After driving out to our starting park&bike locations, 8 of us departed southbound from Northampton, and 7 northbound from New Haven. The trail changes name with each town but for the most part is a shaded, FLAT, nicely paved trail heading pretty much straight north-south along the old tow-path/railway. There were several vestiges of the canal, most notably the old lock about 15 miles north of New Haven and old rail tracks periodically. There are two ~5 mile gaps in the path - in Westfield, MA ("whip city" - apparently, the buggy whip industry is now obsolete) and in Plainville, CT - maybe they'll get finished someday? The Southbound crew stopped for a swim at Congamond lake where the beach is in CT, but the lake is in MA, while the northbound crew used a side trail along the Farmington River and found some ice cream. We all met up in Collinsville for a great swim in the river. Water was cool & refreshing after our long day (why can we never arrive at our destination early???) and we hung out there for a while. Cycled 6 miles back to a Marriott in Avon, which was a nicer town than expected and had a socially distant dinner at Decapo Italian restaurant. The next day, after dividing up between a Brueggers and Dom's for breakfast (and swapping keys!), we set off on the other group's route and their cars, before any thunderstorms arrived.
After driving out to our starting park&bike locations, 8 of us departed southbound from Northampton, and 7 northbound from New Haven. The trail changes name with each town but for the most part is a shaded, FLAT, nicely paved trail heading pretty much straight north-south along the old tow-path/railway. There were several vestiges of the canal, most notably the old lock about 15 miles north of New Haven and old rail tracks periodically. There are two ~5 mile gaps in the path - in Westfield, MA ("whip city" - apparently, the buggy whip industry is now obsolete) and in Plainville, CT - maybe they'll get finished someday? The Southbound crew stopped for a swim at Congamond lake where the beach is in CT, but the lake is in MA, while the northbound crew used a side trail along the Farmington River and found some ice cream. We all met up in Collinsville for a great swim in the river. Water was cool & refreshing after our long day (why can we never arrive at our destination early???) and we hung out there for a while. Cycled 6 miles back to a Marriott in Avon, which was a nicer town than expected and had a socially distant dinner at Decapo Italian restaurant. The next day, after dividing up between a Brueggers and Dom's for breakfast (and swapping keys!), we set off on the other group's route and their cars, before any thunderstorms arrived.
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