May 1, 2024 - Port Jervis, NY, to Lake Genero, PA

Start: Port Jervis, NY
End: Lake Genero, PA
Miles: 58.8
Feet climbing per mile: 99
Record of the day's ride: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/172013627

I planned this four-day trip similar to the one I took the previous month (April 7-10, 2024 - Honesdale, PA). I would catch a New Jersey Transit train from Penn Station to Secaucus where I would catch a train to Port Jervis. From there I would ride to where I would spend two nights (last month Honesdale, this time Lake Genero). The second day I would ride a loop, and on the third day I would ride to Milford, Pennsylvania and stay at the Myer Country Motel. On the fourth day last month I rode to Hackettstown, New Jersey, where I caught a train to Manhattan, while on this trip I would ride instead to Ramsey, New Jersey, to catch a train home. In planning this trip I took advantage of things I learned on the trip to Honesdale.

Having missed my train in Secaucus on the first day of my trip last month due to a connection that was too tight, this time I left home at 7:45 to catch the 8:02 train at Penn Station rather than the 8:14 suggested by the New Jersey Transit app in order to be sure to catch the train in Secaucus that would take me to Port Jervis. On the train to Port Jervis I told the conductor about my plans for this trip, including that I would spend a night in Milford at the Myer Country Motel. Sean told me that he lived in Milford and went to school with the son of the owner of the motel. When I got to Milford two days later I learned that it was the son of the previous owner with whom he went to school.

After arriving in Port Jervis I started riding shortly before 11:00, following River Road along the Delaware River as I have done a few times, including the first day of my trip in April. At mile 3.7, I saw two furry, horned animals having breakfast, only one of which expressed any interest in me. If you can identify these animals, please do so by leaving a comment below this post.

On the first day of my trip last month I found that Old Mine Road, immediately after River Road, was rather broken up, so this time I avoided that trouble by leaving River Road at mile 8.6 and crossing the Delaware River on the Milford-Montague Bridge which I have crossed on several previous trips. I think this is the first time I have crossed that bridge when the sun was out.

Milford-Montague Bridge 

Looking northeast up the Delaware River

After crossing the Delaware I continued along the river on route 209 with an excellent surface, no shoulder but almost no traffic, and sometimes next to beautiful cliffs.

After seven miles I turned onto Dingmans Ferry Turnpike. In order to avoid the heavy traffic I had experienced on that road last month, at mile 18 I turned onto Silver Lake Road. At mile 19.7 I saw a gravel road that led to a waterfall (in George W. Childs Park), so I walked to the waterfall to take a look.

Besides the photo above I also shot a video. Of course I couldn't resist doing you-know-what.

Near the waterfall I saw an interesting structure.

Throughout the day I saw many signs such as the one below. Is trespassing ever allowed?

At mile 29.9 I stopped at the Pickerel Inn Deli to enjoy a Dove Bar.

Throughout the day I was often on lightly-travelled roads with excellent surfaces surrounded by forests.

Egypt Road

Where do people get the idea that an apostrophe is used to form a plural?

And why would someone use an apostrophe to form a plural only some of the time?

I see that Nabisco does not use an apostrophe to form the plural of "cookie".

At mile 45, Old Greentown Road became unpaved, contrary to what I had expected.

Old Greentown Road

I didn't know how long the gravel would continue, but I did know that if I continued I would be on Old Greentown Road for another five miles. I created an alternate route to my destination which took me through some beautiful neighborhoods with two climbs I needed to walk. The second climb, about a third of a mile long, was so steep I struggled to push my bike up the hill. Nevertheless I was glad to have avoided as much as five miles of gravel.

At mile 52.8 I stopped at a Dollar General for a snack. I realized that I much prefer peanut butter rather than cheese as the filling in this type of sandwich cracker.

I arrived at my destination shortly before 7:00, a full half hour before sunset. I was surprised that there was a chain across the gravel road that led to my campsite, but the chain presented no barrier to my passing. As I was walking to my site I saw a family of Canada Geese near the lake.

After setting up my tent I started to use my new miniature battery-powered pump to fill my air mattress, but I was not able to get the pump to turn on. I thought that perhaps the battery needed to be charged, so I connected it to one of the two batteries I use to charge all my devices. The charging seemed to be unsuccessful, so I resorted to blowing up the mattress as I had done many times before. I later learned that it's necessary to double-click the ON button in order to start the pump (so that it doesn't go on by accident), and that the pump's battery had been fully charged.

I gathered what I needed for a shower and shave and walked to the bathhouse. The lights were off and there were no switches to turn them on. Furthermore there was no water in the sinks, toilets, or shower. I sent a message about the trouble through the Hipcamp app to the host with whom I had booked the campsite but received no response.

I realized that I needed to find somewhere else to spend the night. I called both the Lake Moc-A-Tek Inn which was 3.4 miles away and the Comfort Inn which was 5.7 miles away. Both had rooms available. I was told that there was no restaurant near the former but an IHOP next to the latter. By the time I had deflated my air mattress and packed up my tent and other gear it was dark, probably 8:30 or later. I decided I would have dinner at Drafts Bar & Grill before deciding to which motel I would ride. I now realize that I could have stayed at the campground but doing so would have meant forgoing a shower. I also would have had to recharge my devices at Draft's and remove my contact lenses there after washing my hands.

In the parking lot of Draft's I encountered two men and two women as they were leaving the restaurant. I asked them whether they could advise me about the motels. One of them said "Do not go to Lake Moc-A-Tek Inn. It's terrible. Go to the Comfort Inn but it's dark so don't ride there. Let's put your bike in our jeep and we will give you a ride.". I gratefully accepted their offer. While Peter and I put my bike in the back of his jeep, Melissa, Peter's wife, went into the restaurant and bought me several large slices of pizza. There was room in the jeep for only Peter, me, and my bike, so the others went back into the restaurant to wait for Peter to return.

On our way to the Comfort Inn, Peter told me about his adventures hunting with a bow. He told me he had taken down a moose, and he that he was probably both the first and last human the moose ever saw. Peter asked me what I would do if I got a flat, and I explained that I would replace the tube with one of the two spares I carry and then patch the failed tube at the end of the day when I got to my destination. I told him I have a small kit of tools that allows me to make all sorts of repairs or adjustments to my bike.

By the time we got to the Comfort Inn the IHOP was about to close, so I was fortunate that Melissa had given me four slices of pizza which served as my entire dinner. I was happy to be staying at the Comfort Inn.

The day before this ride I had a Feldenkrais lesson with my colleague Anastasi Siotas. The lesson addressed issues with my right knee that go back as far as 2011 (My Right Knee), and issues with tingling in my right arm that started last fall. Anastasi helped me feel how I tend to collapse when standing on my right leg, and to feel how this affects both my right knee and the right side of my neck (which is the source of the tingling in my right arm). By the end of the lesson I was able to stand on my right leg without collapsing. When on my bike I continued to pay attention to staying long through my right side when pushing on the right pedal, especially when out of the saddle. However at the end of the first day of this trip I did feel some pain in my right knee when lying in bed, although never while riding.

I went to sleep knowing that the next day I would decide whether to spend another night at the Comfort Inn or go somewhere else.

Next day: May 2, 2024 - Sterling, PA, to Cherry Ridge, PA

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