empeg9000
New member
This past weekend I rode my BMW through the Catskills on the way to strangely enough, the New York Saab Owners Club meeting in Port Jervis, NY. For a variety of reasons, neither of the two Saabs I own were available. So, I decided to take the BMW down and stay at a friendÔÇÖs house in Middletown, NY.
Here are some pics from the weekends ride. If you really want to read the whole story you can read it here .
I took the slab from Saratoga to the Catskills at Exit 21 and took 23A. That was a pretty awesome road.
I got off at CR-16 in Tannersville and there was some old run down resort. It was pretty huge and the pictures don't really do it justice.
While stopped Al pulled up on his new V-Rod "NightRod" and asked if I was okay. I told him I was just taking some pictures. He told me about some other sites I could check out and about a large waterfall as well.
They were in the direction I had just come from though so I thanked him for the info and he went on his way. I thought is way nice of him to check to make sure I was okay. Then I continued on CR-16 which I believe is also called Platte-Cove Rd. This road is unbelievable and there is a crazy drop off to the right. I was only able to ride in 1st gear most of the time since the road was so bumpy and required full concentration. There were no guard rails on this road except in the corners. I wanted to stop to take pictures, but the road was too steep and I was unable to find a suitable place to park the BMW.
I continued on and it became Rt 33, Zena road around Catskill Reservoir 4. Then I took Route 28A which is another great road which goes around the Ashokan Reservoir.
As I was driving around there were a number of signs that read "Former site of Such-and-such town.ÔÇØ I understand a lot of communities were displaced when this reservoir was built.
Then it was onto CR-42, also known as Peekomoose Road. This is another great road, narrow, fast, although a little bumpy. I was taking it pretty easy though and I had the road to myself. Then it was onto Rt 55 and while traveling along there I spotted a large bird in a tree; two birds actually and I realized they were Bald Eagles! I had never seen a Bald Eagle that wasn't in a zoo in my whole life.
Finally, in the middle of nowhere there was a truck stop with a dirt parking lot with gas and a deli. I couldn't believe they had pay at the pump. I filled my tank and sat in the shade for 15 minutes or so. It was my first break since I left, and it was now past 3pm. I had a small snack of an apple, a handful of almonds, and some water and hit the road again. I stayed on 55 going past Swan Lake, White Lake, and Black Lake. I encountered very little traffic and I was having a lot of fun on this road. The speed limit was 55 with some 30 mph sweepers that I was just bombing right through. I finally connected up with Route 97, in Barryville, which is listed as a US Scenic By-Way.
If you have never traveled on Rt 97 I recommend you try it once. There are many look out points and places to eat, raft, canoe, or camp. I finally arrived at the Hawks Nest in Port Jervis around 4 pm.
Sunday my friend Rob and I got up around 8, showered and went to IHOP for breakfast. We talked the night before about going to check out some roads down by West Point and maybe even checking out West Point, too. Even though I was kind of anxious to get on the road home since I didn't want to take the Thruway and I knew it would take a long to get home, it started pouring so cruising around with Rob seemed like a good idea.
We went down toward West Point and went toward the entrance, but all we could find was the entrance where army personnel go in. We didn't try very hard to find the proper entrance either though. Then we went to the Moodna Viaduct. Its basically a giant train tresle.
We also checked out Rt 218 along the Hudson. Its kind of like the Hawks Nest but longer and better in my opinion!
The view from a lookout
So we worked our way back towards RobÔÇÖs going through the Black Dirt Region where the majority of onions grown on the east coast. Onions are the primary crop of the Black Dirt Region. Originally an ice age lake, layer upon layer of peat slowly built up until by the time humans arrived in the area, the entire valley was a swamp, studded by small dry islands.
Then we went back to Rob's and it was time for me to hit the road. I got going around 1:30ish.
I took some county routes up toward New Paltz, NY and passed two cop cars and almost got tagged both times. The first time I just barely notice the light bar off in the distance and I stabbed at the brakes apparently slowing down enough in time since he didn't turn around. The second time he was on the side of the road but I saw him on the nick of time as well and just let off the gas as I went past. While cruising along some back road I saw a turtle in the road. I double back to take a picture and it was a big ol' snapping turtle.
Then I connected up with Route 9W and headed north. Now, 9W on a map looks cool like it will go along the Hudson. Well, let me tell you, I would avoid it. ItÔÇÖs boring, nothing to look at, and itÔÇÖs 4 lanes at points with almost no curves. I would recommend crossing the Hudson at the Mid-Hudson bridge and taking the Taconic or Route 9 north toward Albany. I was getting hungry and I kept saying I will pull over when I come to some scenic vista or something interesting. I kept waiting, and waiting, and finally around 4 I decided to just pull over in this abandoned truck stop and eat something. I had some beef jerky and a bottle of water. I had been following a storm the entire time and the roads were getting more and more wet.
. It started raining a little more and I pushed on finally stopping in Ravena to get gas. There was a group of Harley riders than I had passed a while back in Kingston and they passed me when I stopped to rest and eat. It was raining pretty hard now and they were all huddled under the cover over the gas pumps. They had a lot of gear with them and one came over to say hi. I asked if they were headed to Americade in Lake George and they were. I asked where they were from and the guy I was talking to was from Maryland and the others were from York, PA. I had to give him some props for riding so far. Very un-Harley rider. They were just hanging out warming up, hoping for the rain to let up so they could make the final push up to Americade. I bid them goodbye and wished them safe travels and made my final push home. I decided to completely close all the vents in my jacket and took off. When I got on I-787 is was a completely pouring. Cars were slowing down and turning on their 4-way flashers. I pushed on in the third lane at about 65. By the time I got to the Saratoga Battlefields the rain had stopped and the roads were dry. I got home close to 6 and removed my went gear and unpack the BMW. To my surprise I had gotten a little went through my jacket and pants. I was wet on my knees and on the sides of my legs. I was also a little wet on my arms and my chest. I supposed in a complete downpour and at 65 mph nothing is going to be completely waterproof. I was drier than those poor Harley guys. In about 15 minutes it started raining again, it caught me yet again. This time I didn't care, I was dry and eating a sandwich.
Here are some pics from the weekends ride. If you really want to read the whole story you can read it here .
I took the slab from Saratoga to the Catskills at Exit 21 and took 23A. That was a pretty awesome road.
I got off at CR-16 in Tannersville and there was some old run down resort. It was pretty huge and the pictures don't really do it justice.
While stopped Al pulled up on his new V-Rod "NightRod" and asked if I was okay. I told him I was just taking some pictures. He told me about some other sites I could check out and about a large waterfall as well.
They were in the direction I had just come from though so I thanked him for the info and he went on his way. I thought is way nice of him to check to make sure I was okay. Then I continued on CR-16 which I believe is also called Platte-Cove Rd. This road is unbelievable and there is a crazy drop off to the right. I was only able to ride in 1st gear most of the time since the road was so bumpy and required full concentration. There were no guard rails on this road except in the corners. I wanted to stop to take pictures, but the road was too steep and I was unable to find a suitable place to park the BMW.
I continued on and it became Rt 33, Zena road around Catskill Reservoir 4. Then I took Route 28A which is another great road which goes around the Ashokan Reservoir.
As I was driving around there were a number of signs that read "Former site of Such-and-such town.ÔÇØ I understand a lot of communities were displaced when this reservoir was built.
Then it was onto CR-42, also known as Peekomoose Road. This is another great road, narrow, fast, although a little bumpy. I was taking it pretty easy though and I had the road to myself. Then it was onto Rt 55 and while traveling along there I spotted a large bird in a tree; two birds actually and I realized they were Bald Eagles! I had never seen a Bald Eagle that wasn't in a zoo in my whole life.
Finally, in the middle of nowhere there was a truck stop with a dirt parking lot with gas and a deli. I couldn't believe they had pay at the pump. I filled my tank and sat in the shade for 15 minutes or so. It was my first break since I left, and it was now past 3pm. I had a small snack of an apple, a handful of almonds, and some water and hit the road again. I stayed on 55 going past Swan Lake, White Lake, and Black Lake. I encountered very little traffic and I was having a lot of fun on this road. The speed limit was 55 with some 30 mph sweepers that I was just bombing right through. I finally connected up with Route 97, in Barryville, which is listed as a US Scenic By-Way.
If you have never traveled on Rt 97 I recommend you try it once. There are many look out points and places to eat, raft, canoe, or camp. I finally arrived at the Hawks Nest in Port Jervis around 4 pm.
Sunday my friend Rob and I got up around 8, showered and went to IHOP for breakfast. We talked the night before about going to check out some roads down by West Point and maybe even checking out West Point, too. Even though I was kind of anxious to get on the road home since I didn't want to take the Thruway and I knew it would take a long to get home, it started pouring so cruising around with Rob seemed like a good idea.
We went down toward West Point and went toward the entrance, but all we could find was the entrance where army personnel go in. We didn't try very hard to find the proper entrance either though. Then we went to the Moodna Viaduct. Its basically a giant train tresle.
We also checked out Rt 218 along the Hudson. Its kind of like the Hawks Nest but longer and better in my opinion!
The view from a lookout
So we worked our way back towards RobÔÇÖs going through the Black Dirt Region where the majority of onions grown on the east coast. Onions are the primary crop of the Black Dirt Region. Originally an ice age lake, layer upon layer of peat slowly built up until by the time humans arrived in the area, the entire valley was a swamp, studded by small dry islands.
Then we went back to Rob's and it was time for me to hit the road. I got going around 1:30ish.
I took some county routes up toward New Paltz, NY and passed two cop cars and almost got tagged both times. The first time I just barely notice the light bar off in the distance and I stabbed at the brakes apparently slowing down enough in time since he didn't turn around. The second time he was on the side of the road but I saw him on the nick of time as well and just let off the gas as I went past. While cruising along some back road I saw a turtle in the road. I double back to take a picture and it was a big ol' snapping turtle.
Then I connected up with Route 9W and headed north. Now, 9W on a map looks cool like it will go along the Hudson. Well, let me tell you, I would avoid it. ItÔÇÖs boring, nothing to look at, and itÔÇÖs 4 lanes at points with almost no curves. I would recommend crossing the Hudson at the Mid-Hudson bridge and taking the Taconic or Route 9 north toward Albany. I was getting hungry and I kept saying I will pull over when I come to some scenic vista or something interesting. I kept waiting, and waiting, and finally around 4 I decided to just pull over in this abandoned truck stop and eat something. I had some beef jerky and a bottle of water. I had been following a storm the entire time and the roads were getting more and more wet.
. It started raining a little more and I pushed on finally stopping in Ravena to get gas. There was a group of Harley riders than I had passed a while back in Kingston and they passed me when I stopped to rest and eat. It was raining pretty hard now and they were all huddled under the cover over the gas pumps. They had a lot of gear with them and one came over to say hi. I asked if they were headed to Americade in Lake George and they were. I asked where they were from and the guy I was talking to was from Maryland and the others were from York, PA. I had to give him some props for riding so far. Very un-Harley rider. They were just hanging out warming up, hoping for the rain to let up so they could make the final push up to Americade. I bid them goodbye and wished them safe travels and made my final push home. I decided to completely close all the vents in my jacket and took off. When I got on I-787 is was a completely pouring. Cars were slowing down and turning on their 4-way flashers. I pushed on in the third lane at about 65. By the time I got to the Saratoga Battlefields the rain had stopped and the roads were dry. I got home close to 6 and removed my went gear and unpack the BMW. To my surprise I had gotten a little went through my jacket and pants. I was wet on my knees and on the sides of my legs. I was also a little wet on my arms and my chest. I supposed in a complete downpour and at 65 mph nothing is going to be completely waterproof. I was drier than those poor Harley guys. In about 15 minutes it started raining again, it caught me yet again. This time I didn't care, I was dry and eating a sandwich.
I'll have to get up that way some weekend, looks like a good ride.
