tour reports » Three Day Tour in the Catskills, NY

My wife and I made our first riding tour together (both of us riding our own bike) during the Memorial Day weekend. We plan our trip around the Catskills Mountain in NY State. We left on Saturday morning and came back Monday late in the day.
1st Day: Home (Southeast PA) through the Delaware Water Gap, and NY Route 97 (Hawk’s Nest), to Hancok, NY, then Hwy 17 to Binghamton, NY.
2nd Day: Binghamton, NY to Deposit, NY, then Route 10 to Cannonsville Reservoir, then Route 30 to Pepacton Reservoir, Route 28 to Ashokan Reservoir. We crossed the Hudson River in Catskill, NY and drove to Lake Taghkanic State Park in NY to relax for the afternoon. Then completed the day with a short ride down to Danbury, CT for the night.
3rd Day: Danbury, CT on Route 202 which is incredible and filled with twisties once in NY State, and through Harriman State Park driving through the Seven Lake Parkway, then back on the 287 and the 78 so we could make it home in a decent time.

We averaged about 250-280 miles a day (with over 300 miles on the first day). We traveled a total of 857 miles. Sylvia did very well on her Can Am and enjoyed riding more than I expected. On the third day, when we were back home, she was sad it was over, and she is looking forward to our next one. She was able to maintain the 65-70 mph speed on the freeway very easily. The 287 scared her a bit with the numerous transport trucks around us, but she managed to overcome that fear.
I used to do an annual tour with some Canadian friend (childhood and college friends), and we were never able to ride more than 200-240 miles a day as a group. There was always someone wanting to stop to blow their nose, eat something, take their pills, check their phones, sore ass, or for any other reasons. That made traveling as a group very difficult. I am very grateful that my wife can tolerate riding long distance, and like top stop for same reason I like to stop.
I have to say she is a real road warrior, and a keeper.
Looking forward to our next riding adventures.

We especially liked riding along the large reservoirs, the roads were nice, with no traffic.

NY Route 97 up to Haws Nest was great but very busy with loud Harleys, and nowhere to park. The overlook were crouded, and this is a very popular spots for short distance riders.

Route 202 to the Purple Hat Memorial Bridge, and into Harriman State Park, were the highlights of our trip.

Of course we didnt just rode all the time, we stopped for breaks and food.

Here's a few of the lady, enjoying her Spyder, and some good food.

Beautiful area. I lived there in the early eighties when my bike of choice was a Norton Commando Interstate. It was perfect for that area...

Looks like a fun trip. Next time be sure to stop around Gilboa. There used to be a great overlook to the reservoir, but construction has eliminated the spot. There is some good history in that area. Also, going east on 17 from Hancock, you need to take route 30 for a beautiful ride along the east branch of the Delaware river.

Also recommend you get onto the back roads more and stay away from the major highways. But that’s always true for all of us.

I have a brother is Doylestown who must be pretty close to you?

Looks like a great ride, and the missus certainly looks like she is enjoying it. Wins all around!

Nice ride report and pics.

Zitat von BoxerFan im Beitrag #5

---

Of course we didnt just rode all the time, we stopped for breaks and food.

Here's a few of the lady, enjoying her Spyder, and some good food.

---

I also took a bunch of GoPro shots during our trip, just to realize that my home computer doesnt support the Go Pro video editing app. I am still running Windows 7, maybe there is a way around this.