Biking Around Lake Champlain Counterclockwise

The three of us are on tour cycling around Lake Champlain, counterclockwise.  We began in Burlington Vt. planning to ride north to the Canadian border.  As usual when we tour, the first day is a very slow beginning, and this day was no different.  Because of that we cut across the Lake at North Hero which cut our mileage for the day in half.

It's all being posted on Crazy Guy on a Bike  HERE

All the photos are HERE

Ipswich

See all the photos HERE

We booked two night at the Crane Estate which is a property of the Trustees of Reservations in Ipswich Ma.  Our stay was in the middle of the latest heat wave.  After spending the morning at Crane Beach it was time to hop on the bike and see what the area had to offer.  It was a good decision and the heat really wasn't that bad.

The ride began around the estate and the great house.  It's sits on 2100 acres of the best and highest property in Ipswich. The intention was to ride the main road into town.  It was a good safe and boring plan which was made much better when I notice the arrows of a local bike club.  I decided to follow the yellow arrows because they usually lead to what us bike rides like to call our secret places.  Keeping true to form, the arrows took me on a tour that was phenomenal.  The arrowed route took me to the river on the east side of town before taking me to the historic district where the houses bore plates with their building date.  Most were built in the late 1600's and early 1700's.

The arrows also took me to the river that cuts through the middle of the city with unique properties built along the banks.  Weather your biking or just looking for a really different place to vacation, the town of Ipswich and the surrounding towns are a good bet for a wonderful get away.

 

The Great House of the Crane Estate

 

A really cool area that the local bike club arrows lead me

 

Ipswich Post Office 1728

 

River cutting through the center of town

 

South Dartmouth- Little River

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For the GPS map  CLICK HERE

It didn't feel as hot as the temperature reading.  The mostly cloudy skies kept things bearable for the most part.   The day started with a ride around Fairhaven.  The Buzzards Bay Rowing Club was just finishing their Sunday morning row.

The second part of the ride was over the Fairhaven bridge into the city.  The Whaling City Festival was in full swing and a couple of minutes there, looking around, makes one feel better about himself.

A quiet ride through the bike friendly back roads of South Dartmouth eventually bring the riders to Devol's General Store.  They make sandwiches to order and the size and quality of the meat makes the $5 charge quite a bargain.   Get the sandwich to go and ride the short way to the twin waterfalls, choose a rock to sit and enjoy the food and the view.

After lunch, continue up Rock O Dundee Rd and bear right onto Patomska Rd.   It's a quiet tree lined winding road that cuts through Little river and takes you to the River Road bridge.  Any time in the summer there will be people on the bridge jumping into the fast moving waters that gently deliver the swimmer back to the shoreline. Spend a little time there to cool down and if your adventurous enough, take the plunge.

Continue on River Rd to the end and begin the return trip on Smith Neck.  Colonel Green estate at Round Hill,  Salvadore's Ice Cream and Padanaram Village with it's beautiful harbor may be the highlight of the ride. Cross the Padanaram bridge, endure the short climb to Dartmouth St. and prepare for urban riding back home.   We ride Dartmouth St. to the end where it connects to Allen, ride down Allen to Purchase and ride that north to Union in the heart of downtown New Bedford.  A nice decent to the waterfront leaves easy ride back over the Fairhaven bridge.  From there your on your own to find your best route home.   We ride Washington St. to the end and pick up the bike path behind the Stop and Shop in East Fairhaven for the easy last mile home.

Buzzard's Bay Rowing Club

Crossing the bridge into New Bedford

Lunch at Devol's in South Dartmouth

Twin Falls at Rock O Dundee Rd.

 Long and winding Patomska Rd in South Dartmouth Ma. 

Little River on the left of Patomska Rd.  The diving bridge is visible in the center of the river. Click on the photo to make it big.  

Take the plunge of Little River Bridge. 

Padanaram Bridge

Friday Afternoon Swansea Bike Works Route. Sort Of.

Ready?   Vamanos 

We were supposed to follow the orange arrows for a nice 52 mile bike through the country roads of Southeastern Mass.   The ride was supposed to take us to Assonet and Freetown but we ended up in Barrington R.I. Somehow, and even more amazing we managed to finagle our way back onto the route and end up where we started.

We have taken wrong turns before on some of our other rides but never have we been this far off.  Not even in the same state forcryingoutloud.  The arrows that marked the route were faded and to compound the problem there were arrows by the same club for different routes.  Our arrows were originally orange the the other route was originally red.  After a few weeks in the sun, both the orange and red looked kind of yellowish.   The main thing is that we got a nice ride in and we both had a pretty good time.

Ho, ho ho

Riding the farmlands of Swansea. At least it was the US Swansea and not the UK. 

Do you see the arrow in the road.  Is it orange, red or yellow?

When we passed by this house I said it looked haunted.  Brandon commented that if they fixed it up some the ghosts would move out.

I have done this route before and nothing in the past 10 miles looks at all familiar. 

Barrington effing Rhode Island.  How the heck did we get here? 

A Short Ride Around Mattapoisett, MA.

Storm is brewing over the Mattapoisett, Ma harbor

As always, click any photo for big.  Click again for bigger.

Click HERE for the route map

Today was a short ride to the coastal town of Mattapoisett, Ma via the Phoenix Bike Trail. The trail ends at the Reservation golf course where the road slices through the middle of the course. To play one hole, the golfer needs to drive his shot over the main road to the fairway. It's a short ride up Reservation Rd to Rt 6. Turn right onto Rt 6 and it's a short ride to get to the quiet streets of Mattapoisett center and the waterfront. 

To get the most out of this ride, continue on Water street past the harbor to Ned's Point. After a short visit to the lighthouse, backtrack to North Street, cross rt 6,and it's a short ride to a left turn on Park St. Park St turns to Acushnet Rd and from there its a flat ride back to Fairhaven. Acushnet Rd turns into New Boston Rd at the Fairhaven line.

Fisherman preparing his lure.

Skiffs at the Mattapoisett harbor

Ned's Point Lighthouse

Eclectic home on the Mattapoisett waterfront

Monday Morning Ride

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It didn't feel as hot and humid as the weather people had predicted.  Being on the coast certainly helped with the temperature and the humidity just wasn't there.   Although riding does create a bit of a wind chill which also helps cool things down.  The car was left at the shop because almost all of the warning lights were lit. Check engine, ebs, anti skid etc.  A short in the system was the culprit and it was caused by a clogged AC overflow something or other.

Today was one of the standard rides beginning in East Fairhaven continuing into Acushnet and Rochester before looping back through Mattapoisett.   The Rochester Golf course is right around the halfway point of this ride and is a good place to stop for a drink and watch a bit of golf.   The golfers today were certainly not going to make a living at this game.  The ninth hole is a par three where the green is right next to the access road to the parking lot.  There was a foursome on the tee and after hitting from the box, all four walked toward the woods and disappeared.  There were no golf balls on the green, on the fairway or even in the rough which explains the walk into the woods.

When I look back at my life, the amount of time I played golf is #2 on my list of regrets.  But I'm more than making amends with my bicycle riding. 

Rural Rochester, MA

Rochers Golf course 9th hole

20+46 On A Hot 4th Of July

Brandon in black short and no shirt crossing the finish line. 

As always, click any photo for big. Click again for bigger

To view the gps route, Click Here


The first 20 miles was a ride to Mattapoisett to watch Brandon run the annual road race.  He along with most runners felt the heat and the times were way off. (slow).   While there, David called and offered a ride to the canal which I accepted.  Sixty six miles for the day.

The humidity was high and the sun was blaring which made for a challenging 46 miles.   We met a 89 year old guy at the RR bridge at the head of the canal and struck up a conversation.  The ice breakers were jokes as is often common with us senior citizens.  We never got to exchange names, but he was nice to talk with.

The ride from Fairhaven, Ma to the canal was pretty quick with only two stops. One for sunscreen, which I forgot to put on and pack.  The other stop was to refill our water bottles.  The return ride was another story. Looking back I count seven stops.  It was like being on tour where you know you have to get somewhere and there is no way around it.  It's when you don't feel like riding and you wonder if you can make it.  That's the time when you put your head down and just act like a piston.  It's a time when your glad your done but also glad you did it.  That's what bike riding does to us sometimes, and we wouldn't want it any other way.

We made really good time riding to the canal.  The return was a whole nuther story

Onset Ma. beach

RR Bridge crossing the canal in Buzzards Bay. 

Only 18 miles to go.