Pomfret to East Hartford, Connecticut


About 95 percent of today’s ride was on trails.  We had a short ride from our B & B to get on our first trail and a short ride off the last trail to get to our hotel.  The road connections between the trails was minimal. While that was great news, we sometimes wondered if we would have been better off on the roads.  The trails were mostly gravel/dirt but we had some that were asphalt.  The condition of the trails at the Pomfret end were challenging.  Sometimes we were riding single track trails that were very rough, sometimes very sandy, and sometimes very muddy.  Each condition caused us concern.  Another challenging feature was the entrance gates at each street crossing.  They must have been designed by a very skinny walker.  We had a difficult time getting our loaded touring bikes around those barriers.

 

On a positive note, the tree canopy kept us cool as the day warmed up.  Also we enjoyed the stillness that increased our awareness of our surroundings.  Early on we heard an explosion followed by a tree crashing to the forest floor.  Birds sang just for us. A buck leaped in front of Jeff and got his adrenaline pumping.  We stopped in the town of Willimantic to see the historic textile mills that populated the area.  Unlike many of the bland buildings of today, they were huge and many made of stone. The town had some interesting street art that Joe captured in his photographs. Finally, our hotel was a short walk to the historic state house and downtown area. To get there we crossed the interstate and river on a decorative walkway that provided both pedestrian and bicycle access and decorative sculptures.


Todays Map

No trip Map today due to Google Map Problems :-(

Pictures

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