Biking Vermont’s Champlain Islands from St. Albans to Alburgh

This is the start of a five-day bike ride from St. Albans, Vermont, through the Champlain islands, onto Canada’s Route Verte in Quebec and back to the U.S. and the Missisquoi rail-trail to St. Albans.

F564C3D4-81C7-48B2-91F0-D24347ADFBAAWe’re kicking off a two-nation bike loop with a day along the water.

Vermont’s Champlain Islands, which string through Lake Champlain, are a lovely area to bike in, with quiet roads even in July. We generally stayed off U.S. 2, the main road, reconnecting with it shortly before the causeways that let us hop from island to island. The flip side of that is we didn’t see much in the way of services, beginning with easy places to grab a bite, North Hero excepted, as well as our B&B that has a restaurant. And a supermarket? Didn’t see one. Continue reading “Biking Vermont’s Champlain Islands from St. Albans to Alburgh”

A shakedown ride on the D&L Trail from Morrisville to Bristol, Pennsylvania

We head to a section of the Delaware & Lehigh Trail to test out our new equipment ahead of a five-day trip to Vermont and Canada.

We’re planning a five-day ride in Vermont and Canada. The route is picked out, the hotels booked — yes, this is credit-card touring. But there’s no support crew … no one to haul our bags from place to place. And I want to bring my carbon-fiber road bike, which can’t handle a rack and panniers. What to do?

A bikepacking class at REI led to buying a bikepacking bag that attaches to the seat and seatpost. My favorite local bike shop suggested some slightly wider tires that can handle trails, rather than my slick road tires. But I still needed to make sure it would all work. And Clive’s new toy is a carbon “gravel-grinder” bike that can handle a rack and panniers, but not unlimited weight.

Time to test out or new setups. A section of the D&L Trail — from Morrisville, opposite Trenton, to Bristol Borough — seemed perfect. It’s a new ride for us, and I’ve been wanting to check out Bristol ever since I binge-watched Hulu’s Small Business Revolution show.

Continue reading “A shakedown ride on the D&L Trail from Morrisville to Bristol, Pennsylvania”

The D&R Canal: The New Jersey tough version of the Erie Canal

Tapping into the history of the D&R Canal.

3C0C266E-30D6-4F17-81AD-AED4BBC775CBI love combining my bike rides with a bit of history.

So to coincide with a couple of one-day road closures of busy Canal Road in Franklin Township, I’ve organized some family-friendly bike rides for the East Coast Greenway. On the first one, a couple of weeks ago, a half-dozen of us braved the rain to pepper Bob (from the non-profit D&R Canal Watch) with questions about the canal, once one of the busiest navigational canals in the country.

FBB503D8-EBBA-41CE-AE32-8817EB2926C9You know the song about the Erie Canal? That one is far, far longer than the D&R, but the D&R is wider (75 feet across) and deeper (8 feet vs 4 feet), so it could handle more kinds of boats. And that line in the song about “low bridge, everybody down”? Not a problem on the D&R because there are no bridges to go under. So not only could it handle barges but also steam-powered boats.

Bottom line is it’s tougher and stronger than the Erie Canal, even if it is shorter. Call it Jersey tough.

Continue reading “The D&R Canal: The New Jersey tough version of the Erie Canal”

Hills and more hills with Bike New York’s Discover the Hudson Valley bike ride

Sometimes you just suck it up.

Sometimes you just have to suck it up and ride hills.

We had decided we wanted to ride Bike New York’s annual Discover Hudson Valley Ride. And while we came to our senses and opted out of the 75-miler (with 4,000+ feet of climbing!), the 55-mile route still came advertised with 2,900 feet of climbing.

Time to try something other than our usual. Continue reading “Hills and more hills with Bike New York’s Discover the Hudson Valley bike ride”

A cheese stop along New Jersey’s Columbia Trail

Two discoveries: New Jersey’s Columbia Trail and Valley Shepherd Creamery.

I find biking is always more fun when you have a destination in mind. This time, the plan was not only would we discover the gravel-packed 15-mile Columbia Trail in Hunterdon and Morris counties, but we would also stop at Valley Shepherd Creamery.

If only it all went so smoothly. Continue reading “A cheese stop along New Jersey’s Columbia Trail”

I got to ride with Lisa and Dee!

Lisa and Dee are riding the East Coast Greenway from Key West to Calais, Maine. I rode with them for one day.

Dee and Lisa

I’ve been religiously following the blog of the East Coast Greenway’s communications boss and her friend as they ride this 3,000-mile route from Key West to Calais, Maine, impatiently checking for the latest update. Their Florida stories hinted at what I have yet to experience, and once they reached Savannah, I could compare to my own recollections of riding the route, a one-week stretch every year for the past few years. But mostly I would just think: I want to be out on my bike too.

So of course I had to host them one night … and throw a weekday party for them. And when they suggested I ride with them the next day, how could I say no? (Unless my boss did, which he didn’t.)

The plan was to follow the D&R Canal towpath up to New Brunswick and then take the road as far as we got, until it was time to hop the train, me back home and them to meet a friend in New York City.

So off we pedaled, past a blue heron picking its way atop the pipeline already in place to dredge the canal, past a dozen or more turtles sunning themselves on one of the many partially submerged tree limbs, past ducks that hissed as we passed too close to their ducklings.

The surface varied. Parts were badly rutted: The canal had overflowed in some spots during recent heavy rains, washing away a coating of pebbles and exposing jagged spillway stones that our bikes weren’t happy about. Lisa’s front handlebar bag jostled loose at one point, and we couldn’t get the screw to reattach. Other damage probably dated back to some nasty Nor’easters in March. But as we moved further north, past East Millstone, the surface was smooth and we could lose ourselves in conversation rather than dodging potholes and puddles.

Of course, it couldn’t last. I got a flat tire around the time we crossed the Raritan River from New Brunswick into Highland Park. Although I had a spare tube and fixed the flat, my pumping skills left it soft enough to want a bike shop … or the train home.

Guess what we chose.

Sorry I was such a bad influence.

National Trails Day: New Jersey’s Middlesex Greenway

D10DB3DD-BEE1-4BA2-AEF8-AA095947C327I spent part of National Trails Day — June 2 — on the Middlesex Greenway, a 3 1/2-mile trail going through Metuchen, Edison and Woodbridge. Part of it doubles as the East Coast Greenway. It was amazing how many people were using the trail early on a Saturday morning. What a great community amenity— and it’s within blocks of the train station, new condos, downtown and a new supermarket, so really useful for transportation and running errands too.

A group of enthusiastic trail advocates are trying to extend it at either end. This is at the Metuchen end: rails still in place on one side with a rail-free section next to it perfect for a trail. But making that happen means getting Conrail and two rail operators to sit down and talk, and then say yes. One day…

Discovering Duke Farms on a bike

Duke Farms has 7 miles of paved trails plus additional gravel miles open to bikes.

Here’s a family-friendly place to ride a bike that you might not expect: Duke Farms in Hillsborough, NJ.

This is the estate of tobacco heiress Doris Duke, and it was opened to the public in 2012 (before that, it was only open for tours). Not only does it have 7 miles of paved trails (plus more miles that are gravel) that go past ruins of the foundation for the grand mansion that was never built, man-made lakes, the one-time horse barn that comes with a clocktower and much more, but it also has a bike-share system!

It has 80 bikes — a mix of cruisers (with a few gears), adult tricycles, even bikes for kids. So even if you don’t know how to bike, there’s a solution for you. Cost is $5 for two hours, though they hardly seem to be timing the rental.

Note that although it’s called Duke Farms, it’s not a working farm. Nor is it a traditional garden. It’s certainly a lovely place to ride! You can read my take on it here.

Now to find a route that will let me bike there from home. Perhaps the D&R Canal towpath (and East Coast Greenway segment) for much of the way?

UPDATE: We tested out a couple of routes! Read about it here.

Opening Day for Trails: Getting ready for another ride with George Washington

A chilly Opening Day for Trails, Where is spring?

A chilly Opening Day for Trails from Rails to Trails (and for New Jersey’s fishing season) — but at least it wasn’t snowing. A good time to head down the D&R Canal towpath and do some prep work for the second year of the Historical Society of Princeton’s “Chasing George” bike ride.

Yes, this is a ride with George Washington, heading from the Battle of Trenton to the Battle of Princeton. Irresitable!

The bike ride is May 6. Sign up now, before it fills up.

And the trail today? Muddy in some spots. Deep ruts where heavy machinery has been on the towpath while doing work on the canal or bridge. The damage from the winter storms is evident. Several trees on the banks of the canal have been uprooted and have fallen into the water, and the same as happened to even more big limbs. Not great news for canoers and kayakers! There was only one big tree blocking the path where we had to lift our bikes, and I’m guessing that will be gone fairly soon.

New Jersey’s Union Transportation Trail: A cross-county bike ride

This 9-mile trail goes from one end of Monmouth County to the other.

D1394DFE-1F68-45B9-908D-00CD71A06B73.jpegThis is my latest New Jersey trail discovery.  Well, kind of. I knew the Union Transportation Trail existed, but it was disjointed for several years while being built. The last segment was finished early last year, however, and now it’s a 9-mile stone-dust trail in Monmouth County stretching from the Mercer County line to the Ocean County line.

Today’s weather — warm and sunny — is finally a sign that spring is coming. A great reason to get out and finally ride it from end to end. And back of course. Continue reading “New Jersey’s Union Transportation Trail: A cross-county bike ride”