BACKROADS • MARCH 2015
During the summer season this area of Massachusetts can become crowded, expensive and a tad snooty; but during the last week in October the welcome mat was out and we had put together a route from the Backroads Central area that would involve history, food and miles of twistalicious fun. Our ride began in northwestern NJ and meandered along some of the farmlands and low lying hills that lay between the tiny little townettes that you find up this way. Even though this is our home we have been using Garmin’s Base Camp to pick and choose some of the tertiary roads that link all this together. Sure it might be easier to take familiar and larger roads across to the Hudson River – but this was way more fun! Eventually we got into Harriman State Park, around the road past Perkin’s Drive and down the curvy mountain road past the Bear Mountain Inn and across the bridge. No matter how many times I have crossed the river here it has never failed to impress me. There is a reason so many artists called the Hudson Valley home and it is quite apparent right here, just below the United States Military
Page 21 Academy at West Point, that this area is one of the finest in our land. Unfortunately, on any Sunday, this is also one of the most congested motorcycle roads in the nation as well. Crossing the bridge and bearing right on the sweepy road that wraps around the mountain on the Hudson’s eastern-side on US 6 most times is a ride in futility –but, not on this Monday morning. After making a quick pass of ‘Granny Tight Lips’ from Michigan, we had the entire road to ourselves and made good use of it. Benedict Arnold could not getaway from the West Point area quicker than us. At the circle we bore north and then leaned to the right, on Sprout Brook Road, to explore the roads that led into the Putnam Valley. We do not ride this region nearly as much as we would like, so I made this route especially intricate, swallowing as many little connector roads as possible and crossing over the West Branch Reservoir along the well named stone-lined Rock Bridge Road. When most think of the Revolutionary War General George Washington will always come to mind. Well, he will join us later in this story but, right now, we had a more fascinating tale. Just outside of Carmel, New York we passed a historic marker for a little known heroine of our Revolutionary War – Sybil “Sibbell” Ludington. Author Steve Smith wrote about this 17 year old woman a few years back in Backroads and it was nice to see the state of New York recognize this young woman whose ride to warn of the approaching British was equally as important as Paul Revere’s more famous ride. Sibbell rode nearly forty miles through the night on April 26, 1777 to tell