Sunday June 28th, the NLCCBC takes our show on the road with a field trip to nearby Colchester, CT. We will be riding on one of Connecticuts "Linear Parks", the Air Line Trail.
The Air Line is an old (1870's) rail bed that once linked Boston and New York. At the time, there was no complete shoreline route to take the entire distance, thanks mostly to the deep water at New London, where I live. To this day, that point features the tightest turn on the whole East Coast Amtrak line. The inland rail line has been abandoned since about 1955, and more recently has been resurfaced and opened to the public as a walking, jogging, bicycle and horse trail.
The state DOT now sponsors a system of biking trails, a lot of which are old railroads, throughout Connecticut. Most of this trail is a nice easy ride, with gentle hills and a smooth surface of fine crushed gravel. Street tires are just fine.
Bridges that have deteriorated have been replaced with nice wooden ones suitable for pedestrians and bikes, rather than steam engines. The DOT has done a great job making this accessible for a wide variety of recreational activities.
If you've never been out on it, make the trip- it's one of CT's hidden gems. Some of the old rail cuts and causeways are 100 ft high. Very impressive when you consider it was all built 50 years before the Diesel engine existed!
We will meet at 2:00PM, near Exit 16 of CT Route 2. Thats about half-way between Hartford and Norwich. There is a commuter parking lot just south of the highway. The trail enters the end of this lot. See my website for directions and more info:
http://www.bareiss.net/bikeride.html
As always, email [email protected] or call (860) 912 6882 for ride info, directions, questions, or to inquire about my favorite brand of beer.
Note to KOTA: If you come, and it rains, we will take refuge in Doug's garage, ogling his Harley chopper and drinking his beer instead. :!:
See you all there!
--Rob
The Air Line is an old (1870's) rail bed that once linked Boston and New York. At the time, there was no complete shoreline route to take the entire distance, thanks mostly to the deep water at New London, where I live. To this day, that point features the tightest turn on the whole East Coast Amtrak line. The inland rail line has been abandoned since about 1955, and more recently has been resurfaced and opened to the public as a walking, jogging, bicycle and horse trail.
The state DOT now sponsors a system of biking trails, a lot of which are old railroads, throughout Connecticut. Most of this trail is a nice easy ride, with gentle hills and a smooth surface of fine crushed gravel. Street tires are just fine.
Bridges that have deteriorated have been replaced with nice wooden ones suitable for pedestrians and bikes, rather than steam engines. The DOT has done a great job making this accessible for a wide variety of recreational activities.
If you've never been out on it, make the trip- it's one of CT's hidden gems. Some of the old rail cuts and causeways are 100 ft high. Very impressive when you consider it was all built 50 years before the Diesel engine existed!
We will meet at 2:00PM, near Exit 16 of CT Route 2. Thats about half-way between Hartford and Norwich. There is a commuter parking lot just south of the highway. The trail enters the end of this lot. See my website for directions and more info:
http://www.bareiss.net/bikeride.html
As always, email [email protected] or call (860) 912 6882 for ride info, directions, questions, or to inquire about my favorite brand of beer.
Note to KOTA: If you come, and it rains, we will take refuge in Doug's garage, ogling his Harley chopper and drinking his beer instead. :!:
See you all there!
--Rob
