Wayward Explorers

Well, if yesterday was the most scenic day of the trip, today may have been the worst. Lots of unfavorable conditions: country roads, no shoulders, scary traffic, and unsafe passing. And did I mention the rain?

It wasn’t a favorite day for either of us. Lots of challenging hills and we both found ourselves losing steam. This was our seventh day in a row without taking a break, but the campground we were at was booked for the weekend, so we had to press on. We passed through several small towns without much in the way of services: Ulsterville, Burlingham, Bloomingburg, Winterton, and Otisville. Bloomingburg was the best bet for buying a few groceries and eating at a small deli. Once again, we were racing against the rain, which started up just as we made it to the deli to eat.

We rode in the rain to Otisville, but the rain stopped, and we were dry by the time we pulled into our campground in Cuddebackville. It’s a cute (but rustic) little campground with sites right along the Neversink River. I thought it was a funny name for a river. I had to look it up, and it turns out to be a “corruption” of the Algonquian language phrase meaning “mad river”. Because it is the weekend, the campground required a two night minimum, which was just as well for us, because we were ready to take a day without travel. We had a little sun shower while trying to set up camp, but otherwise the weather has been cooperative. These two tired bicycle campers went to bed early.

Absolutely glorious biking day. Quite possibly the best, most scenic day of the trip. The sun finally came out and the temperatures rose into the 60’s. We were able to shed our windbreakers, sweatshirts and cold weather bicycle gloves.

Because we had to ride off course into Millbrook last night, we started the morning by cutting back to our mapped route via 44 into Pleasant Valley, NY and then cutting over to 115 into the Poughkeepsie/Highland area.

On the Poughkeepsie side, we picked up the Dutchess Rail Trail which connects to the Walkway Over the Hudson, and then the Hudson Valley Rail Trail. The scenery and views were incredible, especially over the Hudson River. Well worth the trip if you are in NY and looking for a good bike trail to ride.

When the bike trail ended, we picked up 299 into New Paltz where we had lunch at Murphy’s Restaurant & Pub, and then walked through the downtown strip. The visit to New Paltz had special meaning to me because it is the town where my Mom re-started her life in her early 50’s. After years of raising a family she fulfilled a promise to herself to go to college and get her degree. After a couple years at MCC in Rochester, she moved to New Paltz to finish her Bachelors degree in Art History at SUNY. It was a big deal for her to get her own car, re-learn how to drive, and find roommates to live with while she went to school, without being dependent on anyone else. After obtaining her goal, she later joined us in Boston and made good use of her degree working for both the Museum of Fine Arts and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. We lost Mom to leukemia almost 6 years ago now, but I like to think her spirit was with us today as we looked around her old stomping ground.

From New Paltz, we got on the Wallkill Valley Rail Trail. Unlike the earlier rail trails today, this one was a lot more primitive. It was unpaved, with sections of gravel, sections of mud, and sections of grass with vehicle tracks. We were glad to ride out of it into Gardiner as our bike setup wasn’t really made for that kind of riding.

Once in Gardiner, we headed to our campground. Now that the weather has turned a bit, we are back in our groove. The most convenient campground turned out to be a Yogi Bear Jellystone Campground…. a little more developed than the average campground (complete with water park and arcade), but a place to rest our weary selves all the same. It’s pretty empty right now, but we are told they are fully booked for the weekend, so we are looking forward to a quiet night of laundry (again) and reading. More rain is forecast for the morning, but we are hoping for a window of opportunity to ride on, since we can’t stay here.

It was hard leaving the warmth and hospitality of Shirley’s house to get back on the bike and brave the cold temperatures.

For our efforts, we were rewarded by a huge downhill out of Norfolk. Went 6 or 7 miles in no time at all and found ourselves in North Canaan where there was a much needed grocery store and a much appreciated Dunkin Donuts. As with most of our stops, the locals were curious about our “set up” and asked a lot of questions about our trip, our origin, and our destination.

After taking a break to stock up (and enjoy a donut), we attacked a long, steep hill into Salisbury. The side-by-side towns of Salisbury and Lakeville were very quaint, some of the most beautiful scenery we’ve seen in Connecticut. About 4 miles past Lakeville, we crossed into the lower, east corner of New York State. In Millerton, NY, we enjoyed some lunch specials at Four Brothers Pizza Inn & Restaurant.

After lunch, we picked up the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, a beautiful 10 mile converted rail line alongside streams, bogs, and farms. The best part of the Rail Trails is the level grade, easily the most enjoyable part of today’s ride. I highly recommend this trail to any locals in the area if you haven’t yet explored it. When we reached the end point in Wassaic, we started making plans to get to a motel in Dover Plains (it’s going to rain again tonight).

We were disappointed to find that the motel in Dover Plains was full, so we had to find another alternative.

Unfortunately, we weren’t finding many motels or open rooms, so the only option we could find added another 10 miles to our day. Ugh! To add insult to injury, the “shortcut” we choose brought us up Deep Hollow Road which was a HUGE hill (Google Maps fooled us on the elevation profile). We finally rolled into the Cottonwood Motel in Millbrook, NY around 4:30 PM (a long day). Our search for accommodations took us about 5 miles off our route, so we’ll have to figure out our way back tomorrow.

Well, if yesterday was the “downhill day”, today was the uphill day. The uphill out of Granby on 219 seemed to go on forever. Just when you think you reached the top, you go around a curve and see that the uphill continues. Ugh.

Once again, we started early in the morning, because once again, we were trying to beat the rain coming around 2:00 PM (beginning to sound repetitive).

After finally reaching the top of the monster hill, we descended to the Saville Dam over the Barkhamsted Reservoir. It was a magnificent structure, and provided a nice stop to rest our legs. After crossing into Pleasant Valley, we began another long uphill climb following the Farmington River, and then the Sandy Brook, upstream. Saw several fisherman, braving the cold temperatures to stand in the river fishing as we passed through Riverton, Robertsville and Colebrook. The grade was easier to pedal, but it continued for over 10 miles.

Took a break in Robertsville at the General Store. Indulged in Diet Cokes and chocolate chip cookies just for the opportunity to come in and warm up for a few minutes. The temperatures continue to be unseasonably cold. Took a little walk in “Riverton Center” and stumbled upon the historic location of the factory for the “famous” Hitchcock chairs. Since neither of us know anything about antiques, we had to look up the history of Lambert Hitchcock and his chairs.

Took another break in Colebrook to eat a quick meal at the Colebrook General Store, which we were told to be the oldest continuously operating general store in Connecticut. We were a novelty there, as everyone else coming in and out knew each other. It was clearly the social center of the small town, complete with an old fellow having coffee outside (in 38 degree temperature) talking to everyone coming and going. After eating and charging our phones, we headed into our destination for the day, Norfolk, CT.

As luck would have it, my college roommate Shirley heard of our travels on Facebook, and realized we were passing within two blocks from her house. She and her husband Van, both from Clarkson University, kindly invited us in for a night of comfortable beds, delicious chili, homemade brew, laundry, and wonderful warm conversation. We had a great time, and were grateful to be spoiled so thoroughly after several cold days and nights. Mark and Van share a joint interest in sailing, and we made a commitment to get together this summer to sail together. As for me, I plan to spend more time with Shirley learning about her passion for quilting.

Much better ride today. First day since the beginning of the trip that I actually felt like there were more downhills than uphills. Also, just a lot of level riding. Probably the easiest day so far, but we deserved it after yesterday’s torture.

The cabin last night was cold, but still better than a wet tent. Mark got up in the middle of the night to investigate “bear noises” which turned out to be snores from Sidekick Sue (who rarely snores). Something in the spring air is aggravating a little allergies and causing some mouth breathing. LOL.

Rain today was predicted at 2 PM, so once again, we started early to try to beat the rain. Beautiful countryside in CT. Miles of well-kept houses and farms. Rolling hills, but few really tough grades. Rode past Crystal Lake and Ellington, before crossing the Connecticut River into Windsor Locks.

Stopped at a NAPA to get oil for our chain that has spent too much time in the rain, and adjust the brakes that took some abuse in the rain yesterday. Mark cleaned the chain and the gears to get out miles of road gunk. Rode into Granby and had a hearty meal at the Farmer’s Kitchen.

Still racing the rain, we had another 3 miles to the only accommodations around….. the Granby Motel. It’s a little roadside dive motel that looks exactly like the motel in your average horror film. We arrived shortly after 2 PM and the rain started shortly afterward. Supposed to rain until 3 AM. Any port in a storm.

Not much to say about today except that it was COLD and WET. Forecast was for rain all day, so we got up early to break camp before the rain started. Unfortunately, it was already drizzling , but we got on the road early. Took a wrong turn out of the campground which turned into a brilliant mistake, since we used Google to get back on the trail and shaved 10 miles off of the ACA route. We missed a little detour down to the corner of Rhode Island, but it saved us an hour in the rain. Well worth it.

The plan was to ride until it got miserable and then find refuge for the night. Staying where we were to wait out the rain really wasn’t an option since the rain would have trapped us in our tent all day and our tent would have been soaked. So we, pedaled into Connecticut, passing through Quinebaug in a light drizzle. Quinebaug had plenty of stores, restaurants, hotels, etc. It would have been an easy place to stop. But we were only 10 miles in and still quite warm and dry so we decided to keep going. Well that turned into a huge mistake because there was NOTHING for the next 30 miles and the intensity of the rain picked up so that we were both wet and freezing (temps in the high 30’s). My water resistant pants began taking on water. I knew I was in trouble when I was trying to remember the symptoms of hypothermia and Mark on the seat in front of me was whistling like he didn’t have a care in the world. We passed through several small towns that consisted of a single intersection, sometimes a stop sign or a signal light, but nothing to eat and nowhere to stay.

As we crossed I-84, Mark was positive that there were services at that exit (“I’ve driven this road thousands of times”), but it turned out to be possibly the only exit on I-84 without any services at all.

Finally, as we were headed into Stafford Springs, CT we approached civilization…. a fishing and bait store. We stopped to hide under the covered walkway, and popped in to ask the proprietor how far we were from food and shelter. He pointed us 6 miles down the road (luckily mostly downhill) to Stafford Springs (which had been our original planned destination for the day anyway. We found a laundromat to dry our clothes. The attendant was extremely helpful, allowing us to spread out all of our dripping gear and use her restroom to change. She even offered us donuts and coffee (first time I ever wished we drank coffee). Back in warm clothes, we walked down the block to eat some piping hot baked ziti at a pizza place and plan our next move.

Finally concluded that the closest shelter was the original campground that we had planned that was 4 miles north (mostly uphill). No choice but to brave the rain again. The campground owner felt so sorry for us that she gave us a cabin for the night for only $20 because she felt bad that it wasn’t heated. Did laundry for real, re-dried everything, and settled into camp for the night.

And how did YOU spend your Mother’s Day? LOL

Got up early today as we planned to do a 40+ mile day. Left the campground by 7:00. Made a quick stop to Dippin’ Donuts for breakfast sandwiches that was inside a local convenience store. Sorry, Dunkins, I know you are a New England staple, but their food was better than yours, hands down. Headed out through Harvard, Mass, making a stop at the Harvard General Store, which was a popular stop and hang-out for bikers. They were set up with bike racks, water, bike tools and a pump for 2-wheeled travelers. Because it was Saturday, we encountered lots of groups of bicyclists today, all along our route. Always friendly and quick to ask if you need any help when you stop to rest.

Harvard, Bolton and Berlin provided some challenging hills. I was glad they were during the first part of the day. We walked up the last big crazy hill in Berlin (Sawyer Hill Road), but it have us a chance to admire the scenery and snap a few shots of the horses at the Orchard Hill Equestrian Center. Lots of beautiful homes and estates, all bordered with old rock walls. Stopped outside of Northborough to snap a picture of a beautiful rock bridge. This area is so typically New England.

Crossed Route 9 in Westborough and, as luck would have it, there was a Stop and Shop to refill our supplies. We don’t carry much food with us because of the weight (power bars, breakfast bars, nuts, beef jerky).

From there, we headed into Upton. Ate lunch at “Rose Garden Restaurant and Pub”. It was a quiet afternoon in the restaurant except for the waitress that entertained us with a constant stream of expletives with every story she told to the folks at the bar. When she heard our story, she told everyone in the bar about our trip, and we had a great time answering questions for a good half hour. The staff was more than helpful, trying to offer us bottles of water and bags of peanuts from the bar. We declined their kind offers as we had just restocked and didn’t want to carry any more weight. The owner followed us out to the parking lot because he wanted to see our bike and setup. He called us “crazy”, said I was a “Saint”, and wished us good travels. On the way out of town, we passed by the local VFW carnival that was just opening for the day.

Several miles, and a several hills later, we arrived at our campground, Sutton Falls Camping Area, where we checked in the for the night (I will be missing my cozy cabin as it’s a bit chilly here).

Mark did a rough tally and thinks we have biked around 185 miles total so far. We think we have 400 miles to go.

Well, we didn’t move today. We decided to take a rest day in our heated cabin at Boston Minuteman Campground. It wasn’t as rainy as predicted, but we still enjoyed the rest. Slept until 10 AM (guess we were tired), did laundry, and read most of the day. Mark read the Mueller report (some of it aloud). I’m reading “Looking for Palestine”, a young Arab woman’s search for cultural identity.

Great campground. Clean, great bathrooms, rec room with video games, ping-pong, TV. The pool was not yet open, but I would highly recommend this place to any of our Boston friends who still have young kids and are looking for a great place to have a stay-cation. Even if you don’t have camping gear, you can rent a cabin. It looks like they have great summer time activities.

The highlight of the day was walking (in the rain) to a nearby restaurant called “Chip Shots”, a local golf themed karaoke bar, for lunch.

COLD night last night. We discovered “features” of our sleeping bag (snaps, drawstrings) that we never knew existed in our effort to stay warm. Woke up to woodpeckers again, but this time they were joined by wild turkeys gobbling (and an occasional gun shot out in the woods).

Started the morning heading into Derry NH to get Sidekick Sue (now wearing socks on her hands) a new pair of gloves. Of course, she bought 2 pair (old habits die hard). The bike shop owner was very helpful and thrilled to know that his store was featured on the maps published by the Adventure Cycling Association. Free marketing that he didn’t even know about.

Somewhere around Hudson NH, we passed a very old historic graveyard surrounded by an impressive granite wall that caught our attention while waiting for a red light to change.

Shortly after, we crossed into Massachusetts (our home state for 20 years). Crossed the Merrimack River into Tyngsboro and found the Comet Diner. Hot, breakfast food sounded good to two cold, hungry travelers. Spontaneously decided to call my dear Lotus/IBM colleague, Robin Alvarez, who lives in Tyngsboro to see if she happened to be around. As luck would have it, she was working nearby and was able to take a short break to visit. It was really fun catching up on the last 15 years in about 20 minutes. This was truly the most fun I had all day.

After lunch we rode some major hills through Dunstable and Groton. The best section of today’s ride was picking up the Nashua River Trail (a rail-to-trail project) between Groton and Ayer. It was flat, yet very scenic. A small creek runs through which is home to many turtles, but they were hiding below the surface because of the cold and the cloud cover. I’d highly recommend a visit to my MA friends.

After a few more hills on the way from Ayer to Littleton, we found our new home at the Boston Minuteman Campground. We got ourselves a cabin (with heat AND electricity) because it sounds like tomorrow is going to be a wet wash-out so we are looking at a potential day of rest (and quite honestly, neither of us is disappointed).