hls811

I saw this article a few weeks ago and was wondering if anyone has done this route before. I'd love to give it a shot and make it my first century since I'll be on LBI next week.

Best Tailwind Rides | Bicycling

Is there an optimal route?? I took a quick look at Google Maps and the suggested route looks like the majority of the ride is on Rt 9 and the fastest/shortest route takes Rt 50. I'm not familiar with those two roads down there - are they bike friendly?

THANKS!

Hokiedad4

Hi hls811,

It does not make sense to me to start a southbound ride in Long Beach Island (LBI). That doesn't look like much of a "tour of the Jersey shore" to me. You cannot cross the Mullica River on Rt. 9, which merges with the GSP at that point, so you have to go far inland. And the prevailing winds are NW, not NE.

If I wanted to ride along the shore south to Cape May, I'd start in Brigantine and ride through all the barrier island towns (AC, Ocean City, etc.). You'd never need to get on Rt. 9, although Rt. 9 that far south is pretty quiet, especially off season.

We have a place in Ocean City, so I do a lot of riding from AC to Strathmere. Very nice.

hls811

Thanks for the feedback.. I'm not so much looking for a Tour of the Jersey shore, just a nice flat(-ish) route to try and do my first 100-mile ride. Guess the author of the article didn't do too much research of they think part of the route should include crossing over the parkway - thats not going to happen!!

Any any winds going north are going to defeat the purpose, no way could I ride a route even half that long into the wind..

Hokiedad4

Starting from Island Beach State Park, you could ride north along the shore to Sandy Hook, just a bit over 50 miles, then back. Very flat and of course cooler since you're near the ocean. On a day with a NW to NE breeze, it would be like going downhill all the way back.

kimmer99

Did you end up riding this? I do the MS Coast the Coast ride each year and day two's ride goes from Tuckerton (just off LBI) to Cape May but they wind us down there so it's 85+ miles. If you have someone picking you up at Cape May that would work (especially if start on LBI - through riding over the bridge can be treacherous): MS Coast the Coast - Day 2

indyfabz

Are they out of their minds? First of all, the prevailing winds in the summer are from the south. Anyone who has done enough riding "down the shore" knows you go inland in the morning, head south, go back to the coast and then head north with the likely tailwind.

Second of all, you cannot ride the GSP, and as noted, the U.S. 9 bridge over Great Egg Inlet no longer exists. The best way to get around that is to go into the north end of Ocean City, head south through Strathmere into Sea Isle City, then go back to U.S. 9 from there, although I would never want to ride U.S. 9 for any length.

hls811

No.. I never made the ride. I did ride the island end to end and back for 38 miles but that was the most I got to doing while I was down there. Once I got to LBI I could tell the wind wasn't going to be in my favor and scrapped the plan.

I did do the MS Coast the Coast 2 years ago but only did the 50 mile ride, I may do that one again next year (Not a fan of the fundraising minimums, I'd rather they up the registration from $30 to $100 than have to raise $200 - but that's a different thread.)