streets and follow the canal away from the ocean for about 200 yards to where there is a small footbridge across the water that takes you to Ocean Grove.
The old casino at the south end of Asbury Park
Notice in this picture how wide the boardwalk is in Asbury Park. It is such a shame that there isn't more life there.
The casino was lined with pictures such as this -- the glory days of Asbury Park
Once again there is an abrupt transition. Now you can't ride on the boardwalk during the season unless it's early in the morning. Ocean Grove is pretty strict about this. But instead you should take a detour on some of the town streets here. It is possibly the most victorian town in America. There is a U-shaped crescent of victorian homes with a large tabernacle at the end facing the ocean.
The tabernacle in Ocean Grove
There is a row of tents on the right hand side of this tabernacle. During the summer these tents are inhabited by "tent people". I don't know what else to call them. Presumably, they are religious people being warmed by the nearness of the tabernacle. It's an interesting phenomenon.
Ocean Grove is a dry town. Not that many years ago it was blocked off from cars on Sundays.
Beautiful victorian homes in Ocean Grove
Quaint main street in Ocean Grove
It's worth a short deviation to go down the main street, which is perpendicular to the boardwalk. There are a number of sidewalk restaurants and interesting stores. It's quite picturesque.
South end of the Ocean Grove boardwalk cuts through to Bradley Beach
Whether or not you've been riding on the boardwalk in Ocean Grove, you should join it at the south end in order to cut through to Bradley Beach. Here again, if you're a car, you can't do this, and you have a long detour out to the main highway to get back to the shore.
The pictures and comments about this route are now continued on Page 2.