Fahrrad Fervor

So I'm moving to Providence in May and I'm curious to know what the riding scene is like. I like to road ride/race as well as MTB and I also love using my fixie in the city.
I have a few questions: Is it possible to take a nice (and relatively safe) road ride starting in the city? (I'd love to walk out my front door and take off on a killer ride) Are there good group rides? Also how far do I have to go to find good MTB trails? I'd really appreciate some info and maybe we'll be able to hook up for some rides and or races this summer. I'm moving to the East Side, but I'm willing to go out of my way for a good ride.

GuitarWizard

Well....I work in the general area, but obviously someone who actually lives there could give a much better idea....

It can be pretty congested, and the roads seem to suck in Providence itself. Near Brown University, it can be kind of steep in parts from what I've seen. Fortunately, Providence isn't very large, so I'm sure once you get familiar with the area, you'll be able to find a way out of the city pretty easily.

There's not much in the way of hills until you start getting out into the western part of the state and over into CT, so if you want to climb a bit you'll have to ride some. The good part about that is RI is small, so you don't have to go really far

The New England racing scene is probably the best in the country actually...especially if you like road races.

sandman012

Hey there, Providence guy here.

Yes, you can ride out of the city. I live 5-10 south of east side, and I can get into Lincoln, country rode riding, in about a half hour. (see Charles St.)

You can also head due west from the Roger Williams park area, or from the west side of the city.

A great riding club is Narragansett Bay Wheelmen. Ride maps are available on their website www.nbwclub.org/ ... that's how I figured out my rides out of the city, by poking around there.

Amazing technical singletrack MTB trails are a mere 1/2 hour ride from Providence. Check out the various NEMBA sites. Foxboro (MA) State Forest: https://www.nemba.org/ridingzone/p_Fo...te_Forest.html; Arcadia National Park (RI): https://www.nemba.org/ridingzone/arcadia.html

A 10 minute car ride (or 45 min ride on your mtn bike) will get you to Lincoln Woods, which is a small park, but lots of short technical trails.

For a line on the local city hipster singespeed scene, check out this cool little shop, right on the east side: https://www.thehubprovidence.com/

Hope that helps.

Hit me up if you want to ride when you get out here, always lookin for riding partners. sandman012@yahoo.com .... no racing for me, just moderate level rides on my steel stedes.

Fahrrad Fervor

Sandman,
Thanks for the info. I'm pretty excited to come out to the Northeast. I already bookmarked the links you posted for me. I'll get in touch with you around May and let your steelies introduce my ti to Providence.