NY, NJ, PA Wonderland Ride! 🏍️🌄

The Delaware River and Water Gap and its surrounding areas host some of the best terrain and roads in the Northeastern USA. Providing a border between NJ and PA, the Delaware River's vistas, landscape, and quaint towns provide hours, if not days, of bliss for riders in the region. 🌊🏞️

On Nov 25, 2016, I journeyed throughout the northern PA, northern NJ, and southern NY section of this landscape along undulating elevations, twisties decorated with mountain vistas, and farmlands peppered with red barns and livestock. 🚜🌲 (Download the GPX file here.)

For this time of the year, the weather was seasonally chilly - with temperatures varying from the mid-30s to mid-40s... 10 degrees cooler than forecasted and than I had planned. Generally, the skies were overcast, and there was even a brief, light rain shower along the way. Multiple layers and heated gear kept me comfortable enough to bear the day's 285-mile trek from central NJ through "the loop" pictured on the right, and back to central NJ. 🌧️❄️

The 130-mile loop was fantastic! Except for about 5% of the route, I had not been on any roads within this loop. If chasing daylight wasn't a factor, I would have stopped repeatedly for pictures as every single portion of the ride had little to no traffic. 📸

I started at the southern end of the loop because that was the shortest distance from my NJ garage. This landed me on Rte 521, which is a highly renowned stretch of NJ secondary highways. At first, I was disappointed when my iPhone commanded me to turn left off Rte 521 and into unknown terrain. Trustingly I went... and any disappointment evaporated with each subsequent turn. 📱🛣️

After passing through the center of Port Jervis, my excitement levels increased knowing that the Hawk's Nest was nearing. And a sign indicating that I reached Rte. 97 had my heart racing with joy. 🦅

The visual cues of the Hawk's Nest are unmistakable - a stone wall secures travelers on one side and a chiseled-out mountain wall is on the other. The tarmac is smooth, and one twist follows another. Riding on this late fall afternoon also meant that the normal summer traffic was gone. (See a 360Fly video of the Nest here.) Although the best part of the Hawk's Nest lasts only a minute and a half, beyond this core section is more pristine riding along the Delaware River. 🏞️🛤️

The loop headed me west back into PA over Dingman's Ferry Bridge, a wooden plank bridge requiring a $1 toll (cash only). This privately owned bridge even has a cash collector standing in the middle of the road accepting travelers' fares. Although I was a little irritated by the clunky, old collection process, I was grateful to have exact change easily accessible in my tank bag. 💵🌉

Shortly after entering into PA, I came upon signs for Old Mine Rd. It was in this part of the ride that I wished I was riding a GS instead of an R. The five-mile ride along Old Mine Rd is unpaved. Fortunately, the recent light rain matted down the dust and left small water pools to help highlight where the potentially suspension-damaging divots were. However, the rain also resulted in a slick dirt surface. I spent the entire time in first gear and very nearly wiped out trying to navigate through a narrow patch of deep puddles and elevated dirt mounds. In hindsight, I would modify the GPX route to avoid this road. 🛤️🌧️

In all, this route was one of the best I've ever taken in the Northeast. Those traveling through this area should go out of their way to cherish it. 🌟

Cheers and enjoy, friends! 🍻