Gravel is just alright with me: a sort of ride report.

I finally visited the trails accessible from the West Hartford, CT municipal reservoir. I’d once cut through the paved section as part of a local group ride, but never explored.

Clear signage led me to a paved MUP, on which bicyclers are segregated into provided their own lane; because cyclers and pedestrians, as I’ve discovered, generally can’t coexist. After pondering a bit on why, in the absence of a common enemy (cars), we vulnerable road users will turn against each other, I decided the bike lane was a nice touch. I didn’t even have to use my bell, ‘kay? (today was a good day).

A mile or so of perfectly smooth, unimpeded, and mind-numbingly boring pavement having passed beneath my tires, I was glad to find an unpaved trail permitting bicycles. So I turned off the paved MUP, and discovered your typical gravel “fire road” type of trail. Some moderate (for me) climbs were rewarded with splendid descents–this trail cutting through the side of a hill. A good, fast as I dare, loose-surface ride in blissful solitude.

Near the eight mile mark, I came to the forest edge, and spied a path leading away from the gravel trail. Taking this, I found myself in a beauteous, expansive field punctuated by singletrack. Goodbye gravel. It was fun, but I’m off to better things.

A couple miles of this, then it was back into the wood. Things got rougher from here. Downed tree limbs were common, as well as stream crossings, puddles, mud, rocks, roots, and the trail seeming to disappear at times.

Out of the wood again, for more meadow singletrack. At this point, the fact that I’d left home without so much as a patch kit began to gnaw at me, and I was stopping frequently to check my tires for thorns. And drink water; it was now late morning, and temps were creeping into the upper 80s. Thankfully, the only thorns I discovered were in my calf. In spite of the mosquitoes, I was glad to return to the canopy of the forest.

At this point I was good and lost, so I fired up Ridewithgps, and was able to locate and follow my choice of paths, as none were physically marked. One of those was the aptly named “Rocky Road.” Rocky Road turned out to be a stream of traprock, mostly not passable by bicycle. I was able to walk the bike down it without falling or getting soaked, but at one point I had to send the bike first, and jump down after it. Good times.

Back to sensible riding, but I longed to meander along the water’s edge. I blazed my own short path so I could get to a trail outlining a nearby pond. This one was named “Teacher’s Way” or something—conjuring the image of a Thoreau type, strolling serenely through a gentle wooded path. In reality, the path is a challenging hiking trail.

A bit too challenging for me, especially as my right knee was getting angry from repeated, abrupt dismounts. I needed to stay on the bike as much as possible, and keep my saddle height up to manage the pain. I was passed by a couple on foot, and never caught up. After I’d had my fill of being schooled by Teacher’s Way, I cut back to the path I was on previously (ridewithgps being quite helpful), and then found my way back to the gravel road. Feeling it was time to go, I mapped the quickest way out, which gave a little more gravel, concluding with a couple more miles of the paved MUP. There’s a lot of this wood I didn’t see in the 15 or so miles I rode. I’m looking forward to going back.

-Wilson

About the Bike: click to learn more.