Middletown to New Haven

A week and a half ago, I took another step on my quest to try every conceivable bike-commuting permutation in the state of Connecticut: Car from West Hartford to Middletown, then bike from Middletown to New Haven (then reversed at the end of the day). It was pretty fun, and I learned an important lesson: Never trust streets to keep being the same streets. Here's the deal - I knew I needed to take Route 17 south from Middletown all the way to N.H. I also knew that Main Street in Middletown is Route 17. So I headed south on Main Street. What I didn't realize is that actually, South Main Street in Middletown is Route 17, but Main Street is not. That alone wouldn't have hurt me, if I had just realized that to get from Main Street to South Main Street, you don't just, you know, go straight south. Instead, you must execute a hard right (to the west) off of Main Street onto Pleasant Street, which will lead you to South Main:



So . . .
Here's what I should have done:



And here's what I actually did:



That doesn't look like a much farther distance but (a) you forget that I am weak and lazy and (b) it is much more hilly, which was made more complicated by (c) the fact that I kept dropping my goddamn chain. So what was meant to be a sort-of efficient hour-and-a-half-long ride turned into a not at all efficient, finger-dirtying two-hour trip. Luckily, the people I was meeting with in New Haven are all into the biking-not-driving, so they didn't mind my being late. Also, I got a much more scenic route, with real-life cows and farms and stuff. In fact, I would recommend my errant ride to anyone not in a hurry to get to New Haven.

Anyway, here are some pictures:


Equipment check on Main Street in Middletown: I have everything I need, except a brain!






My detour took me through the real America.




This street, which crosses Route 17 around Northford, may be the inspiration for my new rap name.




I liked the way the letters looked on this building on Middletown Ave. in New Haven.