Somewhere in one of the messages that have flown around concerning the upcoming Class of '74 and Friends Reunion, someone floated the idea of mountain biking. I'm not sure who mentioned it first. Might have been Peggy (Dolan) Cordell, or maybe Michelle (Edison) Leonard, maybe Andrea (Margaret Herman) Harmon. Doesn't much matter. It seems like a good idea, whoever wants to claim credit.
I've begun to do a little digging to see what might be available for off-road rides. Our choices really depend on who's interested in going, and the level of riding that group wants to tackle. There are converted rail trails in a couple of different places that offer flat or nearly flat riding over just about any distance. Examples are the Kittatinny Valley State Park that lies east of Andover and the Paulinskill Lake Rail Trail that runs some 27 miles from Sparta Junction to Knowlton Township somewhere past Blairstown. The Sussex Branch Trail runs 21 miles through Allamuchy and Kittatinny Valley parks, terminating in Branchville. Kittatinny Valley also has some single-track with more challenging terrain, according to a couple of sources I found on-line. Stokes State Forest has biking as well, though I haven't yet come up with any detailed information. There's always Sunrise Mountain, which seems to have a place in some people's hearts.
On the grander scale is Mountain Creek (formerly known as Great Gorge) with a fee-based, big-terrain experience available ($30 for lift ticket).
There are also paved and dirt sections of the Old Mine Road in the Delaware Water Gap NRA open to biking.
We have Saturday and Sunday mornings available (or at least, I do). I could be talked into any one of the options I mentioned above and am open to other suggestions as well. If you've got a favorite trail you'd like to share, let's hear about it. I'd also be interested in possibly getting a road ride together for the day that mountain biking doesn't happen.
Let's hear some discussion about the level of interest in either/both of these activities and what y'all would like to do.
Dave
LINKS:
Kittatinny Valley State Park
Paulinskill Valley Rail Trail
Stokes State Forest
Diablo Freeride Park (Mountain Creek)
some trail reviews
Delaware Water Gap
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ReplyDeleteWow - Dave, I'm so impressed with your research! I'm on the fence, actually about riding now - although I love to, but it makes road-tripping across the country a little more challenging (if I bring my own mountain bike). I might be able to borrow a bike at my brother's house, which is in Branchville - and I've been on some of the rail-trails before. I like flat - I'll just put that out there. Big hills psyche me out at my age. Of course, we are talking New Jersey - not Montana!
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be some confusion over what kind of bikes, probably fueled a bit by MY e-mails to various people and other material written by me. So, sorry. To try to clarify...
ReplyDeleteSome people told me they were interested in an idea, first expressed to me by Russ Moffett, that people with MOTORcycles would ride out to the Delaware River and gather somewhere for a possible picnic. People like John Cuneo, and this week Cindy Rowett, said they wanted to be kept informed about this endeavor for Saturday daytime. And I originally said that this was a great idea, and that possibly people (not on two wheels, but driving their cars) could logistically meet up at that specific spot, to be worked out ahead of time, near the river.
Then some other people mentioned regular BIcycles (i.e., mountain bikes) -- like Andrea and Michele and Peggy and now Dave leading the charge. Again, great.
All forms of transportation could work, of course. It just has to be coordinated by the interested parties and riders and drivers. (And, for God's sake, wear a helmet, and hopefully it won't ruin your hair too much for Saturday night's party at The Barn at Perona Farms.)
Wow! We're older... but we really DON"T change... who's surprised that Dave is suggesting bikes?! I still remember trying out his recumbent at the 20th reunion!
ReplyDeleteI have at least expanded my riding to re-include road bikes and mountain biking, though for anything over a couple of miles the 'bent is my first choice. Next weekend's ride is ~90 miles, two weeks after that our tenth annual recumbent rally (~100 miles from campground to BBQ to campground, then two weeks after that Seattle-to-Portland-to-Hood River, OR (~270 miles over three days).
ReplyDeleteI'm not seeing a lot of enthusiasm yet for a bike ride at the reunion. Maybe as the weather warms up.