Departs early AM on Saturday; returns after sundown on Sunday

Here is a weekend jaunt designed to give you a healthy dose of vintage touring with a minimal impact on your busy work schedule. This 2 day trip will take us through the forests and mountains of Pennsylvania’s core region and just might alter your priorities in life. This area has seen little economic development in recent years, so there is little traffic to contend with as we enjoy the natural splendor of the Pocono and Endless mountains.

You should plan to arrive in Kennett Square sometime Friday afternoon or night for orientation and loading. We’ll set out after breakfast Saturday morning, heading north. Our back roads path will take us through French Creek, before a short but interesting dirt road that crosses the Eastern Continental Divide where it meets the Appalachian Trail. A bit further on is Mahanoy City, whose broad main street is lined with row houses where a few hundred descendants of coal miners still reside. Several of the restaurants in town open up only when a customer knocks on the door. A charming elderly couple engages us in conversation while preparing our brunch. Frankly, the place is a little run down, but the food is good and plentiful, and the stories they tell are simply priceless.

Plentiful food is just we need, for the next section of road is twisty and challenging, and features abrupt elevation changes that make this 25 mile segment feel like a long roller coaster joining tiny villages and farms that dot the landscape. We pop out of the woods at route 11, which leads us directly to Bill’s Old Bike Barn. A biker with a serious collecting habit, Bill and his wife Judy give us the tour of this huge wooden barn reconstructed inside a steel building. In every direction there are motorcycles, memorabilia, carnival artifacts, toys: you name it, Bill collects it. Soon, we are outside, overwhelmed by the realization that we can never see it all, glad to get back out on the road.

Several hours later, we are descending on a torturous narrow road, having crossed a huge expanse of state forest land. Before bottoming out, we turn back upgrade, into Hyner View State Park. As the sun sinks into the west, we sit on the edge of a 2,000 foot high cliff, enjoying the view. Weariness creeps up on us as, headlights on, we follow the Susquehanna into Renovo, where we check into the aptly named Yesterday’s Hotel. Unchanged from the 1950s, what it lacks in luxury, it makes up in character. And, bonus: the showers are really, really hot. A 1 1/2 mile walk helps get the kinks out, and brings us to the best restaurant in town, where we feast before retiring for the night. Yesterday’s is unique, and you’ll have to trust me on this one as there are no hyperlinks to 1950.

Sunday morning finds us reloading our bikes early, and making our way to route 144, which cuts south across more forest lands. At one point, the roadway looks like a length of black ribbon snaking up the mountainside, as our machines weave rhythmically like ballet dancers. As 144 ends, we turn east and follow the quiet Poe Valley. The long smooth straight road encourages relaxing looks at the fertile farmlands framed by receding ridges. Zigzagging south and east, we run into the Susquehanna River, and notice that there is no bridge: we must rely on the Millersburg Historic Ferry.

On the east side of the river now, we keep angling east and south, then pick up route 772 which bypasses Lancaster, but not the local Amish heritage. It’s Sunday afternoon, and we share the road with Amish families in their horse drawn buggies, returning home from Sabbath. The final leg of our journey is relaxed, and a cold beer while soaking in the outdoor hot tub lets us decompress. Tomorrow it’s back to work, but no one is in a hurry.

COST : $90 / day for bike and insurance