petersondlp@sbcglobal.net

Maine – Downeast Sunshine Trail

Ellsworth, Maine

June 26, 2021

We spent a quiet night in Newport, Maine. After our ride yesterday and a long drive we were a bit slow getting going this morning but finally got on the road to Ellsworth, Maine to ride the Down East Trail.

Downeast Scenic Railroad passed the trail head while we were getting ready to ride. It followed the trail for a short distance.

The Down East Trail is named for its location in Down East Maine, dubbed by early Mariners for being “downwind” from more western ports such as Boston. Also, it’s one of the first trails to experience sunrise in the United States.

What can I say about this trail? Bad news first – it was loose gravel, sometimes big rocks, rutted, and washboarded. ROUGH!

Good news – there were some areas of smooth going, the scenery was pretty, the ATV riders were courteous and the deer flies didn’t carry us away.

We passed through woods and marshlands. Wild flowers were still in bloom. We road 12 miles out of Ellsworth and it was pretty remote.

We are spending the night in Ellsworth and may try another section of the trail in the morning. Wish us luck!!

Vermont # 47 Lamoille Valley Rail Trail

St. Johnsbury, VT

June 25, 2021

Yesterday was a travel day for us as we headed toward St Johnsbury, VT for our next ride. We had a relaxing morning and left Lake Carmi State Park about noon.

We arrived in Littleton, NH, where we would spend the night, with plenty of day left we did some shopping and went to the local pub/restaurant for dinner. Good food, great service and decent prices.

The Lamoille Valley Rail Trail runs along what was once known as the covered bridge line and was a leaf peeper train for scenic tourism.

We rode the eastern section of the rail trail. It was 12.5 miles on an uphill grade to Danville. We took an hour and 30 minutes ride up the trail and under an hour on our return. It was a fun fast ride down and a much earned rest.

There were two tunnels which took us under roadways.

We traveled in and out of dense forest on the rail bed which at times was a few hundred feet above the forest floor.

There were cutout areas of bedrock which provided very cool temperatures..

We road just a short distance past the Danville Train Station.

Minor bike repair performed by my favorite mechanic.

The wild flowers along the trail were beautiful and we saw people picking bouquets. Where the woods were most dense ferns covered the sides of the trail.

We are excited to have finished our Vermont 100 today, that makes 47 down and one to go. We are spending the night in Newport, Maine and hope to ride the Downeast Sunrise Rail Trail tomorrow.

Just had to stop and get some maple syrup while in Vermont

Vermont -Mississquoi Valley Rail Trail

Enosburg Falls, VT

June 23, 2021

This is our third day of riding and we have completed 78 miles in Vermont. We had a quiet night at Lake Carmi State Park. Quietest place we have ever stayed. Of course there was no phone service, no TV channels and no generators!!

Enosburg Falls – A beautiful day for a bike ride.

We rode the trail north from Enosburg Falls. The town once dubbed itself “Dairy Capitol of the World”. There were many dairy cattle farms, sheep and goats – a very odiferous area.

We had great views of the Missisquoi River today.

The trail was two single tracks, sometimes one single track and sometimes no track. We worked hard with the long grades and rougher surface. Good new is we both burned lots of calories.

Double track with over grown vegetation..

Really not complaining it was just more challenging. As always we are blessed2bbiking.

This was the end of the trail in Rockford, VT. We were just a few miles from Quebec, Canada.

We will be spending another quiet night at Lake Carmi State Park. Tomorrow is a travel day as we head for St Johnsbury, VT to ride the Lamoille Valley Rail Trail.

Vermont – Mississquoi Valley Rail Trail

St. Albans, VT

June 22, 2021

We had a quiet night after the storms passed and awoke to much cooler weather. The temperature when we began our ride was 60 degrees, 30 degrees cooler then yesterday.

We are in the country. The trail provided lots of variety – dairy farms, beautiful dense forests and corn fields.

The trail was packed gravel and crushed stone, sometimes hard pack sometimes a bit loose. There were grades of over a mile long. We built some muscle and cardio on the uphill grades.

The trestle into Sheldon Junction is the site of a train derailment which prompted the closure of the railroad making way for the railtrail.

Riding through the forest it was interesting to see areas with tubing used to collect Maple sap.

We think this is a collecting area for sap before it goes to the sugar mill.

The trail is 26 miles long so we rode out 13 miles, almost to Enosburg Falls, and back. So, 26 miles for us today.

We are spending the night at Lake Carmi State Park. Rustic, no hookups and restricted generator use.

Pages: 12

Vermont – Island Line Rail Trail

Burlington, VT

June 21,2021

After a relaxing dinner last night we headed to the local Walmart to spend the night.

Oops!! Imagine our surprise when we opened our shade this morning.

We were only about 10 minutes from Oakledge Park trailhead in South Burlington. High winds and thunderstorms were predicted for the afternoon so we were anxious to get our ride done.

The trail headed north from the trailhead along the waterfront with beautiful views of Lake Champlain. We passed through some industrial areas, parks and a very busy awesome skatepark.

We crossed the Winooski River Bridge followed by a half-mile elevated boardwalk across a flood plain.

Pointing the way to the Colchester Causeway.

The causeway portion is the highlight of this trail. Built in 1900 atop huge marble boulders, the raised railbed cuts across Lake Champlain. We had high winds at our backs headed out and the waves were only feet away.

Colchester Causeway across Lake Champlain.

Mileage marker near The Cut. You can see the bike ferry in the background.

The causeway ends abruptly out in the lake at “The Cut”. There is a bike ferry to take bikers to South Hero Island. Because of the high winds and threatening weather we decided not to make the crossing.

They call this “The Cut”, a 200 foot gap in the trail where the railroad swing bridge once stood.

With the wind at our backs it took us a little over an hour to reach The Cut. Our return ride into the wind took about an hour and a half.

We are now in Saint Albans, VT, not too far from the Canadian border. The winds are shaking the motorhome and we’ve had some heavy rain. The temperature was 90 earlier but has thankfully dropped considerably after the rain.

More adventures to follow – 25 miles down, 75 to go.

200 Miles 2 Go

June 19, 2021

We are back in our home on wheels. Biking in Vermont and Maine is on the agenda. These are the last two states to complete our challenge of riding 100 miles in all the lower 48. First stop will be Island Line Rail Trail near Burlington, VT.

We like to look back at our relaxing, amazing winter in Florida before starting a new adventure. Our time was filled with visiting family and friends, beachcombing, biking and avoiding that Covid thing. So here are some of our memories.

Bonfire with kids at St Lucie COE campground.

Celebrating Scott’s 36th with his family. Jupiter lighthouse in the background.

Catching up with cousins at Koreshan State Park.

Lunch with Beach Lake friends at Fisherman’s Village in Punta Gorda.

Spending fun times with Connie . We found a treasure trove of Mardi Gras beads.

Legacy bike trail near Oscar Scherer State Park.

Saw this guy riding Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail.

We stayed in several State Parks that were new to us. Visiting the beautiful parks and beaches on the panhandle was a highlight.

Beautiful night skies at Jonathan Dickinson State Park.

Entrance to St George Island State Park. It was 18 mile round trip to get ice cream. Worth the effort – each of 3 times!

This crab was on the beach on St. George Island. He posed nicely for his picture.

Our favorite place to eat in Grayton Beach – just a short bike ride from the State Park. Best shrimp ever.

Along Timpoochee Trail near Grayton Beach.

Meanwhile Erik and his family were enjoying a snowy Alaska winter.

We arrived in Ohio in time to enjoy a late spring snow. It’s always good to get home and begin where we left off on our home projects.

We enjoy being able to bike the beautiful Western Reserve Greenway while at home.

Amish farm along the Greenway south of Orwell.

Now to begin our Vermont adventure.

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.