Hi {{contact.first_name}},
November is when New Jersey riding gets short and sharp. The clocks went back on Sunday, November 1, so it is dark before the evening commute is over, and the cold fronts come through fast. Up north, most of the leaves are down. But a dry, sunny afternoon in the 50s still comes along, and the Shore roads are nearly empty now that the summer crowds are gone. Pick your day, keep the run short, and be home before dark.
Ride of the Month: Ocean Avenue and Route 36 to Sandy Hook
Boardwalk towns, open ocean and a lighthouse at the tip of the Hook
Start in Asbury Park and run north on Ocean Avenue through Deal and Long Branch, with big old houses on one side and the Atlantic on the other. Pick up Route 36 through Monmouth Beach and Sea Bright, where the road squeezes between the ocean and the Shrewsbury River. Just past Sea Bright, turn out onto Sandy Hook and ride the park road up to the Sandy Hook Lighthouse, the oldest working lighthouse in the country.
For the ride home, cross the bridge into Highlands and follow Route 36 past the Twin Lights to the Mount Mitchill overlook in Atlantic Highlands, with the whole bay and the New York skyline in view on a clear day. The off-season Shore is quiet, but the wind off the water is cold, so dress warmer than you think and watch for sand blown onto the road near the beaches.
Down in South Jersey? Ocean Drive from Cape May up through the Wildwoods, Stone Harbor and Avalon to Ocean City is a great off-season run past the marshes and inlet bridges. On Veterans Day, Wednesday, November 11, thank the veterans in your riding group. A lot of this community was built by them.
Late-Fall Safety: New Jersey Edition
November gives you fewer good riding days in New Jersey and a few new ways to get hurt on them.
- Deer season peaks now. November is the worst month for deer crashes in New Jersey, and the rut keeps them moving at dawn and dusk. With the time change, that now lines up with the evening commute. Slow down near woods and fields, cover your brakes, and never swerve across the line to avoid one.
- You are riding home in the dark. Drivers on the Parkway, Route 1 and the jughandles are not looking for a single headlight after sunset. Run your lights, wear something reflective, and give yourself extra space at every intersection.
- Wet leaves and frosty patches. Fallen leaves pile up in the corners and turn slick when wet, and clear nights leave frost on bridges and in the shaded spots. Give your tires a few easy miles to warm up, and stay off the painted lines when it is damp.
- Thanksgiving week traffic. Thanksgiving is Thursday, November 26. The Wednesday night before is one of the worst nights of the year for drunk driving. If you ride that week, go early in the day and stay off the road that night.
Know Your New Jersey Law
- No PIP on your bike, but no lawsuit limit either. New Jersey is a no-fault state for cars, but motorcycles are left out of PIP, so your bike policy does not pay your own medical bills the way a car policy would. The flip side is real: because you are outside the no-fault system, the limitation-on-lawsuit threshold does not apply to you, so you keep your full right to sue for pain and suffering.
- Fault has a cutoff. New Jersey uses modified comparative negligence. Your recovery goes down by your share of the blame, and if you are found more than 50 percent at fault, you recover nothing.
- Everyone wears a helmet. Every rider and passenger in New Jersey must wear a DOT-compliant helmet. There are no exceptions.
- You have two years, sometimes only 90 days. The general deadline for an injury claim is two years. A claim against a public entity, like NJ Transit or a town over a bad road, can need a notice of claim within 90 days. Get advice early.
Ride Nation New Jersey
The riding does not stop when the leaves come down. Jersey riders are still sharing their last good runs of the year, warning each other about leaf piles, deer and sand on the Shore roads, and posting the photos that make the winter easier to wait out. Tag us in your photos. This is your scene, run by riders who ride these roads.
Final Weeks for the $20,000 BikeWin Giveaway
You are already entered for a chance at 20,000 dollars toward any motorcycle you want, and the winner is drawn December 10. That is only a few weeks away. Know a riding buddy who has not entered yet? Entry is free, so send them the link before it closes.
Enter the giveaway
A driver who never saw your headlight in the early dark on Route 1. A deer jumping out on a Sussex County back road. A car that slid on wet leaves into your lane. If you ever go down in New Jersey, remember no-fault does not cover you on a bike, but you keep full rights to recover, so you want a lawyer who rides these roads and fights for them.