Riding The High Country - North Jersey Cruisers Motorcycle Club

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New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
Riding The High Country
BY KENNETHW.
DAHSE
or
an overnight tour, the only thing all
riders truly desire is great roads. The
borderlands of New Jersey, New York,
and Pennsylvania easily meet that criterion. These roads took my intrepid
group to mountain passes,
rural villages, and historic
sites, as well as some jaunts
along pristine rivers.
Leaving from Ringwood,
New Jersey, we rolled west on
County Road 511, which hugs
the shoreline of the windswept
waters of the Wanaque and
Monksville reservoirs. The
warm air and sun caressed my
face as I cruised with eight
friends rumbling behind me.
The Monksville
Reservoir
F
42 May 2012 • RoadBike
• RoadBikeMag.com
Our riding group
posing in front
of the Starrucca
Viaduct in
Lanesboro, PA.
spans over 500 acres and is part of Long Pond
Ironworks State Park, which has trails to remnants
of the Ironworks industry that once thrived there; it
supplied the iron for General George Washington's
Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.
Nearby, on Sloatsburg Road, is Ringwood Manor,
which was visited by General Washington five times
during the war. Still on 511, we snaked along the
road as it paralleled eight-mile-long Greenwood
Lake. If you want to trade your road ride for a water
one, marinas abound.
Our bikes climbed the serpentine Route 17A with
aplomb to the Bellvale Farms Creamery at the summit of Mount Peter. It was far too early for ice cream,
but picturesque farmland and mountains spread out
before us like a multicolored quilt. Riding into
Warwick, just across the New York border, we picked
up County Road lilA and .thundered through the
black dirt of the Pine Island farming region, heading
towards the town of Port Jervis.
We turned right at County Road 12,
then left at US Route 62 to see a farm
with camels that I had heard about.
Although there wasn't anyone around, or
even a name for the farm, camels, horses,
donkeys, and peacocks graced us with
their presence. Turning left at the farm,
we reconnected with 1, then caught US
Route 6 into Port Jervis. We sailed to
Hawk's Nest, where Route 97 hangs on
the mountainside hundreds of feet above
the Delaware River, like a mountaineer
on the Eiger. There are several scenic
overlooks here, and opportunities to see
hawks and hang gliders sail across the
sky like sailboats in the heavens; if you're
lucky, you might even spot a bald eagle.
The deck of the Inn at Lackawaxen is an
excellent vantage point.
From Hawk's Nest, we thundered
north on 97, which parallels the pristine
Delaware River that separates New York
from Pennsylvania. This rollicking roadway is one of the best motorcycling
routes in the Northeast. Area liveries
offer bikers an opportunity to not only
cruise alongside the river, but also
explore it by canoe, kayak, or raft. I suggested a "ride the river run" to "Mad
Mac," "Uncle" Vito, Columbo, and a few
others in our group; unfortunately, no one else was interested.
We rumbled along 97, watching the river flow, breathing in the
sweet pine-scented air and basking in the warm sun. A break at
the famous Delaware Aqueduct in Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania,
allowed us to view the renowned Roebling Bridge up close. It
was built in 1848 as part of the Delaware and Hudson Canal;
now, instead of barges loaded with coal, riders can enjoy crossing this exceptional bridge.
Just down the road from the bridge is the Zane Grey
Overlooking the Delaware River at Hawks Nest on Rt.97
looking south.
Museum, the former home of the famous writer
Zane Grey who wrote the famous Western novel
Riders of the Purple Sage, a book that inspired me
to write my own Western novel called The Hell
Riders (which can be ordered through any book
store or online from Amazon). After a brief respite,
we fired up our machines and continued north on 97 to
Narrowsburg, where we crossed the river into Pennsylvania
and traveled along the western bank of the Delaware to
Damascus on River Road. At Damascus, we headed west on
Pennsylvania 371, the Great Bend Turnpike, bouncing along
this hilly serpentine road through back country farmland until
we hit the much more hospitable State Route 171 and took it
north toward Lanesboro and the Starrucca Viaduct. But first we
stopped at Arlo's Gas and Country Store. The owners are fans of
entertainer Arlo Guthrie of
Alice s Restaurant fame and
named their place after him.
My friend Leslie was happy for
the stop, but my buddy, the
'60s-hating
"Dumont" Joey,
wasn't, and called Guthrie "Just
another useless hippie singer."
From there we roared north
through the hinterlands
to
Lanesboro (population 546) ,
home of the massive Starrucca
Viaduct. Built in 1848, it's the
oldest stone railroad bridge
still in use in Pennsylvania.
According to the Lanesboro
web site, the viaduct is 100'
high, 25' wide, and 1,040' long.
The one-lane Roebling Bridge in
Lackawaxen, PA, was originally an
aqueduct,but has been converted to
carry pedestrian and motor traffic.
RoadBikeMag.com.
RoadBike • May
2012
43
The new Hancock House Hotel, in Hancock, New York, stands on the site of
the original Hancock House built in 1848.
The 12S-foot-long Hamden Covered Bridge, seen from Route 10 in New
York, spans the west branch of the Delaware River.
so we decided after lunch to blast to Jersey. As we rumbled
That information, however, conflicts with a sign on-site that
home on Route 97, riding alongside the Delaware River,
claims it's bigger. Nevertheless, our female bikers, Lynn,
which delineates the New York/Pennsylvania border, I rumi"Nordic" Linda, and Leslie, were more impressed with it than
nated about what a great ride we'd had. I've cruised this same
some of the guys were.
area several times in various seasons, both solo and with
. We bounced southeast on State Routes 1009 and 1011 to
friends, and it never bores me. With great roads, interesting
Starrucca, where we grabbed State Route 4012, which Leslie
sites to see, and spectacular scenery, the borderlands of New
aptly described as a "cow path." At Shehawken, we took State
Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania are a motorcyclist's
Route 4016 to Preston Park, then jumped on State Route 370
dream come true.
RB
north. In Hancock, we stayed at the relatively new Hancock
House Hotel, which has. modern, clean
rooms, a pub, a restaurant (free breakfast
BORDERLAND BEAT
for guests!), and ample parking. After dinStarrucca Viaduct
Ringwood Manor
Arlo's Country Store
ner at the Blue Stone Grill, we enjoyed a
Uniondale, PA
Ringwood, NJ
Lanesboro, PA
few libations on the hotel's veranda.
570/727-2970
973/962-2240
570/853-4781
The next morning, we fired up our
www.ArlosCountryStore.com
www.RingwoodManor.com
machines and continued our tour of the
www.LanesboroPA.com/
borderlands. Taking State Route 268
Bellvale Farms Creamery
Viaduct.html
Roebling's Delaware
north to Route 10 north to Walton, we
Warwick, NY
Aqueduct Bridge/Zane Grey
sailed through forests and farms gazing
845/988-5414
Museum
upon the mountains kissing the gloomy
The Inn at Lackawaxen
www.BellvaleFarms.com
Upper Delaware Scenic
sky. You can also take a slight detour on
Lackawaxen, PA
10 and ride the other direction, to the Hancock House Hotel
and Recreational River
570/685-7061
southwest, alongside the Cannonsville
.Lackawaxen, PA
Hancock, NY
www.Lackawaxen
Reservoir to the town of Deposit. It's one
570/729-7134
(307/637-7100
sweet ride either way.
House.com
··www.NewHancockHouse.com
www.NPS.gov/UpDe
From Walton, we continued north on
10 toward Dehli, enjoying the views of the
western Catskill' Mountains on the horizon. After a brief stop, we took the sinuous
Route 28 to the artistic little village of
Andes, where we picked up Route 30.
Challenging the twisties as it paralleled the
Pep acton Reservoir gave us all an adrenaline rush. As "Woodstock" Mark said
afterward, "That was far out, man."
Our last stop turned out to be for a
late lunch at the Famous Roscoe Diner
off Route 17. "Wild" Bill, Nordic Linda,
Woodstock Mark, and Uncle Vito needed to get back for evening engagements,
Our group riding alongside the Cannonsville
Reservoir on Rt.10 with the Catskill
Mountains in the background.
44 May 2012 • RoadBike
• RoadBikeMag.com