Day 27: To Atlantic City, NJ

May 12, 2017

I got on the road at 8:45. The weather was cloudy and cold and I had a strong headwind going east to Wildwood.

One final look at wonderful Cape May. I wish I could see Cape May in sunny weather.

Beach Avenue in Cape May, NJ. The boardwalk is a low sea wall.

I continued east from Cape May to Wildwood. Traffic was light even though Wildwood is bigger and denser. True to its name, Wildwood has a reputation as a wild party place. Very different from Cape May which has a reputation as a staid historic town.

The development in Wildwood is mostly multi-story condos. But it does have nice beach access, and later a long boardwalk.

Beach access in Wildwood Crest. Long list of prohibited activities.

The 2 mile long Wildwood boardwalk is part boards, part concrete. I guess the concrete sections help keep the boards from washing away. Of course the concrete sections are also faster for bicycling.

Boardwalk in Wildwood, NJ. The big roof on the beach is a convention center. Fake palms on the left, a common decorating theme in Wildwood.

The main entry point has a unique and whimsical sculpture. I pedaled through 3 towns on this barrier island: Wildwood Crest, Wildwood, and North Wildwood.

The major entrance to the boardwalk. Probably inspired by the famous Hollywood sign.

Pedaling down the Wildwood boardwalk was difficult in places because of a car show. I had to maneuver around the parked cars. But it was a nice novelty.

Wildwood has two amusement parks built on piers. The first one is huge. I took the picture a few minutes before it opened for the day. The weather is so crappy that they probably had no customers.

Adventure Pier, the first of two pier amusement parks in Wildwood.

Morey's Pier, the second pier amusement park in Wildwood.

At the north end of Wildwood the barrier island ends and I must cross a decrepit toll bridge to the next barrier island. The first of 5 decrepit toll bridges on today's route. Nearly all traffic in and out of the beach towns flows inland to the Garden State Parkway. There was no traffic on the old bridges that connect one barrier island to another. The inter-island bridges are all decrepit 2 lane concrete, with a single tiny toll booth at the middle. No toll for cyclists.

First of 5 decrepit toll bridges today. No charge for bicycles.

The next barrier island hosts the beach towns of Stone Harbor and Avalon. Both towns appear very prosperous. Everything I saw on the Jersey shore was prosperous.

View from the first bridge, entering the barrier island at Stone Harbor.

Today's route is mostly densely developed with heavy local traffic. But there are no trucks and all the roads have a designated bike lane. It was perfectly safe for cycling. Traffic is slow because of the congestion.

Residential section of Stone Harbor. All the Jersey shore beach towns had a decent bike lane.

When pedaling through the beach towns I was seldom more than a block away from the dunes and beach. I stopped to peek at several beaches.

The toll bridge from Avalon to Sea Isle City is closed to motor vehicles because of severe structural problems. Emergency repairs are ongoing but the bridge is still passable to pedestrians and cyclists.

This toll bridge is closed for emergency repairs, but still open to bikes and pedestrians.

The next barrier island hosts the towns of Sea Isle City and Strathmere.

The weather was cool and cloudy but I still enjoyed looking at the beaches.

The funkiest beach access I saw on the Jersey shore.

After the town of Strathmere I crossed a toll bridge to another barrier island that hosts the big town of Ocean City which has a 2.5 mile long boardwalk. Not to be confused with the larger Ocean City in Maryland which also has a 2.5 mile boardwalk.

I really like the Ocean City NJ boardwalk. Many retail storefronts but no high rise buildings. It looks like a nice town to visit for a beach vacation. And for better or worse, the dunes are so small that they don't obstruct the ocean view from the boardwalk.

During this tour I pedaled in two cities named Jacksonville, two cities named Beaufort, and two cities named Ocean City. And I pedaled through a city of Wilmington that is not the capital of Delaware. Sometimes you need to name the state to avoid confusion. That gives me an idea for a future theme tour: bike to as many Springfields as possible.

The Ocean City, NJ boardwalk is narrow at the residential south end.

The Ocean City, NJ boardwalk is wider in the commercial area.

Ocean City, NJ boardwalk is fairly low key compared to most of the boardwalks.

At the north end of Ocean City is a view of the next barrier island which contains Margate City, Ventnor City, and Atlantic City. The end of the tour is in sight.

First distant view of the Atlantic City skyline.

View looking south towards Ocean City, NJ from the final bridge of the tour.

I cut over to the boardwalk as soon as it started. The Ventnor City and Atlantic City boardwalks make a continuous 5.5 mile long ribbon of boards. The nation's longest and oldest boardwalk. The first boardwalk was laid on the sand in 1870.

I thought it was amusing to enter Atlantic City on the boardwalk. It was gracious of them to include a city limits sign on the boardwalk.

Entering Atlantic City on the boardwalk.

I continued on the boardwalk to the north end of Atlantic City. Near the north end I stopped for a ceremonial finish photo, then backtracked a mile to the Econolodge motel next door to the Tropicana casino.

Ceremonial end of tour self portrait on the Atlantic City boardwalk. All of the casinos in the distance are bankrupt.

I got my reserved room at EconoLodge. $89 plus tax for Friday night, $170 plus tax for Saturday night. The 2 night EconoLodge stay cost $299.

The weather was gloomy overcast all day, high of 60F with a strong east wind. There was no significant rain during the day but a big rain storm started at about midnight.

Atlantic City is the logical end for my tour. Barrier island beach towns continue 200 miles north to New York City. But north of here there are no bridges connecting the barrier islands. It's no longer possible to stay on barrier islands most of the time.

Distance: 54.3 mi. (86.9 km)
Climbing: 493 ft. (149 m)
Average Speed: 8.4 mph (13.4 km/h)

Today's ride: 54 miles (87 km)
Total: 1,263 miles (2,033 km)

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