Today I met up with my cycling amigos in Winchester Center to tackle some of Connecticut’s steep Litchfield Hills. It was a perfect day weather wise. No need for arm warmers, the sun was out, and a nice breeze was blowing.
It’s always nice to get out and ride with a group and find some new back roads. Some of the roads were familiar to me from an organized charity ride I have done called The Tour of the Litchfield Hills.
We stopped in Litchfield for coffee before heading back to Mark’s country house where we had lunch under the shade of some large trees. The sun dried tomato pasta salad, and broccoli salads I brought seemed to be a hit.
We did a total of 50 miles, and 4000 feet of climbing.
May 16, 2010 - After not doing many group rides last year, today I had the chance to meet up with some old riding friends and some new faces thanks to a group ride invite from my friend Scott. We started off in New Hartford, Connecticut at the country house of one of the riders. I rode to the start to get in some extra training miles. The group did a familiar loop to Norfolk, Connecticut but took a few roads that were new to me.
We started out with a climb up Steele Road to New Hartford center that made for a fast warm up. The pace picked up along the Farmington River and I found myself in the wind towing a group for a while on the way to Riverton. That was probably a mistake since I should have been conserving my energy.
After a regroup in Riverton, we made our way up Sandy Brook Road, which is a gradual climb. I rode most of the way to the top with frame builder Dwight Bowen. A few of the riders in the group were on his custom made steel frames.
Church Hill Road
After Sandy Brook we made a right on route 183, then turned left on Church Hill Road. As the name of the road would suggest, it was anything but flat. Once we made it to Norfork, a stop at the patio of the Infinity Bistro for coffee was in order.
Norfolk, Connecticut
After Norfolk, we headed back by Winchester Lake, Winchester Center, and then by Highland Lake which was a new route for me.
Riding Past Highland Lake
After the ride we shared food and good company at Patti’s country house. This group has good taste in food, and I really need to ride with them more often!
The spread of food after the ride.
After some good food I had to get back on the bike for the final six miles or so home. I did about 62 miles total for the day for a metric century and my longest ride of the year so far.
