IknowURider

Hey Norm,

Well, sort of . been running this small group (167 members) for a year, You are welcome to join. we should be getting more A and B rides on the board this year. In the past couple weeks, I have gotten some more experienced riders, which helps a lot with keeping it all safe. i've stepped up the marketing a little.

We did some great loops in the berks and some in Litchfield County.

Proud to say we were crash free last year. Meetup is pretty cool, and popular here. you can join other groups as well. The hiking group here has 1700 members, for example.

https://www.meetup.com/Hartford-Area-Bicycling-Meetup/

hamsey

URider,

I recently joined! Read about the group a couple on pages back. Thanks for the heads up. Just waiting for the snow to melt.

Norm

Mattfazz

Hi!

Been browsing this forum for a while and finally got around to registering and I figured I'd bump up this thread to introduce myself.

My name is Matt and I live in New Haven. I've been somewhat of a casual rider over the years and recently have commuted to work by bike, albeit only a short distance of 3-4 miles. Anyway, over the past 6 weeks or so Ive been actively getting into road riding more as a pastime. I replaced my hybird MTB with an incredibly low end road bike and have been gradually working on my distance. My rides are currently up too around the 20-25 mile mark and its going well.

Just curious if anyone else is in the area and can recommend some good rides to take part in, or perhaps maybe a testing route or two.

sneezy

Time again for the Tour of the Litchfield Hills. Any CT riders planning on that August 7th ride?

RickAccused

I'm hoping to get out this week myself. I finally found the time to overhaul my bike and now I just need to get myself back in shape for the ride! Probably in the Tolland/Mansfield area.

hamsey

75mi here!

sneezy

Planning on the 55 mile on tandem!

cyclebycle13

I finally get to do this ride. For the past several years it's coincided w/ my wedding anniversary so I couldn't do it. Not this year. I'm signed up for the 100. I've ridden just about every part of the ride on my own routes, but never put all together. Looking forward to the climbs.

Standalone 

I should really do that sometime. This weekend I'm riding up the FCHT New Haven to Mass to meet my wife and kids and a bunch of friends up there at a campground. Hoping for nice weather.

Standalone 

Try the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail which runs north from the city.

Also check out the "little lulu" ride that's connected with the Devil's Gear Bike Shop.

I ride a lot around here. I live in West Haven, which is a nice destination from New Haven. The Kimberly Ave bridge is the only lame part about the trip between the towns.

East Rock is a good hill climb ride.

ben795

Hello CT riders,
I just moved to Westbrook and have been reading through some threads here for some info about rides in the area.
I've been enjoying exploring on my bike and have found some great riding, but if anyone wants to share some favorite routes in that area or knows of any group rides, it would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

ct-vt-trekker

I live in Essex and work in Clinton. I ride through Westbrook almost daily.

Most of the weekly local rides ended last week but here are the ones I know about that you could check out next year.

Monday 6pm Pedal Power bike shop Middletown- Several groups of different speeds, each weeks ride is posted on their website
Tuesday 6pm Clarkes Cycle essex - group ride 16-18mph+ . 25-35 miles
Weds 6pm Clarkes cycle Essex- group ride 16-18mph+ 25-35 miles
Thursday 6pm Action Sports Old SAybrook- speed and distance unknown
Thurday 6pm AMC ride Exit 3 commuter lot next to fire station, 14-16mph no drop ride, regroups several times during ride

For weekend rides check out the local clubs. Here are some.
AMC https://www.ct-amc.org/cycling/index.shtm
Pequot cyclists https://pequotcyclists.com/
Yankee Pedalers https://www.yankeepedalers.com/default.htm


There are lots of local rides on https://www.ctbikeroutes.org/index.php

Sir_Name 

Howdy. I ride in Simsbury/Granby, Hartford, and Branford areas mostly. Looking for any good tips on great riding roads. RT46 in Branford is a beautiful ride.

carpediemracing 

I'm in Tariffville (that tiny appendage of Simsbury) and rarely train outside now except for one loop (south on Quarry/etc to 44, north on 10/202, then east on 315). When I used to do group rides in the area I'd usually head up into Granby and then into Mass. You'll realize quickly that the roads in MA don't have shoulders so you need to pick and choose your roads carefully to avoid heavy/fast traffic. For example Route 10 heading into Southwick is pretty bad, with the speed limit 45-50 (so actual driving speeds up to about 40-65 mph it seems), no shoulder, lots of really big potholes (even SUVs and pickups avoid them), and some sections with extremely limited sight lines (over hills, around some of the bends).

Some of the roads I like:
189, Granby, smooth, wide shoulders
20, Granby, smooth, wide shoulders
Mountain Road, Granby, relatively smooth, wide shoulders, low traffic
Off of Mountain Road - Lost Acres to Granville Road (Water Street if you're going up into MA), relatively quiet, decent roads
187 into East Granby is pretty good, and East Granby has some good roads (187, Stone St, I actually don't remember a lot of the roads the Granby shop used to go on).

If you feel like doing a long ride then head out and do the Barkhamsted loop - ride to East Hartland, 179 south to 219 to 318, over the dam, right on Beach Rock Road, onto 181, then onto 20. It's a loop used for a road race. If you want to park & ride you can usually park at the top of Mountain Road and 189, there's a baseball/softball field there. The loop is 20-odd miles long and has some significant climbing. They repaved most of the roads on it in the last few years so it should be okay (last time I did it was a couple years ago).

If you look in Strava or MapMyRide I think you can get "heat maps" which show where other riders are riding.

cyclesnack

I am in Newtown.

Just getting into the roads after many years of mountain biking and over the past couple of years have really started getting into Gravel Grinders. Had a blast on D2R2 last year and looking to do more like that. Also tried Cyclocross for the first time last year and looking to do more.

Last year, I bike commuted 1000 miles and I think that has got me interested in more road riding. Waiting on my first road bike right now, won't have it until May, so I have to make do with my Gravel Grinder/Commuter Bike (Cross Check) and my singlespeed Cyclocross.

Haven't tried the group thing just yet. Figure when I get a real road bike I will look for an easy paced group that rides on Sundays.

Sir_Name 

"Some of the roads I like:
189, Granby, smooth, wide shoulders
20, Granby, smooth, wide shoulders
Mountain Road, Granby, relatively smooth, wide shoulders, low traffic
Off of Mountain Road - Lost Acres to Granville Road (Water Street if you're going up into MA), relatively quiet, decent roads
187 into East Granby is pretty good, and East Granby has some good roads (187, Stone St, I actually don't remember a lot of the roads the Granby shop used to go on)."
Thanks for the info! I grew up off of Rt20 with Grandparents in East Hartland and a buddy who grew up in Barkhamstead, so I know those roads well. I've been back in the area (Tariffville, actually...) for about a year and a half now, but haven't found myself on any of those roads much at all. I have to change that this summer. I have yet to do the Barkhamstead loop, but it sounds like a blast. I don't typically do group rides, but The Bicycle Cellar does a fun one Thursday nights when the weather is nicer. I found myself at the shop toward closing time one Thursday last summer and tagged along. It was a good time. Those are good guys at the shop. Perhaps I'll see you around the road (or already have).

carpediemracing 

Funny. It's all of what, like a square mile here, basically on top of a hill, so it's a very tiny community. We have an almost-2 year old now and I look after him full time for now. This means that if I train outside it's in the evening when the Missus can look after him. I rode a few times while he was at daycare but I realized after flatting one day that this puts me out of easy range to respond to any daycare emergencies (and he has them every now and then, like projectile vomiting and the like).

For me to get out of Tariffville I head down 315 and then out either Quarry or up 10/202. I'll go out the other direction and head north into Granby on 189 also but I rarely ride out that way for some reason.

For the infrequent rides I do outside you can check out my Strava. No KOMs or anything, just basically the Quarry Road Loop as I call it. I think one year I managed to only ever do that one loop whenever I trained outside at home.

I haven't done any group rides locally since the Granby shop closed in 2010 (or was it 2011?). I believe the group still meets at the Dunkin Donuts up in Granby by the Stop & Shop, but with Junior I haven't made group rides a priority.

My main focus is crit racing (I'm definitely a Cat 3 level rider at best on the flatter courses, Cat 5 or worse when it comes to hills) so the Tuesdays at Rentschler Field (East Hartford) are my staple fun rides. Sunday and Saturday crits of course, when they're around. I promote the Bethel Spring Series so I do those as well. I've raced every year pretty consistently since 1983 so I have a solid base (haha). Google sprinterdellacasa for YouTube clips and my blog.

If you pass someone going really slow on the hills it's probably me. Heh. If you don't mind going slowly up hills then PM or otherwise contact me when it gets nice out again (this snow is pretty bad today).

carpediemracing 

This is what I did this afternoon. We're in the little triangle grass section at the top of 315, which I jokingly call "Tariffville Park", and it was just around 5 PM:

Sir_Name 

I'm pretty slow on the hills myself (going up at least...), though Hatchet Hill is on my way to work, so hopefully riding that most days into work when the weather improves will help matters. That hill is short but sweet. A great way to get the blood flowing in the morning without being drenched when I get into the office.

How often and where are there crits in the area during the racing season? As much as I love this sport, I do it mostly for the personal/ individual aspect and have not looked into racing much. I'd love to start at least spectating. Racing every year pretty consistently since 1983 is quite impressive. Sounds like you've got some lungs and legs (more than mine at least). I'll look into your Strava, youtube, and blog. Thanks for the offer to go for a ride. I'll get in touch once I get my legs back (I've been bad this winter and have only put in a handful of miles. I rode straight through last winter).

What bike shop closed in Granby 2010/2011, was it Valley Bike? I remember that place from the '90s which is the last time I lived in the area.

Looks like the area got a fair bit of snow! I'm up in NH for work and won't be back until the end of the week. I'm hoping to got out for a ride then.

carpediemracing 

Typically I'll race Tues nights (rain cancels) from May-Aug. I'll do maybe another 10? races sprinkled through April-Sept. I try to race my own race, 7 weeks in March and April (I'll do either 1 or 2 races each week). A decent season can see me doing 30+ races a year. The biggest aka national level races are in Boston, Hartford, and over in NYC and NJ. That's where the pros show up.

CT also has a huge cyclocross culture - there are 8 races in the CT Cross Series this year, including one the club I ride with, Expo Wheelmen, promotes in Manchester. Expo is also promoting a 4 week cross training series for the third year (Rocky Hill, it may be moving to Manchester for 2014). Expo also promotes 4 or 5 weeks of time trials (Wed nights) over near Bolton.

The shop that closed was a new one, Granby Bikes. They do mobile bike repair now.

Don't be afraid of training with me - I'm about the slowest rider around when I'm not racing. For me since I race and I know my limits (in other words I'm not going to turn pro or anything like that) I don't feel need to go really hard in training. On flatter routes like my Quarry Road loop I'll do 15-17 mph. On hillier ones it can drop to 13-14 mph. Hatchet Hill is beyond my comfort level in terms of doing it quickly but of course I can struggle up pretty much anything. The hill up 315 into Tariffville is hard on me also, I'm crawling at the top unless I'm in superb shape.

Sir_Name 

Apologies for the late reply, CDR. Was on a bit of hiatus due to work travels/alternate schedule. I'll be sure to get in touch once the weather improves to arrange a ride. Hopefully we're getting close... I went out for a very short (2-3mi) ride to a friend's house last night on my MTB in nothing but street clothes, coat, gloves, and a cap and was fairly comfortable. Still a far cry from spring. I can't wait for clear, salt-free roads with a shoulder.

carpediemracing 

No problem. It's not like it's going to be rideable any time soon, at least not to me.

Papa Tom

I'm from Long Island, but I really enjoy ferrying over to Bridgeport and riding east toward Greenwich or west toward New London - OR ferrying to New London and heading to Misquamicut Beach or up to Narragansett.

I'm 53 and not as fast as I used to be, so I go slower now and see a lot more along the way!

copperfind

Okay so dead thread but anyone newer around here from the Central CT area?