50 mile ride through Pachaug State Forest CT

Harvesting Hay on Newport Ave, Oneco CT.

One of my favorite local rides! A beautiful crisp New England day! 

Beautiful New England!

I headed out around 0900 on Saturday. I started in Hope Valley RI and went up Fenner Hill RD, across RT 138 onto Woody Hill RD. I am always leery of rds with word hill in them. On this route there are many roads with the word hill, however, the elevation is not too high. After Woody Hill RD, we cross RT 165 onto Escoheag RD. This is a great riding rd that goes by lots of beautiful farms and colonial homes. This road turns into Hazard rd. 

While on Hazard RD it is important to turn right on Muddy River RD. If you continue on Hazard (even though my GPS said we can ride on), it turns to a dirt road. There is an awesome Colonial New England farm at the end of Hazard, but you'll have to turn back because of the dirt road. 

Well we continue on into the village of Greene and turn left onto rt 14 to head into Connecticut. 

Once into CT we continue on RT 14A and take a left on Newport Ave. This takes us into Pachaug State Forest. There aren't many homes and lots of hiking paths and horse farms. If you are lucky you will get good visuals of the rolling rills into RI on the left and CT on the right. 

Here is a link to my map: http://www.mapmyride.com/workout/1232410219

My ride was slow. I gained a few pounds and I felt it! 

Plain ST in Greene RI

Looking south on Plain ST in Green RI

A farm in Greene RI

Harvesting Hay in Oneco CT. Newport Ave.

Why Gummy Bear?

So why call this blog Gummy Bear Cycling? 

Is it because I carry gummy bears for food in my back shirt pocket? 

Is it because we throw gummy bears at people watching me ride? 

No, it's because I look like a gummy bear riding a bike in my bike riding clothes! Look I'm an old, over weight, man. I have suffered from Asthma for many years. But that doesn't stop me from riding. When I retired from the navy after 20 years on submarines, I remembered that even though I am happily married with three children, there was still something missing from my life- cycling! 

So I'm not fast by any means. Most people (some a lot older than me) pass me on my bike rides. But that doesn't matter. For me, cycling is good for my soul! It clears my mind. I feel like I accomplished something. I have seen some of this beautiful country I live in. When I return from a long ride, I just feel cleansed!

So as you can see, I am no expert. I like to watch and cheer my fellow spandex wearing cyclists. I like to watch cyclocross and mountain bike races. But I mainly love long road rides and fall mountain bike rides. 

In this blog I hope to show some of my rides and hopefully get some conversations going!