BACKROADS FALL FIESTA ‘21

For a magazine that did its best to keep things rolling during the summer of 2020, and had a good start with our Spring Break and Summer Squeeze this past year, we kept coming up short with a place to nish our rallies for 2021. It seemed that so many folks who had been cooped up for far too long had made plans sooner than we did, and nding a getaway hotel that could handle the number of riders we’d bring was impossible to nd. Then a simple comment came up with an easy solution. Our friend John Mawhinney asked, “Why not just head back to Wellsboro? They have a bunch of small motels and hotels too.” John… anyone ever tell you you’re brilliant? It was already too late to run an ad to announce this weekend escape in Backroads, so we made some calls and posted the open invitation on our social media sites and to many via email to join us the weekend of October 22 and 23rd .

The motels we suggested were all within walking distance of the town’s Main Street and any rooms that they had left for that weekend were quickly grabbed up by our Backroads readers and rally-goers. For a quickly put-together shindig, it seemed this would work out ne. Both Shira and I truly appreciate all the riders who come to our events and, over the years, many of them have quickly moved from happy acquaintances to good friends to become part of our Backroads family. It is better than anything we could have ever hoped for 25 years ago when we started our traveling gatherings. As usual, riders would be coming from hither and yon all converging on the quaint Americana town of Wellsboro. For us that started with breakfast at the Elias Cole on Route 23 in the northwest part of New Jersey. We gathered a small and very in-sync group of six and motored north through High Point and then up along the Delaware River through the Hawks Nest and along the scenic northern parts of the river. We passed under the vigilant eyes of two large American Bald Eagles or, to be a bit more ‘woke’ on this, two extra-size follicle-challenged endangered raptors keeping sharp eyes on us from high atop the trees. We crossed into Pennsylvania via the Roebling’s Via Duct…

Our ride brought us past the Zane Grey Museum, where the great author of so many western novels actually wrote them and then up into the surrounding hills on Route 590, one of the more twisty roads to be found. As required, we made a turn onto some miles of gravel. Okay, this is not required but seems to happen regardless of our plans. This would bring us to a most interesting water crossing – the bridge at Wangum Falls, along the Middle Creek, is a hidden treasure and the road leading to it is different as well; as a hundred years back, they blasted through the cliff, leaving a not-so-wide cut to run the road through. One of the more interesting tiny roads in the region to be sure. We had a good mix of roads heading west, with a minimum of gravel, but the brighter clouds gave way to darker ones and eventually a steady light rain that was never in anyone’s forecast. We took a late lunch in the town of Dushore at Pam’s. This little restaurant has become a favorite of ours and we realized as we rolled up that we have been here time and again.

Solid food, very reasonable prices and always a happy and friendly staff- even when we walk in dripping just a bit. A perfect little place on the way west… or east on a return ride. It was just a short hop from Dushore to Wellsboro, and on the way the skies lightened up and clouds were replaced with blue and we ended the ride on a happy, bright and warmer chord. As we did not have one central hotel this trip a lot of texting, messaging and Facebooking was done and eventually crowds began to gather at a brewpub, on the north side of town, called, of all things, The Wellsboro House. As our group grew from four to forty we took over one room in the back and our waitress, the perfectly named Bella, did a yeoman’s job of handling all the food and drink orders that evening. For a quickly put-together event – this was actually working. Yea us.

The group gathers at the Wellsboro House for some revelry and much-needed Backroads hanging out with friends. Thanks to Lisa for all the great images she snaps.

Although the previous day had ended on a bright, sunny, and warm note, Saturday woke up to colder temps and a wet blanket of sog that oated around for most of the day, never really raining, but making for an arthritics nightmare. As we usually do, we offered up a few GPS routes to those attending this weekend’s soiree. Please note that none of these are organized group rides, but simply suggestions and we love it when riders do a bit of ad-libbing and/or simply do their own things. There were some loop rides – riders heading down to Hyner’s State Park and other points in this part of the Keystone State – a true riding para-

dise as so many roads are newly paved and wellmaintained; thank you fracking! Still others to the Piper Airplane Museum and some riders just went exploring the region. A number of us rode over the Pine Creek area and took in the Grand Canyon of Pennsylvania, looking both beautiful and a bit ethereal with the low clouds lling into the canyon.

Always trying to make lemonade, especially on a cold and wet day like this, a few of us took the afternoon to get together and bond and bit. James Bond that is. The Arcadia Theatre in Wellsboro opened in 1921 and is one of the oldest movie houses in the nation – celebrating over a century of entertaining the crowds. Hey, most of us got a ride and a movie all in one day – and then it was time for dinner about the town

and every restaurant in Wellsboro had a small deputation of Backroaders grabbing some tables. We are all about helping the local economies, don’tcha know?

All too soon Sunday came around and many left at the crack of dawn as more weather was coming in fast and for those heading east, chances were good you would have a decent day of riding if a bit on the chilly late October side.

Shira and I, joined by our bud Mike, got rolling around 9ish and followed a route I had whipped up just minutes before, loading the GPX les onto our Garmins as we were loading the bikes. Even though I quickly put this together I followed Backroads Rules of GPS Route Planning. It’s really easy: Follow waterways and circuitous railways, opt for twisty over straight, go this way if it looks like more fun than going that way – even if it adds 20 more miles. Don’t be afraid to get off the main roads – it is where our America truly lies. And, as Shira said to me over the Senas – “Wow, that was fun… it’s a ‘keepa’ for sure.” And it is. We want to thank all of those who came out for the weekend on such short notice – we promise to get things done a bit earlier next year… in fact, our 2022 Spring Break is already planned and we hope to see you there. Ride safe. Ride far. Ride the Backroads! ,