Ride across Connecticut

I'm trying to keep my sanity during this current injury.  With no exact timeline it is no easy task for me.  I'm putting in 30 hours a week on the bike (and Go and Elliptical) so getting outside for some interesting stuff is helpful.

I cooked up a plan to bike across the state of CT having ridden on part of the Farmington Heritage Canal Path (and run on sections of it while running in every city/town in the state).  No one was interested in joining me which is part of the reason for how I chose to do this.  With rail access between Springfield MA and New Haven CT I'd have transport to the start and then just need to make my way back the 70+ miles.

I was up at 3 am and out the door by 315 which got me to Springfield by 5am.  I had a heck of a time finding parking (nothing was open at that hour) and the parking garage for the train station was not easy to locate (signage was poor).  I made it by 530 for the train which pulled out 10 minutes later.  That got me to New Haven at 710 and I pulled my gear together and was on the way by 720.

I headed south for a mile to get to the ocean and road out/back on the pier (which was a bike path!).  Then I headed north for another mile plus which got me to the start of the Farmington Heritage Canal path.  I'd be on that for another 50+ miles with just a little bit of road riding in the middle.

There were a fair number of road crossings in the early going in New Haven at this time of day there were crossing guards at some of them! Although it was going to be a hot day (upper 80s) it wasn't too bad on the trail with most of it shaded.  I only had a couple of moments of worry when I thought I'd lost the trail in Avon.  I got some assistance for a telephone worker who pointed out that I was exactly where I was supposed to be and the park was literally right in front of me.

I should have done a better job of printing up the trail maps "blow up" areas but figured it'd be well signed. Funny, it was well signed in most parts but not so much so in areas where it really could have used it (I thought I was on the town sidewalk and was still on the trail).  The trail was very well maintained and scenic.

I felt pretty good for the first 50+ miles and then was just a little tired after that (and had my fastest 5m split of the day from 55-60).  After exiting CT, I still had 4+ miles on the trail before it ended in Southwick MA.  Then I had another 8 miles or so getting through Agawam and West Springfield before getting into Springfield proper and back to the train station.  It was a fun adventure and a great way to kick off the weekend.