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new bike , he explains , if his BMW K 100 RT would ever cooperate and give him reason to replace it , but at 90,000 miles it just keeps running , so he rode it to work that morning as usual . As he returns to work , I nab the photo I ’ ve been planning ever since I spotted the park on my Pennsylvania road map . I ’ ve always wanted to say I ’ ve been to the ends of the earth . Now , I have a photo of my bike under the “ Worlds End ” sign to prove it .
Skirting Williamsport , I ride north on Route 44 , a favorite among local riders , through the Sproul State Forest . Clusters of pickups mark the proximity of good fishing holes , where retirees cast away , beginning their work week on a Monday . Spotting the sign for Hyner Run Road , I bank left and follow the bumpy pavement , not quite two full lanes wide , to the entrance to Hyner View State Park . I lean left again and suddenly I ’ m climbing a smoothly paved , four-mile , dead-end road with no traffic but lots of curves . Ideal . At the end , Hyner View State Park , little more than an overlook built by the Civilian Conservation Corps , offers panoramic views of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River .
This perch , 1,300 feet above the river , is popular among hang gliders who fling themselves off its precipice . I keep my Kawi ’ s tires planted on pavement as I glide back down the empty road . Chipmunks , bored with their bucolic existence , bolt across my path , tails hoisted for added speed , enjoying a shot of adrenaline as I whoosh by .
PHOTO BY PAUL STA VIA ISTOCKPHOTO . COM
Elk are a common sight in north central Pennsylvania , so proceed with caution .
Still meandering west , I follow another three-digit road , Route 555 , to the village of Benezette . Here , a roadway encounter with wildlife carries much higher stakes than a brush with suicidal chipmunks , because I ’ m now in Pennsylvania ’ s elk country . Elk were common here until the westward expansion in the 1800s eliminated them . In the 20th century , a herd from the Rockies was reintroduced . More recently , reclaimed strip