BACKLASH

Riding for Coffee

Hey, my wife Malia just told me that she contacted you regarding her cafe, the Asbury Coffee Mill. What she may not have mentioned is that we are located in the epicenter of some of the best riding roads in Warren and Bucks Counties. As a life-long motorcyclist I know the value of not having to ride to the great roads, but to live among them. From the moment I leave the Asbury Coffee Mill I’m either in the Skylands, the Muscognetcong Mountains & Valley or a number of other great scenic roads and locations. And this isn’t limited to the county roads. Our township roads are well paved, clearly marked, and twist and meander for all day riding.

The Asbury Coffee Mill (asburycoffeemill.com) is a great place to ride to, or ride from.

From the Web

I just wanted to let you know how much we bikers appreciate your Backroads Magazine. Thanks for writing and publishing it for our pleasure and for keeping us in the know.

More on Minerals

B, S -

So why didn’t you ask Mark at the Maine Mineral & Gem Museum about the Jones Diamond?

Great seeing Judy & Dan K. looking so good.

More on Maps

Hi guys, I carry and use both as well. I tell people that the GPS tells me where to go, but the map tells me where I am. Is that not the truth?

Be well.

Taking Point

When Laura and I ride together we don’t even discuss who’s leading until we pull out of our garage. Many times we will switch leads throughout a ride depending on how we are feeling. Neither of us need worry about pacing with each other. Now leading with anyone else but her? Yes. Slightly stressful and you hit on every point as to why.

Dear Mr. Farkel (aka Brian) and the lovely Shira,

Kudos to you on the acquisition of your Z900RS. I have the same issue… I love the older bikes and for me it is not about going fast, although getting a 175cc 70-year-old MV Agusta up to 70mph is exciting.

Hey, we can segue into the 50cc realm when we participated in the Suches True Grit Fun Run. Diane passed me on her Honda 50cc Benely. I was trying my best to keep up with her on my Moto Morini Corsarino (Little Pirate): She got a 3rd place trophy award! There must have been 75-80 bikes all lined up along the shoulder of the road, with local Police supervision. When those 2-strokes started there was not a live mosquito in the county! Lots of 2-stroke smoke!

Yep, we drove down from Chicago in our van and stayed at a nearby

B&B yurt. Great memories as reminded by page 15 in the Aug. issue! Shira – leading from the front, which I have been doing since the early 1980s, constantly keeping both eyes watching in my mirrors and checking for the followers, while simultaneously reading my tank bag mounted map always alert for side traffic and the next turn keeps me ever vigilant. Even though we shut down Lotus Tours in 2007, we still do global tours with our friends, like pre-Covid riding from Salta, Argentina in the northwest along the Andes Mountians 1,200 miles south to Bariloche. The scenery, roads, cuisine and camarade were great fun. Most of these friends are joining Diane & me in Sept for a trip to Corscia & Sardenia. We do not necessarily travel as a group, as I do a breakfast breifing with everyone, then they tend to depart in clusters of 2-5 bikes. These days we all have mobile phones that allow relatively easy communications. Periodically, I do get us lost, but as soon as I realize that, I slow down pull over toward the shoulder and make big circles with my left arm indicating that we are turning around. That gesture has been included in the initial safety briefing before we even get rolling.

I really enjoy reading Backroads at breakfast. Keep up the good work my friends!