And down Kensington...
Everyone had to fall in single file to get through this gate in order to pass the site of the Hartford Circus Fire. This slowed down the ride and bordered on chaos as everyone tried to get past one another. We just sat an watched waiting for some of our group to catch up.
We turned onto Barbour Street to see these political activists and entreprenuers selling street wares, Yes We Can! Obama!
We then made our way into Keney Park. A rest stop in the park was the site of our group's first flat (Ben's first of two), though also provided a good chance to reorganize and grab a few snacks. Here Ben is trying to get enough pressure in his tube. Stupid mini pumps...
After we headed out of the Park we rode down Waverly and Love Lane before popping back into the Southern part of Keney...
Here Will and Dawn are enjoying a relaxing ride through the park...
From there we rode down Woodland Street and turned onto Ashley Street...
It was a chance to display some of the great preservation work that has taken place in Asylum Hill. I overheard many riders commenting on how impressive the homes were in this area and how excited they were that the ride took them into such hidden areas of the city that they might otherwise never have visited. From there we made our way up Asylum towards Elizabeth Park. We sat at the intersection of Prostect and Asylum for a minute observing the behavior of cyclists in the intersection, very few took the lane.
Will, Dawn, Megs leg, and I...
Meg, Sonny, and Mo keeping it real...
There goes Joel...
In the park we all raced for the Yellow Jersey.
Though it found Will celebrating a bit too early as Alberto Contador surely beat him to the line, oh wait thats Sonny.
After these feats of racing Sonny displayed his graceful over-the-handlebars-flying-uphill-flip! Sheer genius though it doesnt seem the Pink Dropshadow enjoyed it so much.
The Ride then traveled through the West End, across Pope Park, into the South End, traversed Goodwin Park, and headed through these tunnels near Brainard Rd.
A large group took a wrong turn and rode up a steep hill onto the levys above the water treatment plant. A nice spot but not where we were supposed to go.
It did offer a great view of the city skyline, just ignore the foreground.
Brainard Road had brand new bike lanes though I have to argue why put bike lanes out here where no one needs them, no one will use them regularly, and where the traffic doesn't necessitate it? Oh right so the city can boast that they added so many new miles of bike infrastructure this year, lanes to nowhere! And in this case not even painted correctly, am I wrong or is this suggesting bikers should be riding in the shoulder? Maybe it was the city's attempt at separated bike paths, ala
here.
After turning onto Murphy Road and then Reserve Road the ride headed down Van Dyke, past an optional loop through Charter Oak Landing, and then past the beautiful old Colt Factory.
Back downtown Bushnell Park welcomed us back to the start of the ride.
After the ride everyone was starving for food and beer. Kenny's was close, has outdoor seating, and copious space for bike parking. We really packed it in there.
Meg like beer, me like beer. Good thing we got these shirts with registration as we were all pretty sweaty and gross.
Perhaps this is why Dawn is hiding behind this pole? Will seems fine with pictures through.
So many bikes, including one crazy recumbent that this guy was showing off to Will and I.
Odd machines but not my style.
We all hung out for a while, ate, drank, and socialized. From there some went home and some prepared for the evening's Ally Cat. We'll have to wait to see how that went.
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