Niantic-Old Lyme-Waterford Loop with Dave
A
great ride with a friend who is my old boss and got me into cycling in these
parts 35 years ago!!! (Unfortunately, my phone froze up and I don't have the
route.)
I
think this entry will finally be one that’s a bit more upbeat! The title above describes one of a few
rides I was able to do on a trip this past week to CT, where I visited
family. My dad and step mom came north
from Florida, and being in precarious health, I thought it would be good to
make a trip where we were all together as a family. Who knows how many opportunities we’ll have, right?
So,
what does one do when everyone is working and the folks are taking a
schnoo-schnoo in the afternoon?? A
bike ride, of course. Or
many! I was able to borrow a bike
from one of my sisters and head off, sometimes with friends, sometimes alone,
often exploring old roads. It was
fun! The bike was a bit of a
challenge…..a steel hybrid with a kickstand, probably weighing in at a svelte 28
lbs. Ugh! Like walking with lead weights around
your ankles. But a ride is a ride!
I
took four rides, all great fun and with wonderful dry, clear and sunny weather,
something not always guaranteed in summer coastal CT. My first ride was with my sister Sharon around the North
Stonington backroads, across the border into Rhode Island and then to the
shoreline (Westerly, Stonington, Mystic).
We clocked about 53 miles.
When I grew up here, I took these places for granted. But now that I no longer live here, these places always remind me of the Cape without the
crowds or kitsch. Not bad at
all. It’s really nice in the
summer, but unfortunately, too short an outdoor season. Sharon did well, but I had to “force feed”
her and make her drink liquids, but we did good!
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| North Stonington backroads |
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| Mike and Sharon |
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| Pano of River Rd. in Stonington |
The
second ride was late one afternoon, after helping with shopping, having lunch, yakking,
etc., with Dad. Everything seems
to take SO LONG with older folks.
(Or maybe with folks who aren’t trying to fit in a workout and need to
fill their days with minutiae.) But
I finally got out for about 90 minutes.
I rode up the biggest hill around, Rte. 201 near the casino: ½ mile at
9%. Pretty stiff climb on the old
hybrid, and then some out and back flats rolling by the corn fields out to Rte.
165. It made for a good 23 mile workout. Then we were off to an evening outdoor
concert / picnic – the last of the season, which ends early in New England!
 |
| North Stonington near Downtown |
My
third ride was really an exploring ride.
Dad used to live up in Voluntown, about 40 miles from where we grew
up. I recall the roads being really
quiet and remote back in the day.
So, why not check ‘em out??
I took Hwy 49 (not Gold Country in Calif!) after crossing through North
Stonington on really quiet roads, some quite bumpy. But 49 was all newly repaved and very quiet! After finding and riding by Dad’s old
house, I traversed over to Beach Pond, which straddles the CT / RI border. I made my way back to Voluntown and
tanked up on Gatorade, getting stares from the locals (but no lycra
comments). Then it was back on 49,
but with a diversion.
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| Two curious fellas off Route 49 |
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| The dirt road where the neckers and the dumptruck met. |
I
found this parallel road on the map (Gallup Rd.), so decided to take that for the
return. After about a half-mile into
the cornfields, it took a right and turned to dirt. Hmmm…..let’s see…why not?! I went along without much problem
besides the occasional “almost” front tire washout (thanks goodness for those
hybrid tires - 700x32). Before the
dirt ended after a couple of miles, the quiet changed. There sitting in the middle of the
one-lane road was a car. Excitement
for these parts! Ok….just roll by,
I thought. At least two people
were inside, just chatting or maybe making out….but I didn’t stop. No pot smells, but I heard a girl squeal with
surprise. Not sure if it was caused
by me or her boyfriend. But I
waved from behind and kept going.
No problem. Then about 100
yds ahead, here comes a huge dump truck!
On the one lane road. Not
going fast, but not stopping. I
barely unclipped, but got by ok. I
wasn’t so worried about me, but what’s he gonna do when he arrives at the
stopped car? Those poor kids,
trying to get some privacy and make out, were in for a surprise! Ahead was the end of the dirt and a
nice scenic junction in the road.
I stopped for a “nature break” and a bite to eat, but never saw either
vehicle. They must have worked
things out…..or maybe a ménage à trois in the woods?? No? Ok,
no. Pushing ahead on this side
road, now paved (but barely), it was still quiet, but a little more
unnerving. Up ahead was a sign for
the local “shooting club”.
Hmm…. Keep low. Go
fast. Don’t mention the true
meaning of the 2nd Amendment.
Being a weekday was probably to my advantage. I heard no
shots or saw anyone, but the signs on the fence must have gone on for about a mile. Soon, I was back to well-paved, slightly downhill Hwy
49. Whoosh… finished the ride by going by my
sisters’ favorite local winery, Jonathan Edwards, and about 10 more miles of
backroads to make it 58 miles in 4 hours flat. Not bad for a lumpy ride on a hybrid!
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| Sandhill Rd. Pano (North Stonington/Voluntown border) |
My
final riding day was a two stage day, meeting friends for each of them. The first ride, 32 miles, was with my
old boss, Dave Reed, who is THE guy who introduced me to cycling 35 years
ago! He commuted to work, did
centuries, crits, time trials, built up his own bikes, etc. And he’s still doing all of the above
at 75 years of age! He rolled up
on a beautiful BMC carbon frame (“RoadRacing”, I think?) and while he’s 75, I
knew Dave from before, so I thought this might get interesting. Is my steel hybrid deficit and his advanced age
enough to balance us out? Or is
this going to be one of those rides where one of us will be hanging on for dear
life and the other having a conversation with himself??? Well, luckily it was the former…we were
civil, had conversations, but still got a workout. Or at least I did!
We chatted about the office from 30-35 yrs ago…who was doing what,
etc. He’s been retired for about
18 yrs, but still does about 8K miles/yr! Riding even in the New England weather.
Sh*te. Hope I can be like
that! (In California!) Towards the end, there was a good 2
mile or so incline (2-4%) where I went off the front (I wanted to do my part to
pull some!) and pushed it, but 75 yr old Dave was RIGHT THERE! Turns out it was a nice 32 mile
ride. (Note: My Garmin has been dead for about 2
weeks, so I’ve been relying on my phone for the GPS. Disappointing day….when I went to stop the Strava app, the
phone app hung up and I had to reboot to get things up again. No ride recording….grrrr.) Ride two for this last day of CT riding
was with old friends Jeff, Shelley and Stirling. Given schedules, this was the only possible day for us to get
together….they are always fun, so I’m glad we were able to do it. We met at Stirling’s and coursed our
way through New London to head towards the beaches. But not without crazy Stirling running many red lights and
almost getting clipped. Nuts,
man. Aside from that, we had good
conversation, saw a great sunset at Pleasure Beach (overlooking the local nukey
plant…..”it has a double glow!”) and stayed on roads that were mostly very quiet and scenic
as the sun set. Another 22 miles for
the day. Then it was pizza, salad
and beer at Stirling’s, served up by Stirling’s wife, Karen. Very nice little reunion.
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| Stirling, Mike and Jeff at Pleasure Beach |
I didn’t get to see all of my friends while here…that unfortunately can never happen, especially during short trips. But hopefully we’ll all keep in touch somehow! ;-)
