News – Catskills Moto Club

Spring 2025 Riding Season Recap (so far)

May 28, 2025

A Chilly and Wet MDW Ride Around the Schoharie

Hello friends. Spring has sprung in the Catskill Mountains. As with all things these days, volatility seemed to be the meteorological theme of spring 2025. We have had almost every type of weather and some record highs/lows in temperature. We had a couple of nice weekends in mid-late March that allowed for some nice riding on the dry, but still sand-covered backroads of Ulster, Delaware and Greene Counties. Lingering blankets of snow dressing the runs of local ski resorts provided some idyllic riding scenery flickering through the leaf-barren deciduous woods.

March gave way to a very wet, windy and cold April, including a couple of small snow storms. The un-ridable (for most) conditions afforded some weekend hours of wrenching in the garage for some overdue maintenance and minor upgrades/tweaks on the bikes. Thanks to heated grips and Gore-tex, gear, we were able to sneak in some short local loops while staying mostly dry.

Stopping by Beaverkill Moto HQ in Cooks Falls

May brought our first Catskill Moto Club group ride of the season on Memorial Day Weekend, which was one of the coldest and rainiest in recent memory. We met up Sunday morning, which after three days of solid rain, seemed like it would be mostly dry, based on the forecast. The route included a lap around the Pepacton Reservoir, which was bifurcated by a quick jaunt to Cooks Falls, where we checked out the Beaverkill Moto HQ. From there we rode up through Andes and Bovina, stopping again in Stamford to warm up with some hot java. We mixed in two pretty soaked dirt sections, which were impressively navigated by Szabi and Lukas, both riding street bikes with road tires. Happily, everyone stayed upright, despite the greasy washboard conditions and puddles. We capped off the afternoon grilling some burgers and decompressing before parting ways. The rain mostly held off until everyone got to where they were going. It was overall a great ride.

Check out the mega-gallery below for a spring ride photo dump-

Epic European Alpine Adventure

September 16, 2024June 3, 2025

I’m not a writer, far from it, but the esteemed editor in chief of this prestigious publication allowed me to submit my most recent adventure so thanks in advance for bearing with me here.

My father and I had been slowly reconnecting since my late teens after a pretty ugly divorce between my parents and the common ground for us happens to be machines, especially motorcycles. Last summer he and I rode an organized trip to the Balkans (Serbia – Bosnia – Croatia – Montenegro) and while we had some technical issues on that trip (maybe another article in the future if there’s demand?) the overall outcome was that we had a great adventure of riding stunningly beautiful, less traveled roads that wind through countries long ago dismissed by the west. To keep it interesting, we did all of this while battling the eccentricities of machines that were each north of 2 decades in age. Coming off that trip we agreed that we would do it again the following year. Continue Reading >

Photo Gallery: Catskills -> Lake Placid

July 29, 2024August 5, 2024

This July we rode from Catskill Park to Adirondack Park and back over the space of a long weekend. We started at Belleayre on a Friday and rode to North Creek, where we stayed for the night. Saturday, we spent the day riding a loop through Lake Placid, hitting White Face, Old Forge and a few other points of interest along the way. Sunday, we rolled back south to the Catskills. It was a solid trip. Excellent company, great weather, and met some cool people along the way. Photo gallery below, along with links to the approx ride route. Enjoy!

Here is the route we took from the Catskills to North Creek. We actually ended up dropping in a quick lap around Pepacton Reservoir before we headed up to Andes. I’m glad we did because there was a lot of fresh slurry seal gravel between the reservoir and Stamford via Bovina.

Here is a link to the loop we took through Lake Placid.

We actually did a similar ride last September and got rained on the entire time. It was very nice to get some good weather this time around. Rt 10 and 28N lived up to the hype (and my memory). They are probably some of the best routes I have ridden. We may have to make it an annual thing. Ride safe!

Some Fall Riding Clips!

October 13, 2023

I threw the gopro on the bike for a couple of rides over the long weekend in early October. Here is a quick vid with some of the leaf peeping footage–

125 Mile Back Country Catskills Loop

August 3, 2023August 3, 2023

Hello friends. I have finally had some time this summer to lay down a couple of routes to share (which has always been one of the original intentions of this site). This route is a good mix of paved and very mellow non-paved roads with excellent scenery throughout. For the non-paved sections, I would recommend having at least an 80-20 tire. But I have friend who managed without issue on some full street (Pirelli RossoIVs). So it can be done. For this type of ride, I run Conti TKC70s (Rear is the “Rocks” version). I recorded the “tracks” file in two segments, but this loop can easily be done in a single day. The first day, I had to cut my ride short in Prattsville and high-tail it home in pouring rain with no rain gear. So the second segment picks up in Prattsville. I started and finished at Belleayre Ski Resort. But there are a few points that would be good start/end points along the way. I would recommend Pine Hill, Prattsville or Stamford, if not Belleayre.

If you are using Belleayre as the start/finish point, I would recommend the following spots for food/coffee–

Stamford Coffee— This is a logical spot that is roughly half way through the loop. It is definitely nouveau-upstate (a/k/a Brooklyn-ey vibe). But if you are into (don’t mind) that sort of thing, they do have a full service coffee bar with a rotation selection of panini-style sandwiches on the weekend. I will add that Stamford is really the only place along this route that has fuel. So if you need it, grab it here.

Pine Hill Arms— The end of the route takes you through Pine Hill. When you hit main st. if you go left instead of right, you will pass The Arms. I can’t vouch of the lodging because I have never stayed. But the restaurant is legit. A husband wife team run the bar/restaurant. The “McDan” burger with tots is literally one of my favorite burgers. For those who might stay at the Arms, they also have ice cold Pilsner Urquell on draft.

A few final notes– Always ride on the right! No head-on collisions, please. Kindly ride slowly through the areas where there residential homes along the road. Wave at the people you encounter along your way, they might be my friends (and/or your future friends). Hit me up with any questions, or if you are looking for some additional company!

–Jake

Download GPX File (zipped).

Google Maps.

Here are a few more photos from the route–