Severe Warning For Lunatic Bike Rider I Encountered In Toms River, NJ

Why does chaos always find me on our New Jersey roadways?

Being able to drive in the Garden State is a special talent but this is just plain ridiculous.

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We've all been cut off, had to slam on our brakes or swerve to avoid a collision.

I consider this run in with a bicycle rider to be on the next level.

This incident happened on the Thomas A. Matthis Bridge which connects Toms River to the Lavallette/ Seaside Heights/ Ortley area of the Jersey Shore. (Aqua Blue Kitchen & Cocktails is on the right directly before the bridge's entrance)

It starts with me driving along in the right lane and just an FYI: the road has three-lanes going onto the island. (A visual to better understand is below)

Out of nowhere, I slammed on my breaks as I spotted a bike rider riding TOWARDS me on the bridge. He was biking in the middle of the right lane of the road that is designated for cars.

Um, what?

There is a sidewalk on the righthand side of the bridge for this very reason. It is for people who have to walk, ride their bikes or choose to set up on this bridge to fish.

So dude....why aren't you using it?

Plus, one of the first things my father taught me when I was old enough to ride my bike around town was that you always ride with the direction of traffic.

That rule is intensified when you are on such a major road.

I feel like it is hard to visualize what I am describing without seeing it.

This photo is from Google Maps and I added color coded arrows to give you a better idea.

The Red Arrow is about where I was when I spotted this biker.

The Teal Arrow represents the biker who was riding TOWARDS ME against the flow of traffic.

The Yellow Arrow is pointing to the sidewalk this biker should have been using.

All of the other nearby cars were forced to jerk their steering wheel to the left to avoid hitting this guy.

As a chain reaction, the cars in the middle lane had to veer over to avoid colliding with other vehicles.

The incident I am describing was maybe 5 seconds long but so much could have gone wrong in that short span of time. My heart was racing.

This could have ended in disaster.

SO.....

1. Drivers: Be on the look out. Bike riders, pedestrians and more are flooding the Jersey Shore. Pedestrians are everywhere and people will dart out in front of your car at any moment. You need to be ready.

2. Bike/Scooter Riders: Please ride in your designated bike lane or sidewalk. You are still on wheels so you are a step down from a vehicle so just stay alert.

3. Pedestrians: Do your best to stay alert but as always, you have the right away in all situations.

Be safe out there so we can live it up this Summer because we do have a lot of lost time to make up for.

I thank you. *Curtsy*

While we are on the topic of our roadways, let's relive the good old days. Shall we?