October 2020 – Biking 100

Rhode Island #46 – Blackstone River Greenway

October 14, 2020

The past two days it has rained. Inspite of the rain we planned a visit to Newport, RI. A walking tour of the marina area was cut short by a downpour. An auto tour seemed a better choice and we were able to see some of the highlights of the area. Of course, our favorites were the boats, the bay and the ocean.

Windy, blustery, rainy day in Newport. RI.

We enjoyed seeing ships, large and small sail boats and a huge catamaran sailing on the bay. We would like to revisit – post Covid and no rain.

Waves and rocky shoreline near Brenton Point State Park.

So after two days of rain and feeling cabin fever we were excited to be on our bikes once again. We began our ride on the beautiful Blackstone River Greenway in Manville and rode south along the river.

Ashton Mill, once producing cotton fabrics, has been converted into riverside apartments and lofts.

We road as far as Central Falls and a short on road section. As always when reaching a high traffic area we turned around and headed back toward Manville.

Creative use of restored drive-in theater sign.

Pratt Dam – bridge uses original stone piers from the trail’s railway past.

We headed north of Manville for a few miles to the River’s Edge Recreation Complex. We were just a short distance from Woonsocket and the Massachusetts-Rhode Island border.

The reflection of the trees on the water had a rainbow effect as it flowed over the Manville Dam.

This was the perfect, relaxed, peaceful and beautiful ride for us to complete our Rhode Island 100. It is also the end of our 2020 Pandemic tour.

We have two states, Maine and Vermont, to complete our lower 48 states. They will be at the top of our “to do list” for 2021.

Our Covid 19 tour has included: New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, Connecticut and Rhode Island

Rhode Island – East Bay Bike Path

October 11, 2020

The East Bay Bike Path was inducted into the Rail-Trail Hall of Fame in 2009. It travels between Providence and Bristol on a railbed whose service was discontinued in 1973. The state built most of the bike trail between 1987 and 1992. We began our ride in East Providence.

This was a perfect trail for us. We love being near the water, especially marinas and salt water.

Remnants of railway – so very close to the water.

This house/mansion was built on what looked to be a rock in the bay. The stone walkway goes to a gazebo.

This is the busiest trail we’ve ever ridden. The closer we got to Bristol the busier it became. Thankfully, some long stretches of the trail were serene and uncrowded. There were 2 detours which took us over busy on road bridges. On our return there was a biker being treated by EMS. Looked to be a road crossing incident. Reminded us to be always diligent watching for traffic and other riders.

We took a wrong turn at one of the detours and should have been going over the bridge in the distance. No problem, we enjoyed a nice couple of miles riding right along the bay.

A detour took us over a highway bridge instead of this wooden bridge which was on the bike path. Apparently the wooden bridges are in need of repairs

Lenny doing some first aid on my bike rack.

When we retured to the trailhead it was crazy busy. People were parked everywhere. Lenny quickly loaded the bikes so we could be on the road and make room for new arrivals.

We only had a 20 minute drive to Leyden Vineyards where we would be spending the night. I had spoken to Caitlin and she was so welcoming and encouraged us to arrive before 4 PM so we could do a wine tasting. When we arrived they were very busy but Maureen hopped on her golf cart and showed us where to park by a beautiful pond.

Our home for the night on the pond at Leyden Vineyard. Enjoyed wine tasting and great hospitality.

We really enjoyed the music and wine tasting. He played some oldies as well as more current selections.

Lenny enjoying a glass of wine. We could hear the entertainment at our campsite.

What a day we have had. We were up at 5:30 AM, biked almost 30 miles, arrived at winery for wine tasting and relaxed listening to the great guitarist. We were in bed by 9 PM.

Rhode Island – Washington Secondary Bike Path

October 10, 2020

The Washington Secondary Bike Path is Rhode Islands longest rail-trail at just over 19 miles. The trail follows the former Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad. We got on the trail in West Warwick and rode the 11 miles to Coventry and back.

This is pretty typical of this trail. Smooth asphalt in most areas and fenced on both sides.

Views of Pawtuxet River near West Warwick.

The Pawtuxet River was viewed from the beautiful bridges along the trail. While the trail did not follow the river it was never too far away.

Remnants of railroad track near Coventry.

As we rode on an uphill grade toward Coventry the area became much more rural. There was an equestrian trail adjacent to the bike path, sometimes above, other times below.

Stopped at a church craft sale along the trail.

Oh, I forgot to mention the wind. There was wind, about 18 mph. Much of the trail was protected which made our ride much more pleasant. We returned to the motorhome for some lunch and then decided to investigate the trail east of West Warwick.

New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad caboose

Bridge over Pawtuxet River east of West Warwick.

Kayakers on the river east of West Warwick.

We rode another ten miles before returning to the motorhome for our trailhead showers. Plan to ride again tomorrow as Hurricane Delta will be bringing a couple days of rain our way.

Rhode Island – William C. O’Neill Bike Path

October 9, 2020

We arrived in Rhode Island this afternoon. Ocean State Harley has graciously allowed us to spend the night at their store in Exeter. The store is actually closed due to Covid so it’s very quiet here. There is a beautiful pavilion with picnic tables and we were told we could use the electricity and porta potties. Oh yes, and the rocking chairs on the porch!

Our home for the night at Ocean State Harley.

Ocean State Harley – reopening April 2021.

It was early when we arrived so we decided to go biking. Gee, what a great idea! We parked in West Kingston near the Amtrak station to bike the William C. O’Neill Bike Path.

West Kingston Station – Amtrak’s Northeast line between Boston and Washington D.C.

Bike path previously known as South County Bike Path.

This was a nice asphalt rail- trail, very smooth with enough uphill and downhill to get a good work out. We rode to the trail’s end in Narragansett Pier.

Trees trimmed to make it appear as though the bike path was going through a tunnel.

There were many other bikers as well as walkers, and runners. The bike path is near the University of Rhode Island so we took a spur off the bike path and road through the pretty campus.

Never seen this before. There were a couple road crossings where crossing guards stopped traffic for us.

More of the brook and swamp. The blue skies and afternoon sun made for a beautiful scene.

Former switch tower in Kingston, Rhode Island.

This rail-trail was originally an 8-mile railroad built by a wealthy 19th-century textile mill owner. He used the railroad to get coal to his plant or products to market. He later added accommodations to carry vacationers to beach resorts.

Connecticut – #45 Air Line State Park Trail

October 8, 2020

We returned to a more northern section of the Air Line Trail to finish our Connecticut 100. Pomfret Depot was our starting point and we headed south.

After the storms the previous night we were concerned about trail conditions. The wind was still blowing and it was only about 55 degrees. Honestly. if we were just going for a ride at home I would have passed but we wanted to finish our 100 TODAY.

Immediately north of Pomfret Depot they are building a beautiful new bridge to connect with the northern portion of the trail.

Thankfully the trail was dry but there were many branches strewn all along the trail.

This was the only tree we could not get around.

There were lots of police on 4-wheelers. So surprised to see them as motorized vehicles are not permitted on railtrail.

Police on 4-wheelers. They did an awesome job of clearing leaves and branches from the trail.

We passed these 4-wheelers entering the trail and then saw them exiting on our return. The passing of the 4-wheel ATVs swept the trail clean – not a leaf or branch left on the trail where they had ridden.

The railbed is high above the forest floor.

We did have sunshine which made the fall colors pop.

We’ve ridden some beautiful trails in Connecticut. Today we were really “in the country”. We could see a few homes from the trail and they had generators running due to power outages. When making a road crossing we could see several utility company trucks doing repairs.

We are off to begin our Rhode Island 100 tomorrow. There is a frost warning here tonight and our heat is running. I cooked a pork tenderloin in the oven this evening. The oven helps to heat up our little home.

A carpet of pine needles on the trail. Time to say goodbye to Connecticut- it’s been a good ride.

Connecticut – Farmington River Trail

October 7, 2020

This was really an enjoyable ride. It was so different from the trails we have ridden so far in Connecticut. First of all, it was asphalt, very wide and smooth. We began our ride at the trailhead in Farmington. The views of the river were beautiful. There were many bikers, joggers and dog walkers using the trail. I imagine the weekends can probably get terribly crowded.

The trail took us through Unionville, Collinsville, and Canton. We rode on a sidewalk in Canton for a short distance. As we passed by people eating at outside tables I had to restrain myself from grabbing a handful of onions rings….. and a beer to wash it down.

View of river from boardwalk in Canton. Winds were beginning to blow – dark threatening skies.

North of Canton the trail begins a shared bicycle-vehicle lane which is where we headed back to Farmington. Winds were forecast to be 20 – 30 mph with 50mph gusts so we felt rushed to finish our ride.

We rode a short distance on Farmington Heritage Trail which meets the River Trail in Farminton. We had hoped to finish our 100 miles on the Canal Trail however the weather had other plans. We were an hour from the campground and the weather was changing as forecast.

We arrived back at the motorhome just as it began raining, covered the bikes and ran for cover ourselves. Sitting here now, we have had high winds, thunder and lightning, and the power has gone off a few times.

Looking forward to finishing our Connecticut 100 tomorrow. It’s going down to 39 degrees tonight and tomorrow temps in the 50s. Better dress warm!!

Connecticut – Air Line State Park Trail

October 6, 2020

This rail-trail was used by the Air Line Railroad as part of a direct route between Boston and New York. It was so named because the tracks ran flat and straight, like a line in the sky.

We started our ride in Willimantic near the Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum, which was closed for renovations. We would have enjoyed a closer look at some of the old vintage railcars.

We road an uphill grade for more then 7 miles to begin. I just kept thinking how nice it will be on the way back and it was nice. We then had several miles of down hill which was a refreshing change.

Taken at our ***47th mile*** into our Connecticut 100 on our ***47th Anniversary.***

Most of the trail was shaded. Large parts of the trail were high above the forest floor on the raised railbed. We love to ride a trail like this because the views of the forest are awesome.

Wetland area with beautiful fall colors.

Many of the road crossings had steep hills with loose gravel which I found to be really brutal.

Mural along trail near Raymond Brook Wildlife Management Area.

Brings back memories of our wonderful fall rides in Michigan.

Some parts of the trail had leaves at least a foot deep.

We wanted to add a few more miles on our way back to the campground so stopped at a trail we had passed yesterday. It was near the airport and looked really intriguing. As it turned out the bike path only traveled over a dam but was over a mile long.

The bike path was on a dam high above an airport on one side and a reservoir on the other.

The water in the reservoir was quite low but still beautiful.

Great views from top of dam. Yes, more fall colors!!

We only rode about 3 miles here but the views were well worth the stop. There were people out with tripods and cameras taking pictures.

We are well into our 100 miles and are really enjoying the beautiful forests and trails of Connecticut.

Connecticut – Hop River State Park Trail

October 5. 2020

We arrived at Charlie Brown campground in Eastford, Connecticut yesterday afternoon. We will be here for 5 nights. Not many people in the campground but they are sold out for the weekend.

Great campsite on the river amongst the fall colors.

We were up early and had a relaxing morning while waiting for the temperature to improve. We are prepared for cool weather and this morning we used some of our warm weather gear.

We parked at the eastern end of the Hop River State Trail.

The Hop River State Park Trail is a rail-trail that follows the former Hartford, Providence and Fishkill Railroad.

It really was a beautiful start to the trail. However the trail surface changed dramatically after we crossed the bridge above. The trail looked like it was rarely used and to make things worse we took a wrong turn and ended up on a single track with railroad ties exposed.

Walked across this dilapidated bridge. Lenny said better get a picture because we are not crossing again.

Our wanderings took us to the wrong side of a “private property do not enter” sign. The property was owned by Care Camp. I looked at their website and learned that it is a camp for individuals with special needs. They have a therapeutic horseback riding program. The facilities were beautiful.

We eventually found the correct trail and it was well worth the effort. The smooth hard packed trail surface and the variety of scenery in the colorful forest puts Hop River Trail on my list of favorites.

The many rock cutouts were amazing – cool on a summer ride and chilling today.

There were bridges, three tunnels and of course the fall forest. The trail was on a trailbed at times high above the river or going through the rock cutouts.

First time we’ve ridden in a tunnel with lights.

We hardly noticed the slight uphill grade as we road the trail east to just beyond the Bolton Notch parking area. The weather was cool and when riding through the rock cutouts I was chilled, especially on our return when we really picked up some speed.

Sign at Bolton Notch parking area. Willimantic, where we began our ride is not listed but we were about 14 miles out. If you add our wanderings it’s a bit more.🤪

Beautiful leaf covered trail. There were a few miles where the leaves were being blown off the trail. Lenny is looking at a tree seemingly growing out of the rocks.

I would definitely ride this beautiful trail again. After such a wonderful start to our 100 miles here, we are looking forward to riding more Connecticut trails.