The Other Jersey

If you have been a fan of our weekly e-newsletter The Backroads Report then you have seen us make mention of the amaranthine argument between North and South Jersey – the plight of the poor folk of Central Jersey, and the ongoing squabbles and warring over the state’s borders with both New York and Delaware.

But today we’d like to bring you another slice, or slices ,of the Garden State pie. One that blends the land of Taylor Ham and slides down near where they hit the diner and order Pork Roll. So sad, right?

But is neither north nor south… welcome to the other Jersey!

Some people see the world in black & white. Me? I sometimes see it in blue & white, and will almost always slow down when I see the blue & white of a historical marker along the side of the road.

Discoveries like this are always serendipitous and make each ride that much more fun. We have always said there is much history along the nation’s backroads – we just need to slow down and sometimes stop to discover it.

Every state has these. Conspicuous metal plaques along the roadsides of America. Little stories of our past nationally and locally.

We looked into these markers in New Jersey and found that currently, the Garden State was no longer involved in the creation and placing of these markers – but that is also currently beginning to change as many in Trenton and around the state wish to preserve its history.

But their website gave us a brief history of these markers in New Jersey.

“All across New Jersey, hundreds of historical markers detail and commemorate events, individuals, sites, and themes significant to the state, na- tion, and region’s history. The State of New Jersey produced two series of historical markers, the first in the 1930s and the second in the 1960s. Those produced in the 1930s (1931-1942) were erected by the New Jersey Commission on Historic Sites and were made out of cast aluminum and mounted on poles. The markers from the 1960s (1961-1972) were installed by the New Jersey Historic Sites Office to commemorate the 300th anniversary of New Jersey’s establishment as a colony. These were constructed out of thinner sheet metal and mounted on poles, buildings, and fenceposts, among other surfaces.

The vast majority of these historical markers commemorate significant events and persons from the Revolutionary War era in New Jersey, but other topics include notable New Jerseyans, industrial history, colonial history, historical places of worship, transportation history, and many other topics. While not all of these markers are still standing, the New Jersey Historical Commission is committed to documenting the history, location, and text of these historical markers.”

This site has a great database of many of these Historical Markers, and you will find that link at the end of our two-wheeled adventure.

The thought for this article came about when I was returning from EPM Performance outside of Englishtown, New Jersey, where I had the stock suspension on my Kawasaki Z900 swapped out for a new suspension from HyperPro.

The guys at EPM know suspension in and out and have added a new sense of surefootedness to almost all the machines we have owned in the last decade or so. With the Z900 riding in a far superior manner, I set off for home.

When I headed down earlier that day I took the bigger roads to save time, but it was now late afternoon on a fine spring day in May, so I loaded up a GPS route I had tossed together from EPM back to Backroads Central.

This route spun from near the Jersey Shore west towards the Delaware River and I purposely sought out some of the roads I spied on Garmin’s BaseCamp that I was not all that familiar with.

Many times I have done this, only to find I simply forgot about a tiny backroad, but riding brought back that “Oh, yeah… I‘ve been here.”

But not so much today.

Heck, I’ve been scooting around the Backroads of this state for four decades and I still stumble upon roads I have never been on before.

Today was that sort of day.

Once away from the Parkway and Turnpike, the roads of New Jersey became an interesting mix of easy wide-open farms and then tight hill and dale roadways where my attention had to be turned up a few notches – especially since I and my throttle hand were reveling in the Z900’s newfound tractability.

But, as much as I would like to think my head was totally in the riding game – anyone who has ridden with me for any amount of time knows I am constantly picking up bits and pieces of the territory, and rarely do I pass by a Historical Sign, or something odd, weird or of note, without me slowing down to see what’s what!

Due to this habit of mine, and adding in the fact that many a fine pace has been parked while I go back to take a picture, few will ride with me more than a few times.

That’s okay – I’m a big boy and get more done solo.

About an hour into this 100-plus mile jaunt home, a text from Shira came across the GPS. I made note, but was in a groove.

Then cresting a hill on Stanton Mountain Road, in Hunterdon County, I saw a flash of Blue & White and a quick sideways glance caught the phrase stating Agriculture First.

The first of anything should get anyone’s attention.

The Z is a tiny bike and makes great U-turns, and the effort was worth it, for it was here that something took place that is now a daily occurrence.

AI! No… not artificial intelligence – Artificial Insemination – of cows to be specific. In fact, it is a huge business and by the 1950s, frozen semen became available, and today, in the US, over 66% of dairy cows are bred AI and over 85% of registered Holsteins are products of AI.

But all this had to be born somewhere (groan!) and it was right here at the farm of Richard Schomp that the very first AI calf was born in 1939.

Now we know.

Remembering Shira’s text I simply sent her an image of the historic sign.

Moving along I began to head north and, once again, onto roads I had never come across before. Up and over, on some tight wooded pavement, with little line of sight to be had, I made it a point to look before I throttled. At the intersection of Musconetcong River Road and Port Colden-Changewater Road, there were two monolithic structures – the remnant of the trestle that was once part of the Lackawanna & Western Railroad.

This massive structure, created from quarried stone, was once one of several such railroad viaducts that were sprinkled about the region back when the railroad ruled commerce.

The Changewater Trestle is much like the more famous and still standing Paulinskill viaduct –but the Changewater is a half-century older than its concrete brother to the north.

This structure, built in 1856, was huge for its time and it ran trains across the Musconetcong River until 1959 - 103 years of service.

The best question about Backroads I ever got was when I was asked if Backroads was a motorcycle magazine that wants to be a history and travel publication or a history and travel publication that wants to be a motorcycle magazine.

My answer was yes.

So, keep reading and follow along with us as we ride the backroads and learn a bit about who, what, and why we are.

,

~ Brian Rathjen nj.gov/state/historical/ historical-markers.shtml

We love a good story…

Don’t you? Here’s a classic. The god Prometheus stole fire from heaven to give to the human race, which originally consisted only of men. To punish humanity, the other gods created the first woman, the beautiful Pandora. As a gift, Zeus gave her a box, which she was told never to open. However, eventually, curiosity took control, and she took off the lid, and out swarmed all the troubles of the world, never to be recaptured. Only Hope was left in the box, stuck under the lid.

So today, anything that looks ordinary but may produce unpredictable, and maybe harmful, results can thus be called a Pandora’s box. Do you want another good story? Well, do we have a place for you!

It is called Pandora’s Box as well –but this is a good story.

We’re pretty sure if you are in and around our age, you might have been a comic book reader when young (Okay, maybe today too).

Comic books, heroes, and adventure fueled the fires for many of us. The exploits and voyages of Conan the Barbarian, originally a Robert E. Howard creation, but made popular by Marvel comics was like a bellows stoking the fires of my dreams of travel and adventure.

Devouring comics as a kid led to a lifetime of reading. We bet a number of you might feel the same way.

A few years back, during the waning of the plandemic, a shop opened in Lafayette, New Jersey – just a few miles from Backroads Central. But, not just any shop. Nope. Pandora’s Box, like the mythical box, is full of all sorts of things. But, in this case, pretty much all good.

Still, for a guy my age, an avowed and admitted “geek”, Pandora’s Box can be a very dangerous place. From comics to classic rock vinyl LPs, Pandora’s Box has an amazing collection.

Owned by Erik Miller and D.J. Adamcik who have been friends since childhood, Pandora’s Box is more than just a collectable store. It has become a Mecca for the comic, collectables, and gamer crowd. With 3,500 square feet of space, you will find rows and rows of collectibles – Star Wars, Star Trek, Thunder Cats, Marvel, D.C., Hot Wheels, Match Box, Ghost Busters, HeMan, She-Ra, WWF, G.I. Joe, and so much more… it has to be seen to be believed. Once you have been there, if you are anything like me, and still live with a foot back in your childhood, you will be back.

Walking into Pandora’s Box is like finding One-Eyed Willy’s treasure map or finding yourself in some dragon’s lair piled with treasure.

And, for some, this place is truly full of treasure; and that comes from the memories, the laughter, the dreaming and the adventures we all had when we were young – and somehow I do not think anyone could put a price on this as it is priceless - so Pandora’s is indeed a treasure trove. But Pandora’s Box offers more. They often have special guests and celebrities come to Pandora’s Box too. Sports, actors, authors – we try to keep an eye on who they have dropping by. In April they had one very special guest indeed – William Shatner – who kindly signed a collector’s plate for us.

Pandora’s Box is also located right in the middle of the Skyland region of New Jersey, in Lafayette right on Route 15 in the mall just south of the junction with Route 206.

If you still like to spoil the inner child in you –or simply admit you love this stuff - then make Pandora’s Box a stop on your next ride in this part of New Jersey. And tell them Backroads sent ya! ,

The Law Office of Paul Gargiulo, P.C. presents Welcome to the Jungle - The Art of Learning to Ride Skillfully

A column dedicated to your riding survival

What’s my Line again?

If you have seen actors trying to nail down roles you can understand that it can be a very hard and grinding task.

A line is stated to another and there comes a look of first bewilderment and then… almost fear.

In the 1950s through 1967 there was a wonderful television show – one of the first true greats called What’s My Line? It ran for a full 767 episodes, and the most famous panelist were husband and wife - Alan Ludden and Betty White. The gist of the show was that four panelists must determine guests’ occupations - and, in the case of famous guests, while blindfolded, their identity - by asking only “yes” or “no” questions.

The very first guest? Marlene Dietrich. Yikes! Others included Julie Andrews, George, and Gracie Allen. The last Mystery Guest was the original host John Daly.

But the line I want to re-address is the line. Your line. My line.

What’s My Line Again? The correct one, I hope.

A few months back we had one odd weekend, with zero one day and 50 the next, and I took my Z900 out, as I have been attempting to perfect my lines.

Ken Condon was holding Wednesday night Zoom calls and this was a major subject one week. These were very much appreciated.

It got me looking back at the video that he had made of me at Palmer in Massachusetts. I have watched it many times, and truly wish I could have heard Ken live and been able to course-correct. I know that is how Ken does it with his one-on-one courses.

When asked for a ‘Golden Thought’ that I could glean from the Coach on choosing and setting that “best line”, he got right back to me. Ken responded: “The simplest response to that rather big question is to look toward the exit as your report card.Is your bike heading (pointed more or less) toward safety at the point when you want to get on the gas?Are you more or less done changing direction by the time you’re just past the middle (apex) and slowest part of the turn?

Basically, if you are needing to lean more past the apex, you’ve likely turned in too early. Bret Tkacs has been arguing lately that a street apex is something he avoids talking about, saying that it is not the goal and that the exit is. I agree that a safe exit is the goal, but I contend that a theoretical “Late” or “Delayed” apex is useful as a breadcrumb that connects the turn-in point and the exit to create a line that hooks the bike in a way where the turning is done early in the curve, making it safe to get on the gas because you’re pointed down the road and not at the oncoming lane or guardrail.”

He also believed that those Sunday drivers must be respected for their staggering incompetence and lack of situational awareness.

I say let’s use them.

I was once asked when a rider should know they are done with a turn? My answer was simplistic – when you are no longer concerned with it. But each turn must be set up, consciously.

Let me throw out another practice tip – that has come from listening and hopefully learning from riders like Ken Condon, Reg Pridmore and others.

We all drive cars. Try to pilot your car… not just sit in it.

Yes, I drive my Durango with far less concern than my WRX…the STi is a beast - the Dodge is transportation.

But, I still try, as best I can, to hit that late apex with both; and I want to be a far better driver than the kid ahead of me on the cell phone, or anyone else for that matter.

Peter Revson I will never be. But I am working on it.

We all should be.

What was my line, again? ,

But I have come across something that has helped a touch. The much-maligned Sunday Driver…

Yes, up here we are the place to go driving on Sunday… usually, 5 miles below the posted limit with heads turning and twisting every bit. Oh, look…. A cow, Is that a hawk? Wow, look at that waterfall.

I was once in the habit of bombing past them, but now I use it as my excuse to go slower, AND more methodically. Reg Pridmore taught me long ago about the benefits of restraint.

I reached out to Ken on this subject…Could I use him in my ear? Oh, sure you betcha!