Another nice January weekend in Connecticut for a group ride.
(Source: youtu.be)
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.
A couple of years ago I did a few rides exploring a number of dirt roads in Sandisfield, Massachusetts, and one of my favorites was a gradual climb up Silverbrook Road past the Silverbrook Revervoir and earth dam. This past Saturday I did a ride with my friends Dave, Scott, and Peter and we explored some of the dirt roads in the area, and stopped by the Southfield store for coffee. Here are a few photos from the ride.
See the full set of photos on flickr
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.
May 8, 2010 — The weather this morning in Connecticut certainly scared many cyclists from getting out on the roads, but luckily I was watching the radar online and saw that the early thunderstorms and rain was predicted to clear up around noon.
I had planned a ride starting in Canaan, Connecticut that included some of the great back roads in the northwest corner of the state, and put out the word to some of my riding amigos for an afternoon start. Scott, Dave, and Ken were up for the adventure, so we loaded into Scott’s Eurovan, and drove about 40 minutes northwest toward blue sky and the start at Lawrence Park in Canaan.
River Road
We headed south from Canaan on Route 7, but quickly veered off onto Sand Road, and some other side roads. Part of the route south included River Road, a fairly smooth dirt road following the scenic Housatonic River down to the West Cornwall covered bridge.
White Hollow Road in the distance
From West Cornwall we crossed Route 7, and made a steep climb following the road west toward Sharon, CT. Another dirt road cut off brought us back north on White Hollow Road toward the Lime Rock Park where we stopped to see some of the cars testing out the auto racing track.
Lime Rock Park
From Lime Rock we headed north on Salmon Kill Road toward Salisbury. This stretch of road is very scenic and you pass by some impressive “summer cottages”. In Salibury we stopped by the town market where Scott and Dave refueled on some Sushi (they said this was a first for sushi while on a bike ride), and then filled our water bottles at a natural spring in the center of town.
The Natural Spring in Salisbury, CT
Leaving Salisbury we turned north off Route 44 on to Taconic Road to head toward Sheffield, Massachusetts. Once we crossed the Connecticut - Massachusetts line, the roads turned to dirt, and there were a number of places that had been recently covered with a fresh load of loose rock. Three of the four of us flatted on Foley Road, so I’d probably avoid that route the next time.
Heading North into Massachusetts
Since we spent a little too much time fixing flats, and touring the auto racing track, decided to cut the original planned route a little short and took a more direct route back to Canaan from Sheffield, Mass.
The Dirt Road That Cost Three Flat Tires
All in all, it was a great day on the bike. If you like staying on traffic free roads, look for the thin lines on the map and even go for some dirt roads. There are many dirt roads in northwest Connecticut, and the Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts and these are some of the most scenic routes in the area.
