Long Branch has been a seaside resort for longer than most American towns have existed. On the Jersey Shore in Monmouth County, it was where wealthy New Yorkers and Philadelphians came to escape the summer heat in the nineteenth century, and for a while it was the summer capital of the United States. Several presidents vacationed here, including Ulysses S. Grant, who kept a cottage, and James Garfield, who was brought to the Elberon section after he was shot in 1881 and died there that September. The little Church of the Presidents still stands in town.
Today Long Branch is a busy small city of around thirty thousand people with a beach, a boardwalk and the modern development of Pier Village, where apartments, shops and restaurants line the oceanfront. The beach is long and wide, and like most New Jersey beaches it requires a paid beach badge in summer. Ocean Avenue, the road that runs along the shore past grand old houses and newer mansions in Elberon and West End, is the nicest road in town.
As a start and finish for a Hudson Valley ride, Long Branch is a long way from the hills. The route north to the Taconic Parkway and the backroads of Dutchess and Columbia counties means a good stretch of highway, the Garden State Parkway and the crossings through New York, and you will want an early start to beat traffic, especially on summer Fridays and Sundays when the Shore traffic is heavy. Riding in or out along Route 36 and the coastal roads is more pleasant, with water on one side and marinas and seafood shacks along the way.
Everything is here. Fuel, coffee, diners, supermarkets and bike-friendly cafes are easy to find, and one helpful local quirk is that New Jersey law prohibits self-service at gas stations, so an attendant will fill your tank. Just tell them you would rather do it yourself on a motorcycle; many will let you handle the nozzle.
Nearby, Monmouth Park racetrack in Oceanport has thoroughbred racing in summer, and Asbury Park, a few miles south, is the music town where Bruce Springsteen made his name. On a summer evening after a long day, the boardwalk breeze and an ice cream by the sea make a gentle end to the ride.