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.
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.
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.
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.