Food eaten trailside is some of the most delicious around. For all I know, this sorbet normally tastes like citric acid-infused cardboard. But after a few hours of riding on a day like this, it may as well be ambrosia.
In contrast to last July, the Coppertone Farmington River is as low as I’ve ever seen it.
Not even the normally timid wildlife can be bothered to stir at my presence.
Stay cool.
Open skies, puffy white clouds, and not too hot… a truly glorious day for a bike ride.
But the Grand Plan Southern Expedition comes to screeching halt: It seems this tire has been eating itself from the inside.
This led to a bit of excitement, racing to the closest train station, repeatedly stopping to refill the deflating rear tire. With 10+ minutes to spare and the train running a bit late, I finally had time to take in the “scenery” a bit.
Wallingford puts me one stop short of the goal of New Haven (two, if you include both New Haven stations). The plan was to bike down, hang out, and choo choo back up – the reverse of the Springfield trip.
Back in Hartford, a rest at Bushnell Park afforded more leisurely maintenance – a patched tube and granola bar wrapper over the shredded casing was enough for the ride home. All’s well that ends well.
A bog normal ride, with straight greenway runs, conifer-assisted rest stops, and suburban backyards patrolled by suits of armor.
Pano 1 (of 2-Pano set)
The Collinsville “lower” dam. Unlike that uppity dam upstream, this one knows how to lay low and gracefully accept its fate as a graffiti canvas. I’ve heard rumbles of plans to create a new hydroelectric plant, for those who can’t be content with just throwing up a water wheel and milling some corn.
Pano 2 (of 2-Pano set)
Stratton Brook. I remember swimming here as a child, but I haven’t in decades and I can’t remember seeing an adult in the water here. There’s no actual posted age limit, it’s like we all just understand that when you reach a certain age, you swim at Bar-CAM-in-stead (-_-);;
After a winter eventful in all the wrong ways, it’s a relief to be able to call the current situation, overall, merely “dicey”…
Unlogged late year activity included installing fenders on Grand Toro. A hopeful gesture, since on a drizzly day right after repairing and cleaning my commuter (read: beater), I still took out the latter. Maybe I’ll have the stomach to subject Toro to the weather it’s built for next year (-_-).
This drizzly ride took us to the shores of Lake Basile, a residential water slab of which there are dozens in Greater Hartford. Basile, however, has the unique distinction of being in Simsbury, just off the greenway. You won’t find another small pond in the county as well-signed and exposited:
On a distantly related note – I don’t like conflating commercial and civic benefit, but the state of broadband in our area is pretty moribund. If anyone in Bloomfield chances across this blog, I’d like to refer you to GoNetspeed. Checking availability for your address registers interest and increases the likelihood of our area receiving their fiber-to-premises service. (Though it’s more likely people from other towns will see this and move Bloomfield further down the queue (-_-);
Another ride on the docket: Taking the greenway south to New Haven, either to stay overnight or return by train.
Above are some shots of the greenway bridge at Route 6 in Farmington, back in 2017. Today:
Definitely inviting trips further south.
Meanwhile up North, big wheels are about.
And a stop by Lake Congamond, which looks naturally occurring on maps, but in person seems fabricated for watersports.
And we conclude with a random suit of armor in a backyard adjacent the greenway:
Even if your protection is a mere facemask, stay safe!