Attention Adventure Riders: I am planning a 2-day "adventure" ride from the Delaware Water Gap (on the NJ/PA border) up to Milford, PA, then back to the Gap the following day. The element of "adventure" is due to the varied terrain we will encounter, along with any last-minute or on-the-fly route changes (that could be required due to several uncontrollable factors)... The only requirement: be flexible, be adventurous, have fun...
Note: This ride is NOT RIV RALLY EAST; this is IN ADDITION TO Riv Rally East (which is tentatively scheduled for early May in Virginia, stay tuned.) Here are details about the Gap Adventure Loop: *Route Summary (total approx 90 miles over 2 days), this will require an overnight stay in a B&B/Motel/Cottage in Milford PA; in other words, this is a light tour; you will need to carry enough gear for the 2-day ride:* The Delaware Water Gap was formed billions of years ago (OK, maybe only millions) by ancient glaciers. Today it is an impressive natural landmark (yes, Jersey has them) where the Delaware River cuts through the Kittatinny Mountain range in Western NJ, just East of Stroudsburg, PA. Our Day1 route takes us up the Delware River along Old Mine Road, perhaps the oldest road in the US (once used by Dutch settlers as a mining route, hence the name). The rolling terrain consists of a mixture of paved and dirt roads, passing through National Recreation and State Forest areas... It's suprisingly remote for NJ. We will spend the night in quaint, historic Milford, PA, just North of Dingman's Ferry over on the PA side. There are several lodging options in Milford, and plenty of places to eat (See below links). The Day 2 route is a bit more varied. After crossing back into NJ we start off with a fairly strenous hill climb up into Stokes State Forest, where we will traverse the heart of this rugged, beautiful forested preserve on paved, jeep and single track trail. There may be a few dismount/portage spots (i.e. stream crossings, rock gardens, rooty sections), but these are relatively minor. The route emerges from Stokes Forest, continuing over back roads down to the Paulinskil Trail, which is a dirt and gravel rail-trail (popular with the equestrian community) that runs North-South down the Paulinskil Valley on the East side of the Kittatinny Ridge (note: we ride North on the West side of the Ridge on Day 1). The Paulinskil Trail ends just 1/2 mile up the road from our starting point, near the Water Gap. The terrain on Day 1 is rolling, with no major climbs. The terrain on Day 2 includes a pretty challenging climb early on, and a few moderate uphills in the heart of Stokes, followed by a decent downhill and a few rollers to get to the Paulinskil, which is a flat, but mixed dirt/gravel surface that requires some pretty serious pedaling. *Lodging Sat Night (in Milford, PA):* You will be responsible for arranging your own lodging. Last time I slept at the Myers Country Motel (which is actually a collection of basic, but very clean and comfortable cottages), but there are also plently of B&Bs in town (link to lodging: http://www.milfordpa.us/lodging.html) Note: not all lodging is right in town; I strongly recommend checking that your choice is within the downtown area. ALSO, the link for Myer's Country Motel on that site isn't working; here is the direct link. (I plan to stay here as I did last time; best deal in town): http://www.myermotel.com/Welcome.html *Lodging near the Water Gap (for out of state travelers, Friday night):* Depending which direction you're coming from and if you want to stay near the start, there should be plenty of places within a 30 minute drive of the Gap. I would suggest using Google Maps to find lodging that suits your travel schedule. The Water Gap is approx a 2 hour drive from Philly, and approx a 90 minute drive from NYC, in case you prefer to drive to the start early Sat morning. *Other logistics:* I will arrange for a safe place to park our cars overnight near the start of the ride, in Knowlton, NJ, just East of the Gap. (Last time the local police/municipal staff allowed us to park in the municipal building's parking lot; I will request permission to park here. Kindly let me know if you plan to join us for this ride. It will be an adventure, for sure. Also feel free to contact me directly if you need more information. Peace, Bobby Birmingham montclairbob...@gmail.com -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
