I’ve been raving about the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail since 2016. It’s gotten even better since then.
This past weekend I biked Connecticut from south to north, from New Haven across the state line to Southwick, Mass., as I took part in the East Coast Greenway‘s Ride the State ride.
Continue reading “Biking Connecticut from New Haven to Massachusetts — the state’s trails are tops”I did it! I’ve biked the entire 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway!
I’ve done it! I’ve biked the entire 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway!
My final day began with drizzle in Stamford, Connecticut, and ended on the steps of the old Post Office across from Penn Station. Those last 40-plus miles encapsulated all that the Greenway is: wonderful trails (the Hudson River Greenway), comfortable residential roads .. and some crazy stuff.
Continue reading “My final section of the East Coast Greenway: Stamford to New York City”I loved biking through the Connecticut shore towns.
What a gloriously sunny day! I loved this first part of the East Coast Greenway, with the Long Island Sound never from from view. You don’t want to know how many times we stopped for photos (and food) between New Haven and Milford.
And then there were the elegant mansions in ritzy Fairfield and Westport neighborhoods that put those along the Greenway route in Ponte Vedra Beach to shame.
But the route wasn’t all simple.
Continue reading “Hugging the Connecticut shoreline while biking from New Haven to Stamford”First we had to get over a hill — or mountain.
This 59-mile ride from Hartford to New Haven let me once again enjoy those fabulous five-star Farmington trails, some parts of which weren’t even under construction when we discovered them five years ago.
But first we had to get over the hill. Or rather, Talcott Mountain.
Continue reading “Biking from Hartford to New Haven, Connecticut, on the East Coast Greenway”I’m determined to finish biking the 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway. This is the first of four days that should do it.
This section of the East Coast Greenway has changed considerably since the Week-A-Year ride came through in 2012 and even when we visited the area four years later. Two trails — the Hop River Trail and Charter Oak Greenway — are now linked with both fresh asphalt and new bridges, attracting more users than ever. I know groups that would be envious of the sign on that red bridge!
I’m on a quest to bike the entire 3,000-mile East Coast Greenway, and this section marked the start of my final piece. To do it, we biked 18 miles from Hartford to Bolton Notch State Park (the end point of a 2016 ride on the crushed-stone Hop River Trail) and then 18 miles back.
If you have a choice, east to west is easier.
Continue reading “The East Coast Greenway between Hartford and Bolton, Conn.”These bike overnights are all trail or mostly trails. Trips range from one night to closer to a week.
It’s winter. I’m staring at snow. I really want to get on my bike and go somewhere, but all I can is plan trips for once the weather gets nicer, including a multi-day ride on New York’s new Empire State Trail.
If you’re getting cabin fever too, here are five favorite DIY bike overnights using trails or mostly trails and (important for me) easily reached from New Jersey. (Sorry, Katy Trail, much as I enjoyed it.) We are generally credit-card tourists, travelling light and staying in hotels rather than camping. But I’ve included some camping information if that’s more your thing.
Continue reading “My 5 best bike-trail overnights within easy reach of New Jersey”The traffic-free route from East Hartford to Willimantic on the Charter Oak Greenway and Hope River Trail.
Take a look at this just-updated map of Connecticut’s Charter Oak and Hop River trails.
You can ride traffic-free from East Hartford all the way to Willimantic — just wow! (OK, it looks like there might the tiniest section on the road.) That’s about 26.2 miles, or the length of a marathon for my runner friends.
Continue reading “This updated Connecticut trail map makes my 2021 ride list”A day of more biking on roads than trails .. but there are big plans afoot in this part of eastern Connecticut.
Day 3 of our Connecticut-Rhode Island adventure was closing the gap between Day 1 and Day 2 — biking from the campground close to the Rhode Island line to Putnam, Connecticut, along the East Coast Greenway route.
This was more road than trail, and a good lesson that you don’t have to bike on the route you’d drive. We’d scoped out part what I assumed would be the route, just in case we couldn’t leave the car at the campsite. But that park-and-ride by the I-395 ramp, for example? Not on the bike route. We had a much calmer road around the back of town instead. Bonus: it put us much closer to the Victorian and Village Bakery — a shop that hires the developmentally disabled (unfortunately we ended up bailing on that idea because of road construction).
The day’s route began with going under a bridge for the Moosup Valley Trail. This is the section that heads to the Rhode Island line and will one day connect to the five-star Washington Secondary Trail … so not the way we were going. We wouldn’t pick up the trail for several more miles, for a short paved stretch in Moosup. A welcome respite from traffic! Construction (a rebuilding?) of another 5 miles of trail should start next year — great news, and given the woods and water views we saw, it should be beautiful. And, yes, easier riding for those who prefer to avoid hills. I hope the town will add wayfinding signs to steer us toward more area businesses.
Continue reading “Day 3 of a Connecticut-Rhode Island adventure along the East Coast Greenway”I’ve cycled almost all of the East Coast Greenway. I’m spending three days riding sections I haven’t yet ridden, starting with Connecticut’s Air Line Trail.
It’s such a great feeling when you turn on your bike computer and it says next turn in 19 miles.
That was our experience on the first of three days of bike riding in Connecticut and Rhode Island. I’ve ridden almost all of the East Coast Greenway, and I’m now shrinking the size of my remaining gap. We were biking the Air Line Trail from Willimantic, Connecticut, and we wouldn’t leave it until we reached Pomfret Station.
And if we’d just waited a bit longer, our traffic-free stretch would be even longer. A bridge is going in to cross the road, some tunnels have already been installed and a few more miles of the Air Line Trail are being upgraded. By early next year, it will be a 22-mile trail to Putnam. (That’s just the Pomfret-Putnam line, not to downtown Putnam. 1.4 miles still to go. It’s never as easy as you’d like.)
UPDATE: More of the trail is done!
Continue reading “Biking the East Coast Greenway: 19 traffic-free miles on Connecticut’s Air Line Trail from Willimantic to Pomfret”There’s been big progress on Connecticut’s Farmington trail since I biked it in 2016.
I’ve been touting Connecticut’s Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, which bifurcates the states as it heads north from New Haven and ends in Massachusetts, as a 5-star trail ever since I biked it in 2016.
Now it’s even better because all the construction projects I saw two years ago have been completed. Only one sizeable gap remains — the 5-mile “Plainville Gap” up to Southington. While the state has approved funding for the project, the gap likely won’t be closed until at least 2023. You can cope by using roads and sidewalks, but of course that’s not quite the same thing.
This gives a sense of just how popular parts of the Farmington trail are.
Continue reading “Connecticut’s Farmington Canal Trail: One last major gap”
Exploring by bicycle 