Connecitcut East Coast Greenway Ride: Simsbury to Southwick, MA

The final stretch into Mass is really long and mostly uninterrupted

At the end of the line we gathered for some pictures and a few cold ones before getting on a bus and driving back to New Haven.  

We rode 57 miles and it was a blast.  I want to do this again, only ride to Southwick and then back doing the Collinsville extension, too!

Connecitcut East Coast Greenway Ride: Farmington to Simsbury

After Plainville we rode into Farmington and picked up the trail

Really straight through here for quite a few miles and a nice interrupted stretch

As I was crossing the Farmington River I reached into my back pocket to pull my camera out and I was slowing down so I take a picture.  Up ahead of me there was a father with two children who were jumping back and fourth between the outlook points.  The little girl saw me, panicked, and jumped out in front of me and I ran into her.

Fortunately, I was going slow enough that my tire just pushed her down but I was out of the saddle and I miraculously unclipped and went over the bars but landed on my feet. It scarred the piss out of the little girl (literally) and almost out of me, too.  I was more more concerned for her well being than my own at first but her father assured me she was OK.  Then I looked to myself and couldn't believe that I didn't have any scrapes or cuts

After all that, I still managed to get a couple of pictures of the River and the Trail's namesake.

 

Crossing into Simsbury

 

The Fred-mobile.  I picked up this under the top tube bag at NEMBAFest the week prior knowing that it would be perfect for this bike.  It holds two tubes, multitool, airpump and still has room for a backup Guu pack or two!  Since this was an unsupported ride I brought a seatpack with extra food but it was really unnecessary.  Next time I do something like this I am going to find a way to mount my Timbukt2 Toptube pouch to hold my camera and additional snacks, as well my Blackberry because it cut out half way through the ride again. 

Lunch was awesome!

 

 

 

 

Connecitcut East Coast Greenway Ride: "The Gap" in Plainville

The Plainville section of the Trail is called The Gap because there is no trail.

This part of the rail line is still active, too.

So the ride had a police escort by the town of Plainfield

 

 

 

 

 

 

Riding on Route 10 could be scary

Somehow, I ended out in front behind the police car

I was pacing it and doing 20 mph

That caddy in the picture above adjacent to the Police car almost clipped me

Active portion of the Rail Line running right by the Plainfield Municipal Center.

 

 

Awesome job by the Plainville PD as escorts

Nice place to take a break and use the facilities

Mary Collins, local author and English Professor, joined us for the ride to Simsbury

 

Another food stop, bathroom break, and a few more speeches

Connecitcut East Coast Greenway Ride: Chesire to Southington

From Chesire to Southington there is a long stretch of road that you have to navigate to get to the next trail head.

 

The crazy thing is that the road bed has 3" gravel on it now and is just sitting idle.

 

The southern trailhead has ample parking and the trail itself is really wide

There are some cool bridges

And quite a few old buildings still standing next to where the railroad used to go, including an old station house.

 

Tracks are still visible at the end of the line.  Further up, this turns into an active railroad line.

Connecitcut East Coast Greenway Ride: New Haven to Cheshire

I was invited by Steve Mitchell of the East Coast Greenway to accompany the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner, Daniel Esty on 50+ mile ride up the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail Greenway, from New Haven to Southwick, MA.  I have always wanted to ride the trail in it's entirety and this was the opportunity.

  

Along the route there were a couple of planned stops where the commissioner had planned for some interviews and speeches to extol the benefits of this trail system and don't get me wrong but having a trail like this is something we should all be thankful for because it is truly an outstanding resource.

There was a plethora of different bikes ranging from comfort bikes and cross bikes to TT and Hybrid bikes. 

On the left is Peter Solomone, one of the ride organizers

   

 At the end of the trail Congresswoman Esty, the spokesperson for the First Selectman of Chesire and Bill O'Neal, the CT Committee Chair for the East Coast Greenway all said a few words.  There was ice cold water and great cookies for snack!