April 21, 2012 - Mt. Minsi, Take One

Gypsy Stats:
Elapsed Time:  11 hours 2 minutes
Riding Time:  6 hours 48 minutes
Total Miles:  303 miles
Ave MPH:  44.6 mph

Beemer Stats:
Total Miles: 310.3 miles
Average MPH:  44 mph
Average MPG: 49 mpg

Pump data:
47.9 mpg
$4.21 per gal ave for premium today

The early morning was foggy

This was supposed to be the weekend we took three days to go to Pipestem, WV and stayed in the lodge reachable only by gondola tramway.  Two things interfered:  the gondola lodge does not open until May and a big nor'easter coming up the coast threatening to cause rain all weekend.  We can ride in the rain when we need to (and do) but there really is no point in setting out on a three-dayer knowing the odds are you are going to spend two of the three days in the wet and cold.  So we opted to go long on Saturday and put off Pipestem for two weeks.

Delaware Water Gap from Rt 611 southbound on the Pennsylvania side

Totts Gap Road was unpaved

In preparation for the trip, I managed to fix up all of the recent deficiencies with bike and gear.  I glued and sewed some new velcro onto the waistband of my riding suit so I could tighten them up enough to keep them from falling off.  I got advice from the internet on how to re-load the firmware on the GPS and got it working again.  I bought a new relatively cheap ($80) camera to mount on the handlebars and rigged it to run on bike power.  And while I did not fix it, I figured out the cause of the recent starting problems (mis-adjusted gear indicator switch) and figured out a reliable work around (bike must have clutch pulled in and side stand up to start).  So, fully operational and re-farkled, I was ready for an early (7:30 am) form-up at the Redners Quick Stop.

We had put locating the road to Mt. Minsi on our to-do list.  Google Maps shows Tott's Gap Road going up over the mountain between Park Service Rd and Poplar Valley Rd. with the Appalachian Trail as an unpaved road out to a radio tower on the top of Mt. Minsi.  The satellite photos show it as at least a two track peaking out from under the trees.  Couple that with the pancake house in Stroudsburg for breakfast and a destination was born.

Rt 97 in New York follows the river, sometimes at river level

We road across the Blue Hills towards Seisholtzville, Shimerville, Vera Cruz, and Lanark to hit the entrance to I 78 at Saucon Valley.  Heading out, temperatures were holding around 60 with thick fog on the hills obscuring the view.  In the damp air with no overcast sky and no sun, it felt cooler than the temperature suggested.  I was wearing my long base layer with the Gerbling liner unplugged and riding suit with liners and medium gloves.  Dave actually plugged in ("Well, I can always turn it off...") and Tim added his chin fleece.  I have to admit, it occurred to me more than once on the ride up Rt 33 that if I had the jacket plugged in, I would have turned it on, at least just a little.

..and sometimes high above snaking along the hillside.

So, I 78 to Rt 33 up to Stroudsburg with some bumbling about due to a detour and eventually to the pancake house.  Well worth the ride - 3 eggs and hash with three buttermilk pancakes for Tim and me, Hawaiian pancakes and home fries for Dave.  And the coffee was good; always a plus.

From Stroudsburg, we headed south on Rt 611 through the Delaware Water Gap on the Pennsylvania side, looking for Forest Service Rd.  Forest Service Rd. took us up onto the south side of the mountain to the junction with Tott's Gap Rd.  Whoops!  Seems something is missing.  Tott's Gap Rd to the right looks like two very rough ruts of someone's driveway.  A high-res examination of the map and satellite photo on the iPad shows that indeed, there is a section of Tott's Gap Rd which is nonexistent between between Forest Service Rd and the top of the ridge.  Well, no problem.  Up the valley we wend (on some great roads that require further exploration on another visit) to Fox Gap, over the mountain on Rt 191, back up to the other end of Tott's Gap Rd on Poplar Valley Rd., and up the mountain on Tott's Gap Rd.  Well, until the pavement ran out... and we came to the gate across the road.  On checking, we found the gate unlocked and Tim was on his Honda Transalp (a dual sport bike) so he headed up the mountain to reconnoiter.  He came back and reported an excellent vista from the top of Mt. Minsi but roads not suited for street bikes.  At a minimum we needed GS's to proceed.  So we leave Mt. Minsi unassaulted, a great destination for a future medium-to-long day ride when we are all equipped with GS's.

The view from Hawk's Nest

First in line to enter the one-lane chute thru the construction zone

Where we met the Fire/Rescue truck coming the other way

We headed north across the Pocono plateau on Rt 402 out of Marshall's Creek, then up Rt 447, and across the Delaware into New York state to ride Rt 97 down through the Hawk's Nest.  Rt 97 follows the Delaware south and east on the New York side to Port Jervis, sometimes down near river level but often cut into the side of the hill hundreds of feet above the river below.  The road is a continuous serpentine as it follows the contour of the hill with only a low stone wall between rider and precipice.  Even tho' the Hawk's Nest bar and restaurant, which was perched out over the drop, burned down years ago, the area remains a motorcycle destination.  Today's added attraction was road work which had a section of the Rt 97 cut down to a one lane chute with Jersey barriers on one side and the sheer rock wall on the other.  Traffic lights at each end allowed alternate directions of travel.  As we waited for our turn, we heard sirens and saw a number of emergency vehicles come through from the other direction.  When the light turned green and it was our turn, we headed into the chute.  Soon we heard another siren, and soon after that were confronted with a Fire/Rescue truck, lights flashing coming at us head-on on the one lane road.  With the bikes, we had just enough room to squeeze over to let him past.  However, behind us was a long line of cars and I doubt there was room to get two abreast on that roadway.  Don't know how they resolved it; we were just glad to have been first in line, narrow enough to pass, and on our way.

Riding thru NW New Jersey

So, on to Port Jervis (where you can only pee if you ride a motorcycle unless you go to the laundromat; honestly, who makes up these rules???) then across into NW New Jersey, down Sussex Co Rt 521 (a great ride) to Blairstown, on to cross the river at Belvidere, to Martins Creek, Tatamy, Nazareth (with a stop for Potts hot dogs at a picnic table in Fairview Park), and home.  Temperatures were 68 thru most fo the morning, rising to mid-to-upper 70's in the afternoon with no sign of the threatened rain.  By the end of the ride we were shedding layers down to summer gear.  I'm just glad it finally rained on Sunday; we needed the water and it justifies not making the three day ride this weekend.

Approaching the bridge from Belvidere to Riverton

Getting ready to "thread the needle" under the trestle on Grist Mill Road