The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

The Best of the Poconos and Catskills - PA, NJ, NY

September 17th to September 26th

Ride Director: Gail Husson
Ride Co-Director: Richard Olver
Report by: Caryl McKellar

Leader Gail Husson grew up in the Poconos and designed the ten day bicycle tour to show off some of the great routes and points of interest in the area.   I really appreciated the care she put into guiding us into some fascinating places.  Each day had a focal point.  The fourteen participants could either follow Ride with GPS, use paper copies or follow her or co-leader Rich on the day's route.  

We stayed in three excellent and distinctly different hotels, each for three nights.  In Milford PA bungalows with porches, in Narrowsburg, NY a family-run inn the Blue Fox (soon to be featured in Season two of The Four Seasons!), and in Hawley PA a beautifully decorated historic hotel, Settlers Inn.  

Weather was great except for one day of rain and the fall leaves were turning (beautiful!).  We had a scheduled day off the bikes when most of the group did an optional kayak trip for five miles down the Delaware River.  Gail gave the novice kayakers instruction and guidance in getting over the tricky spots.

Other highlights included a visit to the Woodstock Museum at Bethel Woods, NY (outtasight:) where we recalled music/memories of 1969, a tour of Grey Towers, home of a former governor and founder of the Forestry Service, and a visit to Zane Grey's house (prolific writer of westerns).   Gail arranged tours for us and sometimes we had the benefit of being with personal friends of hers such as at Dorflinger's Glass Museum where we learned about the varying fashion of glass production and recalled our grandmother's cutglass bowls.    We also had our New Jersey experience and climbed to High Point, a monument built by the CCC and set on the highest point of the state with views in all directions.     

It was great to ride parallel to the Lackawaxen River by running water, golden trees, and ferns.  Most of the riding was on paved roads but there were some challenging climbs.  About half of the fourteen cyclists were on electric bikes and many had traveled from California or Colorado for the ride which was impressive since the logistics of getting there personally and supplying yourself with a bike to ride in the location were not easy.  Those of us who had driven to Milford to start left our cars there and returned to them at the end.

Meals provided were excellent and plentiful for the most part.  It was good to eat at the Blue Fox because Narrowsburg didn't offer any other culinary options but in the other two destinations we had free nights to explore the local restaurants.  At Settlers Inn we had a great private space for our happy hours and beautiful grounds to relax in.  At the Blue Fox there was a large pool and a select few braved the cold water for refreshing dips.

It was a great opportunity to cycle scenic routes and to explore the area.  Many thanks to Gail for her care and efforts making the tour so enjoyable.