I posted in the NE forum about planning for this trip:
https://www.guzzitech.com/forums/threads/four-days-in-east-central-pennsylvania.15929/
Now, we’re back from that trip. Here's the story, with pix.
For more than a year, Larry and I had been planning a reprise of our 2014 multi-day ride in Pennsylvania, with most of that in the southeastern and central portions of the Keystone State.
What a grand trip that was. He rode my Norge on that trip; I was on my Griso. Since then, he bought my brother Michael’s (first of three!) Norges, so this year we could both ride nearly identical machines.
We decided this year to ride in mid-April and to focus more on the NE area, including some of New York State, in and around the Poconos, with the ride up there and back being part of the fun, too. In other words, as do most here, we do not ride the slab, and see little of four-lane roads, either. Two-lane blacktops are ribbons of joy.
Larry trailered his Norge from Ormond Beach, Florida, to our home outside of Winchester, Virginia, on Sunday, 17 April. We arranged to have the local (great) Moto Guzzi dealer, Winchester Motosports (http://www.winchestermotosports.com), open especially for us on Monday to do some work Larry needed and I hadn’t gotten to when I had my Norge in (a bazillion) pieces recently.
We launched on Tuesday morning with less planning than one would have expected given all the time we had, but it all worked great.
Our general intention for Day 1 was to wend our way on back roads from the top of Virginia to Jim Thorpe, Pa. We would base out of Scranton on Days 2 & 3, and return to Cross Junction by a different path on Friday, Day 4. We did not fail.
Motorcyclist/author/friend Melissa Holbrook Pearson (http://www.melissaholbrookpierson.com) started us off in the right (and left) twisting direction by recommending Pennsylvania SR 74, which rocks and rolls from Carlisle to Port Royal, and we rode similarly fun and challenging — tho not as always so well-paved! — roads every day.
We had typical and expected encounters with incomprehensibly lunatic cage drivers, but survived without injury or road rage. Wildlife was a nearer thing on several occasions with flocks of homicidal and suicidal wild turkeys leading the effort.
The weather is always iffy in mid-spring, but the forecasts seemed to get better as the ride neared. Still, the common outlook for our Day 4 was wet, even very wet. C’est la vie. Comes with the territory.
Two retired guys away from their wives for a few days tend to take advantage of the culinary (only!) temptations, and the attached pix are evidence of that. Regrettably (or not), I have given up on taking pix while riding. After one too many “OMG, this is it!” moments of terror, I realized that I could not multi-task riding a motorcycle and photography!
Anyway, if still reading and interested, go here:
https://bill-and-kathi.smugmug.com/Norging-in-Pennsylvana-April/n-f96GnS/
Best viewed as slideshow in “full screen.” There are captions. Some may require a “mouse-over” to read all words.
Regards from the top of Virginia,
Bill
https://www.guzzitech.com/forums/threads/four-days-in-east-central-pennsylvania.15929/
Now, we’re back from that trip. Here's the story, with pix.
For more than a year, Larry and I had been planning a reprise of our 2014 multi-day ride in Pennsylvania, with most of that in the southeastern and central portions of the Keystone State.
What a grand trip that was. He rode my Norge on that trip; I was on my Griso. Since then, he bought my brother Michael’s (first of three!) Norges, so this year we could both ride nearly identical machines.
We decided this year to ride in mid-April and to focus more on the NE area, including some of New York State, in and around the Poconos, with the ride up there and back being part of the fun, too. In other words, as do most here, we do not ride the slab, and see little of four-lane roads, either. Two-lane blacktops are ribbons of joy.
Larry trailered his Norge from Ormond Beach, Florida, to our home outside of Winchester, Virginia, on Sunday, 17 April. We arranged to have the local (great) Moto Guzzi dealer, Winchester Motosports (http://www.winchestermotosports.com), open especially for us on Monday to do some work Larry needed and I hadn’t gotten to when I had my Norge in (a bazillion) pieces recently.
We launched on Tuesday morning with less planning than one would have expected given all the time we had, but it all worked great.
Our general intention for Day 1 was to wend our way on back roads from the top of Virginia to Jim Thorpe, Pa. We would base out of Scranton on Days 2 & 3, and return to Cross Junction by a different path on Friday, Day 4. We did not fail.
Motorcyclist/author/friend Melissa Holbrook Pearson (http://www.melissaholbrookpierson.com) started us off in the right (and left) twisting direction by recommending Pennsylvania SR 74, which rocks and rolls from Carlisle to Port Royal, and we rode similarly fun and challenging — tho not as always so well-paved! — roads every day.
We had typical and expected encounters with incomprehensibly lunatic cage drivers, but survived without injury or road rage. Wildlife was a nearer thing on several occasions with flocks of homicidal and suicidal wild turkeys leading the effort.
The weather is always iffy in mid-spring, but the forecasts seemed to get better as the ride neared. Still, the common outlook for our Day 4 was wet, even very wet. C’est la vie. Comes with the territory.
Two retired guys away from their wives for a few days tend to take advantage of the culinary (only!) temptations, and the attached pix are evidence of that. Regrettably (or not), I have given up on taking pix while riding. After one too many “OMG, this is it!” moments of terror, I realized that I could not multi-task riding a motorcycle and photography!
Anyway, if still reading and interested, go here:
https://bill-and-kathi.smugmug.com/Norging-in-Pennsylvana-April/n-f96GnS/
Best viewed as slideshow in “full screen.” There are captions. Some may require a “mouse-over” to read all words.
Regards from the top of Virginia,
Bill
