River Valley Central

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Hartford County, CT, US

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Route Overview

Eran Peterson

Scenic rides in central Connecticut

60 mi.

2,081 ft.

Flat and fast route utilizing plenty of paved trails and quiet scenic roads.

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Route Details

Start at Manchester Community College and find your way to the start of the @point[Charter Oak Greenway](d,95671.95). You'll ride beside the highway a couple of times, but it will be a pleasant way to start and end your trip. Once you cross Middle Turnpike W, you'll head up a slight hill, still on the Greenway, bringing you into East Hartford. Leaving the Greenway, you'll be on Chapel Road but there's a nice little designated bike lane to chill out in, not quite wide enough for riding two abreast. Following Clark Street for a few miles will bring you into South Windsor.

There are just a couple of main roads that you will need to cross, but at each point there are stoplights and wide shoulders that will make this seem effortless. After a tiny climb up Pierce Road and a minute or two crossing Sullivan Avenue, you'll start your false-flat climb up the seemingly endless Graham Road. Graham Road is strictly residential but soon enough, the houses will start to spread further and further apart as you make your way into Ellington and the other Windsors.

This area of the state is tobacco fields interrupted only briefly by housing developments. After about 15 miles of steady (but not steep) uphill, @slice[Frog Hollow](d,24312.27,24789.06) gives you a nice fast drop into some good coasting territory. Careful, your right hand turn is right at the bottom of this hill.

Leaving Ellington behind you'll zip through an old section of Broad Brook and turn onto a @slice[hidden gem](d,29934.5,31743.71) of a road. Turning right you get to climb again and there's a town line halfway up this hill perfect for a well-timed sneak attack followed by that excellent taste of lung blood.

In about three miles, you'll be on Mullen Road staring at a hill that looks a lot like the wall in Game of Thrones but its bark is worse than its bite. Save your legs because in a couple minutes, you'll have the opportunity to redeem yourself for that town line you lost a couple of minutes ago.

Briefly crossing Route 5 in a quiet area and turning left on Depot Hill Road, your next turn will bring you down to the river. There's a steep descent on Old Depot Road and you need to take a hard left at the bottom where there tends to be a big pile of sand 12 months out of the year.

Old Depot Road seems innocent enough, you've got that nice breeze from being near the water but there is a @point[hidden town line](d,40659.19) about a 1/2 mile down allowing for a very flat and very long sprint opportunity sure to thrash even the most seasoned cyclist's legs. At the end of the road, you'll need to take a right to cross the river where, like a sick joke, there's yet @point[ANOTHER](d,41794.34) town line at the foot of the bridge.

You'll cross some tracks, and tackle a couple minor climbs as you get ready to start making your way down the far side of the ride. Turning onto Route 159, it's wide open and of course there's a @point[town line](d,44720.61) on it but use caution when contending this one as infrequent cars tend to move rather quickly in these parts.

Cruising through some residential neighborhoods, you can feel free to ride two across for the next good portion of the ride. Things flatten out in Windsor and Bloomfield. When you turn right near the @point[Bloomfield Fire Department](d,61268.01), shift into an easy gear and spin up to the stop sign. Another very brief and gradual hill will set you up to bomb down this @slice[hill](d,63495.07,63812.94) and easily coast up the next one. Then it seems like downhill after downhill for more than 15 miles. Navigating through residential areas and backroads, eventually you will pass under Route 291. Take a left on 159 and then your first left onto East Barber street. There's a @point[porta potty](d,81842.12) over here and a paved walking path back over the river, running next to @slice[Route 291](d,82026.8,84173.3) and dumping you off on Old Main Street in South Windsor, where bicycles and pedestrians are king of the land.

In just a few more miles you will pick up the paved @point[trail](d,92102.67) system you left earlier today to return to Manchester Community College. @point[7-11](d,91335.17) is a good place to stop if you need water, be warned- between 7-11 and the entrance to the Greenway, there is an uphill @point[town line](d,91456.85) sign, the last one of the day.

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River Valley Central

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