Like any good out door activity, the day of (and actually the whole week leading up to) the ride I crossed my fingers and checked the weather report again hoping that they had not changed it while I slept, dreaming of laying the bike low through the turns and twisting the throttle. Thrilled to see not a single cloud in the sky and mid 70 degree day in front of us, we headed out the door . . . and froze our butts off on the way to Jefferson diner first thing in the morning! Eating breakfast while the rest of the riders rolled in, thinking we would have an intimate group of 5 or 6 turned into 11 bikes and 13 riders, Heather DeSantis and Liam Brennan rode back seat to join in the fun, it is a family club after all. As the sun climbed higher over the trees, warming the day, we all fired up the engines around 10am, and our interesting mix of club members and friends hit the road.
Playing in the curves within the first few miles we wound our way through northern Jersey. We avoided the traffic prone roads for the less traveled (and less straight) county roads. Some mild confusion at the Dingmans bridge (will they ever except EZ pass there?). At the first pit stop just into PA some riders were showing off their new scratches on hard parts (considered badges of honor) that got dragged through the curves while leaning the bikes over. Then it was time for some more roads that seemed designed with the motorcycle in mind, up route 739 and across on route 434. It seemed like a never ending parade of yellow and black curved road signs, even a huge 4’ x 8’ one on 739 for anyone not paying attention. A stop over at Shahola falls had us all walking down a woodland path for 5 minutes to check out a neat multi level water fall hidden in the woods. There was a nicely built overlook and a fence to keep everyone on the safer side of things, but of course most of us ended up out on the rocks, inches from the water. Some even took a moment to pose for a picture next to the “danger†sign. A short ride from there to Milford, PA and the heart of any good motorcycle ride . . . lunch!
With our stomachs full (at least those of us able to eat solid food, sorry Diane, I had to throw that in there!) we journeyed on. Back into NJ, we worked our way over to route 23 and cleared out the pipes heading up the hill into high point. Stopping off at the monument Pat, Liam, and Bill felt the need to climb the many stairs too be unquestionably at the “highest point†in NJ and were rewarded with some really great views. We took a more relaxed time coming down the hill with a 4 mile ride through the woods on Sawmill road. At a finally pit stop along route 23 we all gassed up and said our good byes for now, with plans of riding together again soon. Finding a few more curves on the way back towards the diner we wrapped up a perfect riding day covering about 140 miles.
Thanks Bill and Diane for the photos, Olivier for bringing up the rear to keep the group together. Also thanks to all who joined in, a great ride is always made better when shared.
Written by Lee DeSantis