The Hamden Covered Bridge, Route 10, Delaware County, was built in 1859 and crosses the West Branch of the Delaware River. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. (Photos by the author)
Whenever I want to add a favorite ride to my repertoire, it requires two components: great roads and something unique and impressive to see. The bridges of Delaware and Sullivan counties of New York fill the bill. These two counties have some of the best motorcycling roads in the Northeast, leading to covered, stone arch, steel framed and aqueduct bridges, and snaking blissfully through the countryside.
Originally built as a canal boat crossing, the Roebling?s Delaware Aqueduct suspension bridge was in operation from 1828-1898. Today, riders can cruise across it to Lackawaxen, Pennsylvania, or just walk across. There is parking on both sides. I began at the confluence of State Routes 17 and 17A in Tuxedo, New York, heading west on 17A, a roller coaster of a road traveling through the 22,000-acre Sterling Forest State Park. The soothing rumble of my 1,700cc Kawasaki Voyager sang in my ears, while it cruised a serpentine route up and down mountains. The cool mountain air invigorated me when I stopped at the Bellvale Farms Creamery overlook, with its panoramic view of farmland and forest flowing west like a sea of green.
The author cruising on a back road in Delaware County.
At Warwick, I rolled south on State Route 94 to County Routes 1A and 1, thundering across the flat f...