BikeRide

Today I got out for a solo ride on one of my favorite 50 mile routes that I haven’t been on in a while.  Starting in Canton, CT, I headed northwest to New Hartford and Pleasant Valley where I spotted many fisherman out on the Farmington River.  I then headed up Sandy Brook Road, then on to Norfolk, which claims the highest elevation of any Connecticut town.

Once in Norfolk I decided to take Mountain Road to Westside Road.  I had not been on Westside Road before, and it was a nice quite road, but the pavement ended after a while, and the dirt sections had some new loose rock that was a bit dangerous to ride, but it wasn’t too long.

I headed back by Winchester Lake, and Winchester Center where there was a quilt show going on on the village center.

This was my longest ride of the year so far, and I felt it in my legs the last 5 miles or so.  I am working up toward a century ride on June 20th.

Here are a few photo from the ride.  See more on Flickr.

After last weeks record breaking rain in the northeast, today the temperature broke 80 degrees, so I had to get out and ride or risk missing the nicest day of the year in Connecticut.

I rode on one of the favorite routes of my cycling club around the Barkhamstead Reservior nearly to the Connecticut - Massachusetts border.  I saw many other cyclist out enjoying the nice day.

The route around the Barkhamstead Reservior is a little on the hilly side, but very scenic and low traffic for the most part. 

I was also happy to notice that much of the road around the west side of the reservoir has been repaved with nice smooth pavement and a added wide shoulder since I last rode this route.  I shot some video while on the ride, so here are a few scenes from the ride today.

Spring is just about here in Connecticut, and today it was a perfect day for a ride.  The sun was out, even if it was a little on the cool side.  I headed north west to one of my favorite rides up Sandy Brook Road.

The ride gradually climbs on the way out, and today I had a headwind as well, but a nice gradual down hill, and tailwind coming home.

I saw quite a few other cyclists out enjoying the weather.

Today’s weather in Connecticut turned out to be pretty nice.  I was busy in the morning, but in the afternoon it was sunny and 45 degrees, so I set out to get in a short ride.  Once I got out on the road the wind picked up, and it felt much colder.

The loop I did includes a nice hill, so I was able to warm up a little on the climb.

I’m looking forward to Spring.  I’d like to get out and ride without all the layers to stay warm.

The town of Plainville, Connecticut is hoping to be designated as Bicycle-Friendly Community by the League of American Bicyclists according to an article in the Bristol Press.

This story caught my eye because not only do I live fairly close to Plainville, but I used to ride through Plainville almost daily on my bicycle commute when I worked at ESPN, which is located just over the Plainville border in Bristol, Connecticut.

It has been a couple of years now since I changed jobs, but at the time it would have been nice to have better bike routes through the town.  Many of the streets have wide lanes which are nice for bicycling, but striped bicycle lanes would have been great in some areas.

At one point a major road (Route 177) was being “improved” to add a traffic light, repaved, and restriped for more auto lanes.  The problem is it took away the nice existing shoulder for riding without any consideration for bike lanes, and that was one of the few routes I felt safe riding my bike.

There are some abandoned railroad lines in the town that I hope are converted to a bike path as an extension of Farmington Canal Trail.  When I was commuting by bike it would have been nice to use the trail to avoid some of the roads that have heavier auto traffic.

Jim Cassidy, chairman of the Bicycle Friendly committee said he would like to give people a chance to ride alongside an abandoned stretch of railway in the northern section of town. If the town purchased the railway and made it part of the bike trail, it could encourage Farmington to complete the part of their route that connects to Plainville, bringing bicyclists down a safe and quiet path to the center of town.

To be considered a Bicycle Friendly Community, I think you have to do more that think of cycling just for recreation, but think of building routes that encourage people to ride as transportation to work, schools, or other popular destinations.

Encouraging cycling for recreation is also important, because that can boost the local economy by bringing people to town to ride the trails or participate in cycling events.  One example is the Plainville Spring Series, a local early season race series and a business park in Plainville.

Cyclists Ride In The Plainville Spring Series (BikeRide.com Photo)

At this point, no town in Connecticut is designated as Bicycle Friendly by the League of American Cyclists, but I would say there are certainly areas in Connecticut that are great for riding. The cycling culture here just seems to be more about cycling for recreation than transportation.  There is hope though.  In 2009, the Connecticut Department of Transportation passed a Statewide Bicycle & Pedestrian Plan.

If you are interested in Bicycle Advocacy in Connecticut the Central Connecticut Bicycle Alliance is a good resource.