The colorful Middle Ridge United Methodist Church on Route 660. The road leads to Leonard Harrison State Park. Photos by the author.
The heartland of north-central Pennsylvania is a region bereft of large concentrations of people. In fact, studying a map reveals multiple sections that are simply blank and numerous forests. The area has few cities but a cornucopia of farmland, small towns and villages, and impressive state parks. Most importantly, it is a region with a diversity of great roads to ride, making it a perfect destination for a multi-day motorcycle adventure.
?Serenity Now!? A heartland farm on Route 87 conjures up the allure of simpler times.
Firing up my Kawasaki Voyager 1700, I began my journey cruising alongside the green mountains surrounding the shoreline of the sparkling Wanaque and Monksville Reservoirs in Ringwood and West Milford, New Jersey. Climbing the serpentine, two-lane Route 511 into the mountains of Abram S. Hewitt State Forest, I then descended into Warwick, New York. Heading west on rural Routes 1A and 1, I rolled across the rich flatlands of the black dirt farming region of Pine Island to Port Jervis. From there, I decided to superslab it as far as Scranton on Interstate 84, which travels over the forested highlands of eastern Pennsylvania. Thundering unencumbered, the warm sun and the blue sky embraced me as I rode through the green woodlands that lined both sides of the Interstate like fortress walls. The author thinking, ?How sweet the vie...