By Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger.net. Re-post. One change noticed in 2015:
I get the impression that more people than ever are peddling around town this summer. These are not the fast skinny guys with skinny legs, skinny tires, and tight pants. These are families or groups of people of all ages biking around the streets of OG, sometimes 5 or more at a time.
They are enjoying the ambience of the town and are seemingly not worried about the congestion or about cars or doors opening suddenly. They usually wear helmets which had been more unusual in the past. Sometimes they ride bicycles built for two.
Do you agree that this is a lifestyle change in the Grove? Have visitors and townies discovered a satisfying way to get exercise in the summer while seeing the sights? If you do agree, how would you account for this observation? It should also be noted that we aren’t hearing about bike thefts so much any more. Why would that be? Has crime declined here?
Don’t forget that you can bike on the boardwalk till 10:00 am daily. Anybody want to be a citizen reporter and tell us what the time limits are on the boardwalks to the north and south? Also you can ride around town at night, but be sure to get front and rear lights. It’s surprising how often people ride around town without any lights.
You can rent bikes at OG hardware, hop aboard and go. But make sure you stop before you try that Dell Vikings tenor sax solo.
DELL VIKINGS “Come Go With Me.”
Avon does not allow bike riding on the boardwalk, at all.
We live in a town where there are many rules, but inconsistent enforcement. If the ordinances are not enforced, then certainly they will be disobeyed, and those who follow the rules will feel resentful. Such emotions and behavior are erosive to our quality of life here. Personally I thing we have too many rules, and if some are not enforced, then they should be eliminated and leave it up to the people to work out. —–Paul @Blogfinger
It appears to us that there is no real enforcement of that rule. We see riders on the boardwalk all the time, particularly late in the day who ride
side by side instead of one behind the other. That too is a problem. It will probably take an accident before we see real enforcment for the rule.
You can ride the OG boards from 3 am to 10 am.
I usually walk around 5 or 6 pm and there are many people riding bikes on the boardwalk at this time. I don’t really mind but sometimes there are close calls especially in the narrow area at the north end. Does anyone know if there is a rule about bike riding on the boardwalk at this time?
Shamrocklil: I agree about the safety issues. I like to ride my bike around town, but in-season it is a risky business. I must admit that sometimes I have gone the wrong way on a one way, something I would never do in my car. I also only wear my helmet intermittently, but a friend’s son, riding a bike in NYC, was hit by a car, and his life was saved by his helmet.
I now must vow to be more careful, and so should the rest of us, including the tourists. Perhaps the police should give warnings to bike riders; It might save a life, but they are quite busy fighting crime.
It’s a shame the OGHOA doesn’t get interested in things like this, instead of memory loss. I know that I pick on them, but they are not doing an effective job, and they are the ideal group in town to represent the citizens in promoting bicycle safety.
They have many hundreds of members who could be organized into public service action squads to do some real good around the Grove, and this is one example.—-Paul
Unfortunately some of these bicyclists and…yes…skateboarders, too, are often reckless. More than once, on our side streets, I, who am going up the one-way street have had these speedsters streak right thru the stop signs they are supposed to stop for. I hope nobody gets hurt doing this.
Belmar and Avon are less generous; bikes have to be off the boardwalks by 9:00 a.m. Spring Lake is also 9:00 a.m. I believe.
Thank you. For those who would like to ride to Spring Lake, we will have to find out about Belmar and Avon as well as Spring Lake.
According to their signs, Bradley Beach, like Ocean Grove allows bikes on the boardwalk until 10; Asbury is a bit more generous – you can ride there until 12 noon.
Bikes are great, but beware turning corners onto one way streets going against traffic. Go with the flow!!!
Bikes are great! A word of caution — Yield to pedestrians!