I finally got around to finishing the covered bridges tour I started last month.  I picked up the route on 212, heading west from 611 into Durham Township.  After winding my way through Springfield Township, I came across the Knechts Bridge on my left.  A few shutter-clicks later, I went through the bridge (otherwise it doesn’t count), popped a u-turn, then back onto 212.

A straight shot south on Old Bethlehem Road, into Haycock township, then a right on Thatcher and a left onto the aptly-named Bridge Way, had me crossing the Tohickon Creek on Sheard’s Mill Bridge.  Also known as Thatcher Bridge, its 130 feet long and was built in 1873.  Through the bridge and onward south put me on the first main road in awhile, Dublin Pike.

Into Perkasie and a right onto Fifth Street.  On the maps, Perkasie looks like a congested city area, with a grid-like street layout.  However, the township still retains a small-town appearance and many farmlands along the outskirts.  I followed the suggested route through town, and found a place that just called out to me: Bravo’s Pizza.  I stopped and devoured two slices of pizza and a Gatorade (total: $4.95).  Next time I’ll have to pick up a t-shirt, and try their “Bravo’s Rice Balls” stuffed with ground beef, sweet peas, and sauce.

I didn’t see the South Perkasie Bridge where it was supposed to be, so I continued on the route.  Heading north on Branch Avenue, I spotted the bridge off to my left at Blooming Glen Road.  Blooming Glen is only one-way across the bridge, and that will put you back at Fifth Street.  For those not wanting to eat at Bravo’s Pizza, you can cut the route short by turning left on West Callowhill from Fifth Street, left onto Branch Ave, left onto Blooming Glen across the bridge, then right on Fifth back to Dublin Pike.

Dublin Pike turns into Swamp Road as it approaches Doylestown.  At the Pine Valley Bridge, my GPS’ route gets a little messed-up, as the local roads past the bridge are not in my GPS software.  While on the road, however, it easily recalculated and put me on the original route to 202 for a little stretching of the Bandit’s legs on the highway section.  These back roads are kind of gnarly, having been exposed to a few years of icy winters since their last resurfacing.  Cruisers and standards are fine through here, but ride your full-on sportbike carefully, as the bumps come out of nowhere.  Adventure-tourers (like the BMW GS or Suzuki’s V-Strom) or dual-sports with their long-travel suspension would be right at home on these roads.

I didn’t even stop to look for the Schofield Ford Bridge, as that is supposed to be a short walk from the roadway, and I had my race boots on.  Maybe I’ll hit that one in the winter, when I do this tour again in the Forester following a light snowstorm.

Or, “How lazy donut-eating Americans are destroying the world.”

With gas prices well over $4 per gallon here in Philadelphia, one would think that people of modest means (or even those of not so modest means) would start practicing ways to reduce their own individual consumption of the liquid gold.  Co-workers of mine that take the regional rail lines into work report a definite increase in ridership, made worse by SEPTA refusing to spend that extra revenue on adding train cars to the morning schedule.  What I continue to see on the road, however, is a far cry from conservation.

I carpool with a buddy that lives in my neighborhood, allowing us both to cut our fuel costs in half, as well as allowing us to park for free at work.  Every morning, we pass a Dunkin Donuts/BP gas station.  Even when the pumps are unoccupied (meaning there are no customers inside the store), there are at least five cars in line for the drive-through to pick up their unhealthy breakfast.  That’s five people at a time that are too lazy to turn the car off and go into the store for their morning meal.  They would rather sit in line for ten minutes, engine running, A/C blasting, running late for work, than to get out of the car for two minutes.

Once on I-95, the traffic is just as congested as it was two years ago when gas was little more than half the price it is now.  Still, every other vehicle is a V-8 pickup or SUV, attempting to maneuver aggressively through rush-hour traffic in order to get to work 30 seconds faster.  Most vehicles are occupied by only the driver, and enter the highway at points well within a 20 minute bus ride to center city.  Ok, so the shorter drives don’t burn much fuel, but parking is far from free in center city Philadelphia.

On the upside, pretty much everyone who owns a motorcycle at my job is riding them in at least a few days a week.  On the downside, we only have room for 8 or so motorcycles by the front door, and all the spots are being taken on a regular basis.  We’ve been encroaching onto the rest of the sidewalk, but there’s no telling how long that will fly.

Overall, it seems like some people never learn.  Those that are lazy will continue to be lazy no matter the cost.  Those that are wasteful will still be wasteful, even if it costs them everything.  Maybe half of us are actually taking things seriously and making changes in order to conserve resources, even if its just for our own financial well-being.  The rest - the lazy, the wasteful, the ignorant, and many of the rich - maintain the world’s course on the path of destruction.  I see it every morning as I pass the Dunkin Donuts.

I had heard of the Hawk’s Nest, north of Port Jervis, New York, several years ago as a popular place for bikers to ride and gather on the weekends.  I was under the impression at the time that it was centered around some kind of restaurant or cafe at that location, and later heard that it had burned down, and therefore put that destination way down the priority list of places to visit.  I had heard of the place again recently on several motorcycling forums, and decided to check it out last weekend.

I followed the Delaware River pretty much the entire way, following 611 north to Stroudsburg, PA then 209 north through the Delaware Water Gap.  From Port Jervis, NY its just a short scoot up Hwy 97 to the Hawk’s Nest.  It turns out the Hawk’s Nest is a scenic overlook along the Upper Delaware Scenic Byway part of NY 97.  This part of 97 winds along the cliff face about a hundred feet over the Delaware River, providing spectacular views of the river below.

I zipped past the Hawk’s Nest pull-off, and continued a few miles north to a lunch spot at the intersection of 97 and 55.  At the lunch spot, I was surrounded by members of Ramapo Motorcycle Club, participating in their annual “Ramapo 500″ weekend rally.  After lunch, I took off on 55 and made a loop through White Lake and back to NY 97 a few miles north of Minisink Ford.

Coming back south on NY 97, I hit Minisink Ford and spotted Roebling’s Delaware Aqueduct.  John A. Roebling, eventually the designer of the Brooklyn Bridge, designed the Aqueduct as a way for boats travelling the canal system to more easily cross the Delaware River; it was basically a canal going over a bridge.  Now, its a paved one-lane traffic bridge between Minisink Ford, NY and Lackawaxen, PA.  After a few photos, I continued south on 97 back to Hawk’s Nest.

There were at least a dozen bikes parked at the overlook this time, so I pulled in to sip some water and take some pics while I enjoyed the view.  A few of us enjoyed a laugh as one of the Harley chopper riders took off wearing just boots and shorts (no shirt, no helmet), and gunned his motor, producing an insane level of noise but not really going anywhere fast.  I took my pics, then headed out, giving the remaining riders a little one-wheel salute as I departed.

I took Rt 484 south to Rt 6.  I have been wanting to do a multi-day trip all the way across Rt 6 in Pennsylvania, so I decided to explore the eastern edge of it.  I took Rt 6 west as far as the Scranton area, then south on I-81, south on I-476, east on I-78 to Easton, then south on 611 back home.  I ended up being out a total of 12 hours that day, but it only took about 4 hours to get home, including the detour to explore Rt 6.  I’m already planning to lead a few of my buddies up to the Hawk’s Nest sometime soon.