This is not an official brevet but a nice long distance run I made on Monday with great potential as a route but it needs work.

At the last minute I decided to do the 300k (196.4 mile) ride back from Cape Cod to the Berkshires. The ride thru to Providence, RI was a breeze but after a breakfast stop (and nap) in Providence my route planning, which had been a quick mapless cue sheet I threw together the night before, was sorely lacking. The two flats I got and the lack of a good CT road map made for slow going.

I've posted the route in it's entirety on veloroutes.org (http://veloroutes.org/bikemaps/?route=18573)

I'll post an improved version of this route at a later time should someone wish to use this route. As it is there are sections I cannot recommend and some unnecessary round about routing I did when I missed some turns on my cue sheet.

I realize now I should do pix on these rides- there were some extraordinary sections thru northern Connecticut and up through the Berkshires.

The downsides that I would improve on this route are sections of Rt. 44 in RI. It was doable but perhaps a loop on 116 would be better to miss some of the narrow sections. I missed the turn onto Deerfield Rd. (244 W) after Putnam CT and could have snaked a much better route up to 190 W.

The bridge on 190 that crosses the CT is dreadful- granted I got there at rush hour.

The overall elevation gain was 11644' so it had it's share of hills. I had some nice touches of rain but managed to skirt round most of the weather.

The little country store in Granville sells great sandwiches and has an incredible selection of home made cheeses. A picnic table across the street on a town green was the perfect rest stop before climbing the last 30 miles or so on the way home.

And I am ever thankful to the vicious looking dog that actually stopped and sat when I commanded him to, "NO! STAY! SIT!" after he charged at me just after I'd ascended a particularly brutal climb towards the end.

sounds like a great ride!
i'll check out the route.

pics are a must!

sounds like a great ride!
i'll check out the route.

pics are a must!

I feel like a bozo about not taking pics. I will on the next one. Hope to see you at the Dirt Road ride!

This is not an official brevet but a nice long distance run I made on Monday with great potential as a route but it needs work.

At the last minute I decided to do the 300k (196.4 mile) ride back from Cape Cod to the Berkshires. The ride thru to Providence, RI was a breeze but after a breakfast stop (and nap) in Providence my route planning, which had been a quick mapless cue sheet I threw together the night before, was sorely lacking. The two flats I got and the lack of a good CT road map made for slow going.

What a coincidence! My fleche team actually went through a similar journey in April: 400k starting from Provincetown, RI and ending in Westfield at the start of the Berkshires, by way of New Bedford, Providence, Putnam CT and Windsor Locks ('http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/118438')

Feedback for the route

- get off Rt. 44 out of Providence. Greenville Ave to Evans Rd. to Douglas Hook roughly follows 44 and is much lower traffic and 100x times prettier. It'll get you past the worst of 44 in RI, and 44 west of Chepachet isn't too terrible.

- I'm of a mixed mind with avoiding 244 between Pomfret and Phoenixville. It was probably the most challenging climbs that I had on that route, but it was also a rather nice section. My impression of most of the Quiet Corner of CT is that you'll get hills no matter where you go, so I'm not sure if detouring around 244 is exchanging six of one for half a dozen of another.

- the bridge crossing in Enfield is indeed wretched and was originally part of our route, but after we submitted it to Don Podoloski at New Horizons, he warned us away and advised us to cross at Windsor Locks on Rt.140. That was definitely a nice choice as far as bridge crossings go. It wasn't a particularly wide bridge, but traffic at mid-afternoon on a Saturday was rather easy.

- if you're going to cross at Windsor Locks, Rt. 140 between Crystal Lake and Ellington is almost all downhill and a nice gift after all of the rollers in Pomfret.

- if I had it do over again, I would've probably taken 32N to Stafford Springs before getting on 140. We only took the Ruby Rd. detour to use the TA Travel Center as a controle, but that forced us to use a rather steep and risky descent into Stafford Springs. 32 follows a small river bed into Stafford Springs and seemed to be much more pleasant.

Otherwise, yes, I agree that it's a shame that neither of us thought to take pictures during our ride.

-

What a coincidence! My fleche team actually went through a similar journey in April: 400k starting from Provincetown, RI and ending in Westfield at the start of the Berkshires, by way of New Bedford, Providence, Putnam CT and Windsor Locks ('http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/118438')

Feedback for the route

- get off Rt. 44 out of Providence. Greenville Ave to Evans Rd. to Douglas Hook roughly follows 44 and is much lower traffic and 100x times prettier. It'll get you past the worst of 44 in RI, and 44 west of Chepachet isn't too terrible.

- I'm of a mixed mind with avoiding 244 between Pomfret and Phoenixville. It was probably the most challenging climbs that I had on that route, but it was also a rather nice section. My impression of most of the Quiet Corner of CT is that you'll get hills no matter where you go, so I'm not sure if detouring around 244 is exchanging six of one for half a dozen of another.

- the bridge crossing in Enfield is indeed wretched and was originally part of our route, but after we submitted it to Don Podoloski at New Horizons, he warned us away and advised us to cross at Windsor Locks on Rt.140. That was definitely a nice choice as far as bridge crossings go. It wasn't a particularly wide bridge, but traffic at mid-afternoon on a Saturday was rather easy.

- if you're going to cross at Windsor Locks, Rt. 140 between Crystal Lake and Ellington is almost all downhill and a nice gift after all of the rollers in Pomfret.

- if I had it do over again, I would've probably taken 32N to Stafford Springs before getting on 140. We only took the Ruby Rd. detour to use the TA Travel Center as a controle, but that forced us to use a rather steep and risky descent into Stafford Springs. 32 follows a small river bed into Stafford Springs and seemed to be much more pleasant.

Otherwise, yes, I agree that it's a shame that neither of us thought to take pictures during our ride.

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thank you so much for the detailed route suggestions!

As a former RI'er and an early member of the Narragansett Bay Wheelman (1970!!:eek:) I should have known better about Rt. 44 in RI- your suggestions are spot on. I hadn't ridden 44 in years and weirdly believed it must have improved. It seemed like it had received no attention whatsoever in 30 years!

I was sorry to have missed Rt. 244 and had resigned myself to whatever hills came along but I guess now I'm not so sorry I took 44 maybe I didn't lose as much time there as I thought I had.

Knowing that 140 at Windsor Locks is the best way over the CT river is a big help for future routes across CT and means that had I stayed on what I thought was the wrong route instead of heading up to 190 I'd have been better off in the long run.

My trip was a snap decision and my route planning was lacking but the beauty of the area and many nice miles of road I travelled that day more than compensated for the few miles of discomfort.

Thanks again for the route info.

just a note on the elevation number that veloroutes gives you... take it with a grain of salt.

i don't own an altimeter/gps, but from comparisons i've seen, my site exaggerates the total gain just a bit (10-20% for long routes). not sure what i can do about this, as i'm just counting the elevaton changes as they comes.. it's the data's fault!

sounds like a great route tho. out here it would take quite the trip to do a tri-state adventure.

just a note on the elevation number that veloroutes gives you... take it with a grain of salt.

i don't own an altimeter/gps, but from comparisons i've seen, my site exaggerates the total gain just a bit (10-20% for long routes). not sure what i can do about this, as i'm just counting the elevaton changes as they comes.. it's the data's fault!

sounds like a great route tho. out here it would take quite the trip to do a tri-state adventure.

yeah, I'm taking the elevation gains as approximate. But so long as it's consistent it's worth it for rough comparisons. (Kind of like an inaccurate bathroom scale- just so long as you don't adjust it you'll know if you're gaining or losing weight!).

I did check some of the elevation gains on topo maps on some of my shorter rides and the roughly one mile steep climb near my home and found it to be remarkably accurate on that ride.

Since I no longer ride competitively the statistics of the rides (distance, time, elevation etc.) are useful as loose benchmarks only so I try not to get too obsessed- though it's difficult.:rolleyes:

One word on the tri-state thing. It's interesting to note the sometimes subtle and sometimes not so subtle "character" differences of each state. I can really feel the difference between RI and CT and MA. It's not always easy to put my finger on exactly what it is- probably cumulative but there are some strong shifts as one moves from state to state. I like that about New England distance riding.

One word on the tri-state thing. It's interesting to note the sometimes subtle and sometimes not so subtle "character" differences of each state. I can really feel the difference between RI and CT and MA. It's not always easy to put my finger on exactly what it is- probably cumulative but there are some strong shifts as one moves from state to state. I like that about New England distance riding.

I always know when I'm leaving Massachusetts and entering New Hampshire because the road surface goes from 'substandard' to 'primitive'. Potholes are the state's boundary signs.

Entering Maine is accompanied by a marked increase in the amount of 'decoration' on any given yard. Bathtub Madonnas, random piles of discarded children's toys, ersatz historical dioramas involving lawn gnomes and pink flamingos ... gotta mean we're in Maine.

Rhode Island is just densely populated. Massachusetts is marked by an absence of alcohol in most convenience and grocery stores. Connecticut does not have a single mile of flat road (at least not Northern CT)

I always know when I'm leaving Massachusetts and entering New Hampshire because the road surface goes from 'substandard' to 'primitive'. Potholes are the state's boundary signs.

Entering Maine is accompanied by a marked increase in the amount of 'decoration' on any given yard. Bathtub Madonnas, random piles of discarded children's toys, ersatz historical dioramas involving lawn gnomes and pink flamingos ... gotta mean we're in Maine.

Rhode Island is just densely populated. Massachusetts is marked by an absence of alcohol in most convenience and grocery stores. Connecticut does not have a single mile of flat road (at least not Northern CT)

and Vermont?- cows... and nice roads.

and Vermont?- cows... and nice roads.

food coops, dirt roads, and older subarus with 'free tibet' and 'eat more kale' stickers