LIFECYCLES ECR ‘23 - Day 4

Warwick, RI to Southington, CT - 89 miles - 5240 ft of elevation gain

Sometimes things don’t go as planned, like the hotel continental breakfast being granola bars and packets of oatmeal. I text my uncle and his friend for suggestions along our ride to grab a breakfast sandwich. Rich offered to pick up food on his way to our hotel (they were joining us for the first 20 miles to the RI border). I opted for Dunkin, since we are in NE and there are Dunkins on every corner. This delayed our start to just before 8am, but well worth the extra calories.

Our route started from the hotel and soon landed us on a bike path that my uncle and Rich were instrumental in creating. It was a lovely trail and provided some nice shade from the sun. We then got on some country roads. Today was the hilliest day on the trip, as we were crossing the state of Connecticut. My bike computer counted 14 registered hills in the route.

After we crossed into CT, the rolling started. The great thing about hills is that eventually you must come down. I love a good downhill where you can see the road ahead and know it’s paved well to take advantage of the decline in elevation. A good downhill also allows for your drenched attire to dry. I had to apologize to anyone behind me because I felt like I was surely releasing sweat molecules into the air on the descents.

We passed Nathan Hale’s homestead, rode over a bridge with a great view of Hartford, and rolled on a few bike paths. This is bike touring, seeing stuff and navigating different terrain and levels of population of an area. It was a lovely day and everyone made it to the hotel before the rains began. We dined at a Mongolian BBQ with unlimited eats, which is perfect for the miles we have covered.

Tomorrow is an easier day of just 50 miles south to the coast of Connecticut.