Ride 17, 7/24/95
Meadville Pennsylvania
Ride elevation 1000 to 1500 feet.
Intermittent light rain until noon, cloudy with a few sun breaks after that. Southwest win 15-20 mph, High around 80. I started on US19 and immediately turned north in SR98, a wide 2 lane with 3 foot shoulders and moderate traffic. At 3 miles a hard shower came by and I stopped under the eve of a little building at a graveyard. About 25 minutes later the rain quit and I continued. The shoulder quit at 7 miles. Arrived at Franklin Center, 23 miles. Turned east on 3014, a narrow bumpy 2 lane with no shoulder and light traffic. The terrain is wooded ridges and valleys. There are small farms, grasslands lots of houses and small towns and villages. The main roads are and graded, but the back roads just go over the ridges sometimes with very steep sections. Arrived at Waterford, 36 miles. I sat on a bench under an awning on Main street and watched it rain. I headed south on US 19 for a mile and then east on SR97 for less and then south on 2003, a wide unmarked tar and gravel road. Arrived at Mill Village. I continued on 2003 which changes to 1035 at the county line. There are some potential 50 mph downhills here, but with wet road I decided to keep the binders on. Arrived at Ferris corner. I turned east on 1016, more tar and gravel. Arrived at Lincolnville. I put 50 cents in a drink machine but it didn't give me anything. I turned southeast on 1039 for 2 miles to Riceville. I turned southwest on SR 77, a wide 2 lane with 1 to 2 foot shoulder. I wanted to go south at Little Cooley(62 miles), but 1007 turned to gravel after a quarter mile, so I continued on 77 to SR408 and headed south. SR408 is wide 2 lane with no shoulder. After a few miles 408 turns east, and I continued south on 2015 to Gilbert Corners. I continued south on SR198, wide unmarked tar and gravel. At 76 miles 198 ended at SR27 and I went west for a mile and turned south on SR173, a deteriorating 2 lane with moderate traffic. At 84 miles I turned northwest on US322, a wide 2 lane with 3 foot shoulders and heavy traffic. The road gradually deteriorates to broken concrete and no shoulders, then returns to good road. Arrived at Meadville. I took a short tour of town and then headed up US19 and the 300 foot climb up the hill to the motel. Climbing 4120 feet.
Ride 18, 7/26/95
Batavia New York
Ride elevation 300 to 900 feet.
Cloudy morning , gradually clearing to mostly sunny. Hi mid 80's, humid with west wind 15 mph. I started west on SR5, a wide 4 lane with 6 foot shoulders. In less than a mile I turned north on Kelsey road, a 2 lane with no shoulders. Then I turned east on Galloway, a similar road. I turned northwest on SR63 a wide 2 lane with 6 foot shoulders. After a mile I turned east on Town Line road, similar to Kelsey. After 2 miles I turned north on SR98 a wide 2 lane with 8 foot shoulders. Arrived at Elba, 9 miles. I continued north on SR93. The terrain is gently rolling and sloping north to lake Ontario. There a few small vegetable farms, berry patches, and orchards, but mostly houses on big lots. Arrived in Albion, and crossed the Erie canal, 22 miles. I continued north on SR93 to Point Breeze on Lake Ontario, 30 miles. I came back south on SR98 to SR18 and headed west. SR18 is a wide 2 lane with 3 foot shoulders, but a bit broken and rough. After a few miles I came to a bridge closed sign. So I detoured on SR279, similar to SR18 to Kendrick road and headed west. Kendrick is narrow and alternating between rough pavement and packed dirt. About a mile and I turned north on Harris, narrow paved road for a mile back to SR18. I headed west on SR18 for a few miles and then forked off Yates center road, a wide tar and gravel road. Arrived at Yates center, 46 miles. I turned south on SR63. All the New York SR roads were very good, that's why I stayed off the county roads, mostly. The shoulders varied from 3 to 8 feet. There were some sections ready for repaving, and heavy traffic in spots. Passed through Lyndonville. Arrived at Ridgeway for a lunch break, 56 miles. Still on SR63, I arrived at Medina. The bridge over the Erie canal was closed, so I took a posted detour. There was a barge full of geezers on the canal. It was being towed by two horses pulling a wagon. I passed through the Iroquois wildlife refuge. I stopped for a few minutes, and the skeeters tried to carry me a way. Maybe that's what passes for wildlife in NY. Then I passed through an area where there were hundreds of little frogs squished on the road. SR63 heads east, but I continued south on SR77, 66 miles. Turned west on SR33 for 6 miles and the shoulder was (I kid you not) 14 feet for a couple of miles. Turned north on Newstead, which is a detour around a bridge closed, 80 miles. Turned east on SR5 and returned to Batavia. Climbing 1360 feet.
Ride 19, 7/28/95
Middlebury, Vermont
Ride elevation 90 to 550 feet.
Cloudy until 10, mostly sunny and hot the rest of the day. Hi in the mid 80s and very humid. I followed a maze of turns through Middlebury to find SR23 north. It's a wide 2 lane with no shoulders and little traffic. I veered off onto Quaker village road, about the same. The terrain is steeply rolling, except somewhat flatter near lake Champlain. There small farms, mostly dairy, woodlands and scattered residential. Arrived at Vergennes, 14 miles. I wound through town to find Panton road going west, about the same, and then turned north west on Basin Harbor road, a little rougher. Arrived at Basin Harbor on lake Champlain, 21 miles. I had to backtrack a little to get to Button bay road and head south to Panton road, which turns into Pease road and then Lake road, heading south. Arrived at Chimney Point, 35 miles. I continued south on SR125, a little wider and more traffic. SR125 goes east and I continued south on Lake road until it turned to dirt. I had to back up a little to Crown point road and go east to SR22A. It is a wide road with 3 foot shoulders and moderate traffic. I headed south on 22A. I stopped for lunch at the Halfway House, 56 miles. I continued south on SR22A to Shoreham, and headed east on Richville road, a crooked, hilly, bumpy 2 lane with light traffic. The road changed names 3 times before I reached US7. US7 at this point is a 2 lane road with 2 foot shoulders and very heavy traffic. It is also one of 5 roads on the Vermont list of dangerous bicycling roads. I headed north on US7 for about a mile and took the local loop through Salisbury, 74 miles. I crossed US7 going east on West road, A hilly barely 2 lane road with light traffic. I turned north on Shard Villa road and went past the Shard Villa ( a big old house). I turned east on Bridge road back to US7. US7 in this area id about the same as before except it has 8 foot shoulders. I turned north on US7 for less than a mile and then turned north on SR116, a wide 2 lane with little to no shoulder and moderate traffic, 81 miles. I turned west on Quarry road, a badly truckered 2 lane with moderate traffic. I turned south on Old school road to US7. I went south on US7 to Bridge road, turned west to Holiday road, which took me back to US7 about 2 miles south of Middlebury. Still needing a couple more miles I went south on US7 for a ways before returning north to town. Climbing 3560 feet. Vermont does not allow billboards. Every business is allowed to put up 1 little sign on the business. It makes Vermont look different from every other state. They also just outlawed smoking in all public places, and, unlike Utah, they actually obey the law.
Ride 20, 7/30/95
Salem, New Hampshire
Ride elevation 100 to 550 feet.
Completely clear all day. Low humidity, hi in the mid or upper 80's. I started northwest in SR28. First through city then on a wide 2 lane with no shoulders, and moderate traffic. The terrain is hilly with lots of woods. It is very densely populated with lots of traffic. I didn't have a good map so I was stuck on higher traffic roads most of the time. The State Roads are all very similar wide 2 lane with no shoulder, except from 2 to 8 feet for a few miles here and there. SR28 heads for Manchester, but I continued northwest on BYP28. Turned northeast on SR102. Arrived at Chester, 15 miles. Turned northwest on SR121. Then north on Candia road. It is a rough patches on top of patches road with little traffic through the deep woods, and completely shaded by the trees. I followed it to SR43. SR43 went north and east, and then I turned south on SR107. Things are so poorly marked that a good map might not have helped much. I never found the south end of 121. One road was marked West rd. on the south end and East rd on the north end. I could not have found Candia rd from the other end. I turned east on SR29. Arrived at Epping, 41 miles. A big section of burger doodles and shopping plazas. Turned north on SR125 and then east on SR87. Arrived Newfields. 50 miles. Turned south on SR85. Arrived at Exeter, a town big enough to have a Bicycle shop. I went in a store for a Gatoraid and when I came out, traffic was so heavy that I had to wait 5 minutes to get back across the road. I headed west on SR111. Arrived Kingston. Turned south on 121A. Arrived Plaistow, 72 miles. 121A ended, turned north on SR125. Another big section of burger doodles and shopping plazas. Turned northwest on East-West road. Turned west on 111. I made a side trip down a side road to the "American Stonehenge". But it turned out to be a tourist trap and I just returned to the hi-way. Arrived Salem, 91 miles. The traffic was really heavy in this area, so I took some back streets over to Windham and back and went down to the Rockingham Park race track and went by the back where the horses live and returned to the Municipal parking lot. The car was in the shade. One thing they got around here is shade. If I could send some of it to South Dakota, I could make a fortune.
Ride 21, 8/1/95
Auburn, Maine
Ride elevation 40 to 450 feet.
Clear and Hot. Hi in lower 90's, light southwest wind. I started on US202, a wide dual roadway with 8 foot shoulders. About a mile and I entered Auburn. I wound my way through town and across the bridge into Lewiston. Avter about 5 miles of city, I emerged eastbound on SR126, a wide 2 lane. It had 8 foot shoulders up to the town line, and 2 foot shoulders to the county line and none after that. The terrain is steeply rolling with big and little hills, mostly covered with trees. There are a few small farms, and scattered houses. Arrived at Gardiner and it's across the river partner Randolph, 30 miles. I continued on SR126 to Whitefield, 40 miles. I turned south on SR218, a truckered up 2 lane with light traffic. Arrived Wiscassett, 58 miles. I followed US1 through the town and headed north on SR27, a wide 2 lane with 1 foot shoulders and moderate traffic. Arrived Dresden, 65 miles. I turned west on SR197, a crooked and broken 2 lane with light traffic. After a few miles I had to cross a long span of metal grate bridge. It shook when cars came by, and I could see the river 100 feet down through the skinny little guard rail. I concentrated on the other side went on across. Arrived Richmond, 72 miles. I followed SR197 until it joined SR126 about 6 miles from Lewiston. The traffic was very heavy near town. The bugs are bad here. I have to use deet to keep them off. It doesn't seem to work for the flies. The Maine roads are the worst so far except for Michigan. Climbing 4190 feet.
Ride 22, 8/3/95
Greenfield, Massachusetts.
Ride elevation 190 to 1150 feet.
Cloudy and cool all day, hi about 80. Thunderstorm from 3 to 4 PM. I started on SR2A into town and came out on US 5. Just out of town I turned onto River road, a variable width and surface road with light traffic. At about 12 miles River road crosses SR16, then changes names several times. Arrived at Hatfield, 21 miles. I turned onto US 5 with heavy traffic, but 6 foot shoulders. A couple of miles later I arrived at Northampton. I turned onto SR9, a wide 2 lane with no shoulders and heavy traffic. After a mile or so I saw the entrance a rail trail. I decided to try it even though I had no idea where it went. It is a 10 foot wide asphalt road for bicycles and pedestrians that follows a rail bed. It went over railroad bridges and in tunnels under major hi ways. It had signs announcing roads that it crossed. It went 8 miles to Amherst and left me on Station road. The terrain here is narrow valleys separated by medium and large hills. The land is mostly wooded with lots of residences and a few small farms. There were large squash and cucumber farms along the river. Station road changed to North rd, and crossed SR9. North ended on Gulf rd. I followed Gulf rd as it went to 900 feet elevation. It is a rough and very patched rd. The roads are very poorly marked. This area has not received the technology of road signs with the names of 2 roads on them. They can name only 1 of the 2 roads at each intersection. Some signs are old and rusted beyond legibility. I think some of them were put up when George Washington surveyed the area. I have not been giving directions because all roads go in all directions at one time or another. Somewhere on Gulf rd., I left the bag unzipped and I lost my map. When I got to Einfield road, I was lost. So I went back up the hill, but couldn't find it. So I decided to go back to Amherst to try to find another. I went back to SR9 and headed for town. SR9 is a wide 2 lane with 6 foot shoulders and moderate traffic. Traffic got heavy in town and the shoulder went away. The second store I stopped at had a map, 37 miles. So I headed out of town on North road which turned into Henry street and then to Leverett rd. I turned onto east Leverett rd. and then onto Cave hill road. These roads have surface that varies from patches to new paving, but mostly light traffic. Then I got into a section of unmarked roads, and roads that didn't match anything on the map. I finally came out at Locks village and got in sync with the map, 63 miles. I turned on Locks Village road and then onto West road. It went over a 1150 foot hill and came out on SR63 at Millers Falls. I turned onto Green Pond rd. It ended on Lake Pleasant road. I passed through Lake Pleasant and turned onto SR63, a wide 2 lane with moderate traffic. I turned onto SR47 and then onto Leverett rd (a different one) and Arrived at Montague. I turned onto Old Sunderland rd. After a couple of miles A thunderstorm with hard rain came by. I had no place to hide so I rode on in the rain for about 5 miles. I passed another wet cyclist. Arrived at Sunderland, 82 miles. I stopped at the Dairy Mart. and let the rain finish. I turned on SR116 for less than a mile, crossed the river and turned on River road (the same one) and went back to Greenfield the same route I used coming out. Climbing 3590 feet.
Ride 23, 8/5/95
Cromwell, Connecticut
Ride elevation 50 to 550 feet.
It was cool and cloudy all day. Hi upper 70's. I started east on SR372, a wide 4 lane without shoulders. After a mile I turned south on SR217, a wide 2 lane with a little shoulder some places, and light traffic. At about 5 miles I turned west on SR66 a wide 2 lane with 2 to 3 foot shoulder and moderate traffic. After 2 miles I turned south on SR 147. The terrain is rolling, mostly wooded. Cromwell is near Hartford so the area is congested with lots of businesses and residences, But it thins out to the south with some state forests and rural areas, and a very few small farms. At the junction of SR147 and SR157 I misread the map and took 157 north instead of 147 south. I didn't realize this until I got back to SR66. So I just headed west on 66 until I got back to 147 and took it back to the intersection where I erred, and made the correct turn. That was an unplanned 10 mile loop. SR147 is a wide 2 lane without shoulder and light traffic. It ends on SR17 which has moderate traffic, but shoulder most places, 22 miles. I took it south to SR79 and continued south on it. SR79 is a wide 2 lane with 2 to 4 foot shoulders, recently rebuilt. It took me to the coast and US 1, 38 miles. US1 along the coast is in a very heavily traveled and densely populated strip. I headed east and came to Hammonassett Beach state park. It cost nonresidents $12 to get in, so I didn't go. I forgot to ask how much it to cost to camp. Probably $100. The road varied a lot as I rode through mostly back to back towns, sometimes with long lines of cars. But I had room most of the way and the traffic couldn't go very fast. I arrived at Clinton and went to the harbor, and saw a jillion sailboats. I reached the Connecticut river and took the bicycle path across the I-95 bridge, 55 miles. It is a big new bridge with 8 lanes. The traffic northbound was slow and stopped. Next to the bridge is the old bridge. It was in the process of being dismantled and loaded on barges. I headed north on SR156, wide 2 lane without shoulder. Just past Hamburg I turned on Joshuatown rd, a rough 1 lane road with a yellow line down the middle. It was crooked and steep as it crossed 3 hills. There was little traffic. It ended on SR148, which led to the Connecticut River Ferry, 68 miles. They charged me 75 cents to go across. Much better deal than the park. I continued west on SR148, a wide 2 lane with shoulder in places. After crossing SR81 SR148 turned into a rough poorly graded 2 lane with tar and gravel surface and a 25mph speed limit. Sr148 ends at SR79, 83 miles, and I followed my outbound path back to town along 79, 17 and 147. When I got back to SR66, it was packed full with long lines of cars. But it isn't far to 217. As I reached Cromwell it was starting to rain. It poured the rest of the day. Climbing 4150 feet.
Ride 24, 8/7/95
Westerly, Rhode Island
Ride elevation 50 to 650 feet.
It was cool and cloudy in the morning, sunny in the afternoon. Hi mid 70's, northeast wind at 15 to 25 mph. I started east on US1, a busy 4 lane with 5 foot shoulders.I turned north on Dunn's Corners road, a wide 2 lane with varying shoulder. It merged into SR91, a similar road. SR91 goes east at Carolina, 13 miles, and I turned north on SR112, also similar road. The terrain is rolling hills covered with trees. There are a few small farms and a lot of residences. SR112 ends at SR138, and I continued north on Caroline Nooseneck road, a narrow 2 lane with light traffic. I turned on Baker Pines road, which ended on SR3, a 4 lane divided road with 8 foot shoulders. I had to go through a construction zone with all traffic on one side. Then I turned onto SR102, a wide 2 lane with 4 foot shoulders and light traffic. I turned east on SR101, similar to 102, 42 miles. SR101 merged into US6, a similar road. I came to a section that had gravel and sand washed into the road. As I was dodging rocks, I got my front heel into the sand. It sucked me rite in. The sand was several inches deep. I plowed along for a few feet before crashing in the sand. Fortunately the sand cushioned the fall and my only injury was a little skin off my left knee. The bicycle only had some sand jammed in a few places., 48 miles. I turned south on SR116, a wide 2 lane with small shoulder. SR116 ended and in quick succession I turned west on SR117, south on SR33, east on SR3 and south on Arnold road. Arnold road is a bumpy unmarked road through woods and housing. It winds south and east and I turned south on Shipeetown road, for a couple of miles then east on Middle road, and south on Tillinghast road, all similar roads. A short way east on South road and I turned south on SR2, a 4 lane busted up concrete road, the only really bad road of the day. The bad road only lasted for 3 or 4 miles and SR2 turned into a 2 lane with 4 to 8 foot shoulders and moderate traffic. SR2 ends on US1 where I turned west at 88 miles and followed it back to Westerly. Climbing 3350 feet.