Blackstone River Bike Path

Dolores and I had a nice ride on the Blackstone River Bike Path on Memorial Day. The weather was glorious and the path was well used.

geese et al were on the bike path

In addition to the many bikers, there were runners, roller bladers, walkers and a family of geese found enjoying the path.

Quick recap

Dolores and I had a nice bike ride along the Blackstone River Bike Path on Saturday, went to watch the NE Revolution play (and lose) to DC United and then closed out the day with a singalong concert at the Circle of Friends Coffeehouse with Peter Yarrow. The later was a special treat. How often can you get about 300 folks singing together in harmony?

Wonderful Weekend

The weather was so good this weekend, we had to get out and about. From the quiet of the Blackstone River Bike Path on Sunday



to the very busy 'white dot' trail on Mt Monadnock




we did get out to enjoy this New England weekend. What did you do?

Lesson learned: bike shops don't open early

Saturday was a great day for a bike ride.

We got a later start than we wanted. We knew the tires needed to be filled before riding and I do have a bike pump, so it should have have been quick and easy to fill and go. What surprised me was D's new bike has some funky new tube connections. These connections would not fit my pump nor work with the gas station air pump. We would need to get to the bike shop before riding. As it was 8:30 AM when we discovered this, I anticipated that one of the shops would open at 9:00. No such luck, one opens at 10:00 and the other at 11:00.

We were at Crossing Cycle when the doors opened at 10:00. Bought the adapter for the connection, a new pump with the capability to do both connections (standard and new one), filled the tire and were off, finally!

We biked about a dozen miles along the Blackstone River Bike Path. And we'll be ready to get an early start even if the tires need some air next time!

Note: this was originally posted to Franklin Matters.

"I love my new bike"

Allison joined Dolores and I for a ride along the Blackstone River Bike Path on Saturday.

You may recall that Dolores got her new bike last weekend. This was the first good ride with it. She definitely likes it. When Allison and I caught up with her at the turnaround point, she was singing "I love my new bike, I love my new bike" to the tune of Pete the Cat's song "I love my new shoes"

Riding between the old canal way and the river is a treat. Each season brings its own color and look to the area.

Fall in New England is such a glorious time of colors!

The sound of the leaves as the bike rolled through them. The sounds of the geese in the river.

The river itself is quiet this time of year. A far cry from the roaring spring.

There are multiple access points to the Blackstone River Bike Path. We tend to use the rest area off i295 northbound, about a mile or so above RI Route 146. The facility has a Dunkin Donuts and rest rooms which makes for convenient services to begin and end our ride.

From the building it is less than a mile to the trail itself. On the trail you can go north to Woonsocket (about 6 miles, 12 round trip) or south into Cumberland (about 3 miles, 6 round trip).

New bike

A good day in Boston with our daughters as Dolores found a bike she liked at the Bikes Not Bombs shop in Jamaica Plain.

Then dinner at Tasca Restaurant with Dan and Brad joining us.

Bike shopping

Bike shopping is on tap for today. Dolores and I take the opportunity to ride along a bike way as often as we can which actually works out to be more often during the summer and about every other month during the remainder of the year. She has been using Allison's bike but after visiting family in Chicagoland and riding a good rental bike along the Fox River this summer, it is time for her own. She fell in love with that bike and now we are about to find one like it.

Here Dolores is riding her good bike in this photo crossing the main road in Elgin along the Fox River.

Happy Birthday, Dolores!

Blackstone Valley Bike Path Moves Forward

Sent to you by Steve Sherlock via Google Reader:

Blackstone Valley Bike Path Moves Forward

via Commonwealth Conversations: Transportation by Klark Jessen on 10/1/10

Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray today announced $15 million in Accelerated Bridge Program funds for design and construction of the first segment of the Blackstone Valley Bike Path.  Once completed, the proposed 48-mile trail will connect Worcester to Providence.  Improvements to this path will also support the the East Coast Greenway, a project to create a 2,900-mile trail system linking cities along the coast from Maine to Florida.

Lieutenant Governor Murray joined state and local officials to celebrate the first phase of the project, a 2.5-mile pathway including 11 bridges between the Triad Bridge in Millville located in the Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park and along the Rhode Island border.
The Blackstone Valley Bike Path will connect historic and cultural sites, natural resources, recreation facilities, and commercial and residential areas. The project is a joint effort between MassDOT and the Department of Conservation and Recreation.  Design is underway with construction expected to begin in spring 2012.

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Blackstone River Bike Path

If you get a chance to go for a good bike ride, consider the Blackstone River Bike Path. It runs from Woonsocket down into Central Falls. It can be accessed from the northbound rest area on i295 just north of RT 146 and several other points along the way.

This photo shows the low water approaching the Pittman dam at the 8.5 mile post.

I also wrote about my recent ride here
http://passionaterunner.blogspot.com/2010/06/tri-or-no-tri.html

Impressionist view

The leaves floated on the surface of the canal. There was enough sun to peak through the clouds and create this impressionist view of the world.

BRBP_impressionist view, originally uploaded by shersteve.

Dolores and I took our bikes for a ride on the Blackstone River Bikeway. We started at the rest area on northbound i295 (just past RT 146 in Cumberland) and went south this time.

The trail crossed the river several times as it wound it way down a scenic route. The old canal on one side, the river on the other. With the trees half leafless, the view was expansive. Farms and houses appeared where previously we had no idea what was beyond the wall of trees.

The breeze was strong facing us as we rode south. Not so strong to hinder our ride. It was a benefit on the return. The best surprise was the what the trail did with the old Lonsdale DriveIn.



They kept the sign to advertise the bikeway.

What a great use for this slice of Americana!

Blackstone River State Park

Dolores and I explored a few miles of the Blackstone River State Park down along the Cumberland and Lincoln, RI town lines. We will return with our bikes to explore further but it was a very pleasant walk amongst the shaded trail. We stopped in to see the history Kelly House across from the Ashton Mills. Mr Kelly had built this house when he came to the area for his family. He built a mill next door (the foundation remains) and helped to build the canal along the Blackstone River in the 1820's.



The Franklin Citizens Rail Trail Committee is meeting this week to continue work on refurbishing the rail trail through Franklin that would connect us in Uxbridge to the Blackstone River Trail from RI up to the head waters of the Blackstone in Worcester.

Wouldn't it be something to ride your bike from Franklin to the Blackstone and then either south to Providence (and beyond) or up to Worcester?

PMC - Franklin Water Stop

The Pan Mass Challenge had a water stop this morning at the Remington/Jefferson School on Washington St. It was quite a colorful and festive affair. One rider after pulling over to catch her breath, asked what town she was in. When my wife and I answered, Franklin. She responded; "Oh Franklin, yes, you're a great water stop!"

Here are some pictures of the riders and greeters today:




May the road be kind to all the riders today, and may the wind be at your back!

If you would like to contribute to a rider, you can search for a rider by name here.

Amongst the several riders that I sponsored, Doug Haslam was kind enough to profile me on his blog. You can view that here.

Part of this posting also appeared on Franklin Matters today.

Gears of all size stand by the side of the bike trail

Gears of all size stand by the side of the bike trail, originally uploaded by shersteve.

Took a ride on the South County bike path on Sunday. Shorter (only 5.6 miles one way) than the East Bay ride we did a couple of weeks ago. Very pleasant.

More photos to follow.

Slide Show: East Bay Bike Path

Dolores and I enjoyed the East Bay Bike Path on Friday. The weather was picture perfect. I hope you enjoy!

East Bay Bike Path

Providence skyline at the North end of the bike way. 11 miles to go back, originally uploaded by shersteve.

The Providence skyline at the North end of the bike way. 12 miles to go back to the van at Colt St Park in Bristol.

Would have liked to have started at the North End and saved the drive down to Bristol. Will need to do more research next time to find some rest rooms at the North end. The Colt St Park facilities worked nicely.