Sea Bright is barely a town at all in the geographic sense: a strip of sand a few hundred metres wide, with the Atlantic on one side, the Shrewsbury River on the other, and Ocean Avenue running down the middle. A great grey seawall shields the road from the ocean, and on a windy day you can feel the spray even though you cannot see the waves. Beach clubs, seafood bars and surf shops line the street, and in summer the whole place hums.
Ride north and the strip continues into Sandy Hook, part of the Gateway National Recreation Area, a long hooked spit with beaches, dunes, old army batteries from Fort Hancock and the Sandy Hook Lighthouse, the oldest working lighthouse in the United States, first lit in 1764. On a clear day the Manhattan skyline floats on the horizon across the bay. To the south, Ocean Avenue runs through Monmouth Beach toward Long Branch, with big houses and glimpses of the sea between them.
This is a fragile place. Hurricane Sandy in 2012 broke through the seawall, flooded the town and wrecked many businesses, and much of what you see has been rebuilt since. Storms still push water across the road now and then, especially in the autumn and winter nor'easters, so check the forecast if it looks rough.
The riding here is about atmosphere, not curves. Ocean Avenue is flat and straight, limited to low speeds and patrolled, and in July and August it is full of beach traffic, cyclists and people crossing with coolers. Come early on a summer morning, or in September, when the water is still warm, the crowds are gone and the light is soft. The Rumson bridge takes you over the river into a very different world: shaded lanes, huge estates and old trees.
For the rides north to the Berkshires or west to the Delaware Water Gap, Sea Bright is a seaside bookend, the place to begin with salt air and finish with a plate of clams. The long run out of New Jersey involves the Garden State Parkway or similar highways before the good roads begin, so set off early. Fuel and supplies are easiest in Rumson or back on the mainland along Route 36. In summer, beach access usually requires a paid badge, and parking anywhere near the sand is scarce, though a motorcycle can often squeeze in where a car cannot.