My wife and I live in NJ and want to drive to a northeastern location in NY, Vermont, NH, MA or Maine. House , condo or hotel. Location where we can go cycling, hiking, quaint shopping, but most importantly, dine at farm to table restaurants, great cuisine. Summer thru fall timeframe.

Try Litchfield County CT.
Kent CT
Washington CT
New Milford CT

Finger Lakes, NY

There are few places more beautiful than the Berkshire Mountains in western MA during the summer. You'll find everything you mentioned there, and then some.

And if you'd like to visit Cape Cod (highly recommended!), there's no better time than September for that.

Here on Cape Cod we also have the excellent cycling, hiking, shopping, dining, and quaint towns you're looking for - plus whale watching, glorious beaches, sunset sailing cruises, wonderful local fairs and festivals, and cranberry harvest season in the fall.

You're covering a big area - do you want mountains or seacoast?
I live in the Dartmouth College area of New Hampshire (I'm an ex-Jerseyite), near Vermont. This area is rich with good restaurants many of which feature local produce. For biking (we are avid bicyclists), there is the Northern Railtrail, and numerous quiet country roads, which tend to be flatter along the Connecticut River of both states. Both states have unlimited hiking opportunities, and plenty of charming villages. This part of the world is not a shoppers mecca, although Woodstock Vt has lots of cutesy shops. North Conway NH and Manchester VT are also 'factory outlet' shopping towns.