I still need to replace my rear tire, and the man is out of town til Thursday. So what's a wife to do? Take the Triumph out for a spin in a new direction that I hadn't explored before, North! I decided to try and shoot for RT 97, Hawk's Nest, a popular destination for local motorcyclists. I decided to send Benny to his awesome dogsitter, and try a solo overnight so I could try to ride as far north as I could. Since I have Sunday and Monday off, I tried to start Sunday morning. I had a rather late start and ended up not leaving until 11am. As a result I only got about 150-180 miles (my goal was closer to 300) in but still had a fabulous time!
As always, I used one of the Kriega packs, the 20-Liter since I wanted to have enough supplies for the night. Remember to fully pack your Kriega so it cinches down easier. I scribbled down my ride route and off I went.
Oh and for the record, I'm NOT keeping my husband's bike. Just borrowing until I swap that damn tire. I have decided however, that I will be selling the SV and buying a gently used Street Triple next spring :D. An R model if I can find one I can afford, fingers crossed.
I had a really late start Sunday (~11am) so I didn't quite hit the roads I wanted to. Here's the route I wanted to do but once I got to 15 I had to keep going and take the obvious route to get there before deer o'clock. Did you know that Pennsylvania has one of the highest deer collision rates in the country? Eek!
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zWtuq3HMVCRs.k_T9H2q9bEQg
Before I got to Chester, PA I did have a nice detour through Black River Park because of tremendous traffic heading into Chester. It was at least a mile of bumper to bumper. And the last thing I wanted was to sit there clutching on this tall, heavy beast. So I made a right turn and followed another guy on an R6 who was obviously hoping to do the same. I got to this funky intersection (after riding some goaty, unpaved roads to get there!):
After awhile I stopped for lunch at Hilltop Deli & Catering in High Bridge, NJ at 513 and Cregar Road. I had a tasty BLT and a nice view of my ride. Sandwiches were inexpensive and delicious. A lovely family ran the place, dad making sandwiches and mom running the place with their teenage kids working the counter. Love it!
The rest of my ride to the border was rather uneventful. I found a room for the night at the Red Carpet Inn, nothing fancy but clean and inexpensive ($78/night+tax). I picked this location so I could ride further up north in the morning.
The next morning, I headed West on 6 and then went north on 97. I underestimated how cool it was going to be, given that it was 8am. I also wanted to get back home before rush hour, since traffic can be heinous heading into Philly. Being a California girl, I certainly had high expectations. I would say that 97 is definitely a lovely road and worth the trip if you've never ridden that way before and are looking for scenic routes. The road is certainly twisty but nothing highly technical (think switchback and hairpins with changing elevation). I did manage to get a few pretty pictures on this cute little bridge:
At the end of the bridge was a very goaty, gravel filled road with a sign that basically said Go Away. Something about needing permits if you go beyond this point. So like a good girl, I hopped off the bike and did a 3 point turn to get back on the bridge back to 97.
I had a crazy ride planned but with the chillier weather I decided to get back home sooner than later. I turned around at 41/Barryville and took a rather direct route home that Google suggested, avoiding the Interstate.
Riding without winter gloves and no heated anything definitely pushed my limits as far as what I could bear. I'm a weather wimp and was definitely missing my heated accessories. Of course I was wearing head to toe Schampa underneath, a windstopper vest and my awesome Rev'it suit. It was just barely enough to keep me fairly warm but I really could've used some heat! The temps were mid 40s to low 50s, definitely colder than I'm used to without my creature comforts.
I MUST redo this ride once I install my heated liner. There appear to be some amazing roads further north which definitely require a much earlier start to accomplish more than 400 miles in 2 days.
