pedaling around the block--the big block!
trusting that the weather would be spot on the prediction, i took off on a bike ride. i was thinking of heading east on route 4. there are dozens of routes i could take, of all lengths. as usual, when i start out on a longer ride, i started running all those options through some sort of filter. if i do this..., it will mean that...--do i really want to do that? i suppose in the long run, i am deciding exactly, just what do i want to do?
all the while i was questioning myself, i pedaled east. at times i would veer off onto the rail-trail for a couple miles before coming back onto the road. when i was pumping up a climb on the road, i would think how much flatter the trail was. when i was plodding along the trail, i would think, the road would be a lot faster. what i should have been doing instead, was taking more pictures.
as i was going through danbury, i stopped at the general store and ask a group at a table if they knew of a road to take me over to 4A without going to potter place. the woman said, there was a road but it was being paved today. the man reported that rt 4 was also newly paved between here and andover. another woman, mentioned that there was another way up the road, but there were so many turn offs you would need gps to make sense of it. i thanked them and continued on as i had been--pedaling rt 4 and the rail-trail.
i made it onto 11 and headed south. turning west onto 4A, i started a long climb through wilmot, toward the height of land. now that i was heading homeward, i stopped dwelling on possibilities and started to think about pictures. just before i left my driveway i had thought about taking a picture of the maples across the road. autumn color would have made a good theme. i forgot to stop. forgot again, on the rail trail watching the sunlight filter through the leaves. finally, i rode by a long run of knotweed, stopped, turned back to the beginning, and got out the camera.
there are all kinds of invasives in new england. they spread themselves out by any number of means--plants as well as animals. whenever i see knotweed way out in the middle of nowhere--like that patch on kevin's road way back in the woods--i wonder, how does knotweed get out here? people used to plant it as an ornamental?? we had a patch across from our drive--next to those maples i should have photographed--that has taken me a over thirty years to almost eradicate.
with the camera now stuffed into my bike shorts, i stopped again fairly soon when i passed a boggy area off to one side at the high point in the road. drainage in both directions made for an interesting situation. water goes either east, ending up in the merrimack and flowing out to sea past newburyport mass. or, it goes west, into the connecticut and drain into long island sound at old lyme ct. pam and i spent a bunch of times down in newburyport going out to visit plum island for beach and birds. turns out there is a plum island right at the mouth of the connecticut in the sound as well.
i was flowing west and except for one broad valley i had to climb out of, it was all downhill. before i wove through the s curves dropping into enfield center, i stopped and took a picture of the boggy, north end of george pond.
it being friday, instead of turning home, i extended the loop and stopped at drummond's to sweep. i like to stay connected with the folks there and sweeping the shop once a week is good for that. today, robbie even had a front piece that extends off the stem to try and push out my handlebar bag. on the gravel growler, i had kinked the cables which probably was what caused my rear derailleur to fail. good people drummonds--relaxing to push a broom around too!
on the way past the high school, i stopped for a time to watch the soccer game and chat with two former students' parents. father, andrew, was pretty impressed with the new bike and snapped a picture to message son/student, ben. we were both thinking ben would be surprised that i jumped so far into the 21st century with a carbon frame--the three of us each ride vintage steel frames.
no matter what frame you are riding--go outside and play!
trusting that the weather would be spot on the prediction, i took off on a bike ride. i was thinking of heading east on route 4. there are dozens of routes i could take, of all lengths. as usual, when i start out on a longer ride, i started running all those options through some sort of filter. if i do this..., it will mean that...--do i really want to do that? i suppose in the long run, i am deciding exactly, just what do i want to do?
all the while i was questioning myself, i pedaled east. at times i would veer off onto the rail-trail for a couple miles before coming back onto the road. when i was pumping up a climb on the road, i would think how much flatter the trail was. when i was plodding along the trail, i would think, the road would be a lot faster. what i should have been doing instead, was taking more pictures.
as i was going through danbury, i stopped at the general store and ask a group at a table if they knew of a road to take me over to 4A without going to potter place. the woman said, there was a road but it was being paved today. the man reported that rt 4 was also newly paved between here and andover. another woman, mentioned that there was another way up the road, but there were so many turn offs you would need gps to make sense of it. i thanked them and continued on as i had been--pedaling rt 4 and the rail-trail.
i made it onto 11 and headed south. turning west onto 4A, i started a long climb through wilmot, toward the height of land. now that i was heading homeward, i stopped dwelling on possibilities and started to think about pictures. just before i left my driveway i had thought about taking a picture of the maples across the road. autumn color would have made a good theme. i forgot to stop. forgot again, on the rail trail watching the sunlight filter through the leaves. finally, i rode by a long run of knotweed, stopped, turned back to the beginning, and got out the camera.
there are all kinds of invasives in new england. they spread themselves out by any number of means--plants as well as animals. whenever i see knotweed way out in the middle of nowhere--like that patch on kevin's road way back in the woods--i wonder, how does knotweed get out here? people used to plant it as an ornamental?? we had a patch across from our drive--next to those maples i should have photographed--that has taken me a over thirty years to almost eradicate.
with the camera now stuffed into my bike shorts, i stopped again fairly soon when i passed a boggy area off to one side at the high point in the road. drainage in both directions made for an interesting situation. water goes either east, ending up in the merrimack and flowing out to sea past newburyport mass. or, it goes west, into the connecticut and drain into long island sound at old lyme ct. pam and i spent a bunch of times down in newburyport going out to visit plum island for beach and birds. turns out there is a plum island right at the mouth of the connecticut in the sound as well.
i was flowing west and except for one broad valley i had to climb out of, it was all downhill. before i wove through the s curves dropping into enfield center, i stopped and took a picture of the boggy, north end of george pond.
it being friday, instead of turning home, i extended the loop and stopped at drummond's to sweep. i like to stay connected with the folks there and sweeping the shop once a week is good for that. today, robbie even had a front piece that extends off the stem to try and push out my handlebar bag. on the gravel growler, i had kinked the cables which probably was what caused my rear derailleur to fail. good people drummonds--relaxing to push a broom around too!
on the way past the high school, i stopped for a time to watch the soccer game and chat with two former students' parents. father, andrew, was pretty impressed with the new bike and snapped a picture to message son/student, ben. we were both thinking ben would be surprised that i jumped so far into the 21st century with a carbon frame--the three of us each ride vintage steel frames.
no matter what frame you are riding--go outside and play!
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