1959 Motorcycling in New Jersey - 3-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article

Description

1959 Motorcycling in New Jersey - 3-Page Vintage Motorcycle Article
Original, Vintage Magazine Article
Page Size: Approx. 8" x 11" (21 cm x 28 cm) each page
Condition: Good
Would you like to join us?
We’re about to start out on a motor-
cycle trip which will take us from one
end of the Garden State to the other. Be-
fore we get back home we will have
tucked away enough pleasant memories to
last us for years.
We find ourselves cruising down high-
way NJ-17, having just crossed the New
York-New Jersey State Line near Suffern.
Those huge rambling modernistic build-
ings on our left belong to the Ford Motor
Company. This Mahwah operation is
said to be one of the two largest auto-
mobile and truck assembly plants in the
world! A tour of the assembly line will
convince you. How they manage to have
the right colored upholstery and wheels
ready for the right car, at the right mom-
ent, is a mystery to us.
Let’s make a right on US-202, just
ahead. It’s a nice winding road, one which
makes us feel glad we have a motorcycle.
At Oakland, just before crossing the rail-
road tracks, our route leads right on West
Oakland Road. After crossing the Ramapo
River, we turn right on Tamarack Road
and head up a steep hill which leads over
the Ramapo Mountains. It’s a pretty fair
black-top road, and the spectacular scenery
at the top makes New Jersey's “Skyline
Drive" one you won't forget for a long
time.
Before us stretches a breathtaking view
of endless mountains and a lush valley
which is interrupted by frequent “lakes”.
But, they’re not “lakes”, we discover,
when our drive joins NP-511. It’s one big
body of water known as Wanaque Reser-
voir. We travel close to some of its 30
miles of picturesque shoreline and pass a
hundred-foot-high dam as we motorcycle
south to NJ-23 al Riverdale. Highway NJ-
23 will take us all the way to Port Jervis,
N. Y.
Hamburg, the sign tells us, is the home
of Gingerbread Castle. This creation is
already more famous than most of the
medieval castles, and better known than
most of the castles found in storybooks.
They tell us that “kids from 6 to 60” never
go through Hamburg without paying a
visit to Gingerbread Castle, a S250.000.00
fairyland introduced by “Hansel” and
“Gretel” guides. The brookside picnic area
is free!
If you like motorcycle hill climbs, come
on up to High Point with us. There are
none of the dangers, but most of the
thrills in this one. The black-top road
winds up through heavily-wooded Kitta-
linny Mountains to reach the highest
spot in New Jersey. And for a view that
will leave you gasping, you might try
climbing the 220-foot High Point Monu-
ment on foot. The top is 1,803 feet above
sea level. Parts of three States can be
seen.
High Point State Park, one of New
Jersey’s most popular, invites us to swim
in Lake Marcia, picnic in one of the many
shady spots, or explore some of its many
miles of forest trails.
Taking NJ-23 down the western Kit-
tatinny slope, we cross briefly into New
York State, join US-6 and enter Port Jer-
vis. At South Maple Avenue (there's a
traffic light) we left-turn and soon find
ourselves back in New Jersey, motorcy-
cling over NJ-521, bound for Montague.
Each of us likes to get oil by himself
once in a while, leave the trials and tri-
Upper left: Barnegat Lighthouse on
Long Beach Island. Upper right: One of
the centers of recreation is Lake Ocquit-
tunk, nestled in a woodland setting in
Stokes State Park. (N. J. Dept, of Con-
servation & Econ. Development). Lower
left: The fabulous and popular board
walk and beach at Atlantic City. (Press
Bureau, Atlantic City). Lower right: The
Gingerbread Castle at Hamburg, N. J., is
more famous than most medieval castles,
(courtesy of Gingerbread Castle)
High Point Monument as seen from the porch of Hi-Point Inn
(N. J. Dept, of Conservation & Econ. Development)...
14501-5909-23