Borrow someone's GPS?

When you live somewhere for awhile, you figure out the cool ways to get around- on foot, bike, car, canoe, etc. This usually works because you figure cool places and then start devising way to link these things. I think this is why it's fun to ride a 'cross bike. You can leave from your house, ride 30-40 miles with pavement, singletrack, hiking, dirt roads, etc. and get to link it all together in the best way you can. That's the goal with The Eels and that's usually the goal when I go for a ride. I think it is also part of The Snails' mission statement.


However, the GPS-less like me have to resort to narratives and poorly made things in Google Maps if they want to describe these routes to anyone. I think it'd be really cool if I/we/someone could make a compendium of fun on and off road rides around here. USGS terrains maps can be helpful, but I don't have very good access to those. I've added a new link section of what might be helpful trail systems around here and if you can be creative by combining those with Google Maps.

I don't know what. What do you think?


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Is Google taking us for a ride?

Outsourcing does not work.

Not too long ago I was riding in a vehicle with someone who had a GPS -- a device I considered worthless before the trip. The robot voice instructed us, on more than one occasion, to make poor choices, like drive the wrong way down a one-way street. Because I knew the area, we were able to shut the useless device off. Google Maps, another not-so-local entity, is as senseless as a GPS. Give me a potentially outdated atlas any day. At least it's likely to have traffic flow clearly marked.

I know I am supposed to feel gleeful that Google has decided to add the bicycle mapping feature. Already I could request directions for trip taken by car, public transportation, or on foot. Even knowing the way the pedestrian map feature let me down, as it never let me travel through parks or along railroad tracks, I felt a split second of hopefulness and joy.

Google Maps for Bikes (or whatever they're calling it) is worse. Not only do they ignore the ability for bikes to travel through parks (you can map a trip through a small part of Bushnell Park, but not all or even most of it), they ignore that the East Coast Greenway -- a major bike trail! -- goes through the park. So, whether a cyclist wants to follow the ECG or simply take a more scenic route, she can not rely on Google Maps to send her there.

But wait -- there's more! Out of curiosity, I requested directions from home to work. Besides not knowing that the ECG exists, Google Maps instructed me to pull a U-Turn on a one-way street and then backtrack to go up Broad Street, down to Asylum Street, and so forth. Illegal maneuvering aside, this is silly because I could have made a simple left-hand turn from Capitol Avenue onto Broad Street.

I know that some folks think Google can do no wrong and that I should just be patient as they make updates to their database, but I maintain that companies should iron out the wrinkles before, not after, releasing a product. Also, we should stick to making our own maps in the community. If Google can not create common sense instructions, acknowledge a major bicycle path, or recognize one-way streets, how can we trust it to know where construction might be interfering with a route?

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Staring at maps

View points south in a larger map

I've always stared at maps a lot. When I was little, I used to go on a lot of long car trips with my parents, so there were plenty of maps for reading material. My dad had a relief map of CT that I was awesome and it's still up somewhere in my parents house. Since maps have migrated to computers, I play with google maps at least once a day. I look at faraway places and create elaborate, multi-thousand mile routes around North America. If I go on a slight complicated bike ride, I'm generally on gmaps pedometer afterwards.

I also like to look at things close to me and see if there's some undiscovered woods that I've never been in. The map above is an example of woods I don't know much about. I've been on a lot of the paved roads in the area, including the strange road the goes passed the DMV in Plainville. Crankfire says that you can ride Bradley Mountain and I've been on the Newington Bike road rides out to that reservoir. Now that we've turned the daylight corner, I can start planning this stuff, I guess. Read more!

A ride gone... better.

Considering that the Scruffy Peloton has effectively been on hiatus for the past several weeks I took my day off Monday as the opportunity for a long solo ride in which I would re-attempt the route into Barkhamsted that several weeks ago went so horribly awry. While the ride went much more according to plan I could, of course, count on Google to throw me several curves to keep me on my directional toeclips. Along the way I saw one of my all-time favorite volleyball courts...

and got to ride some of the meanest hills Ive found in CT thusfar.

Check it out, Click "READ MORE" for the pretty pictures...

So I headed over Simsbury Mountain following the same route I mentioned in my previous post, turned North onto Route 10, and West onto Stratton Brook Rd. Moving much faster and more confidently than before I quickly came upon the intersection that had thrown my last attempt into its spiraling decline.



It was at this intersection, technically the junction of Stratton Brook and Route 309, but known to Simsbarians as the joining of Stratton Brook, Westledge Rd, Old Farms Road, and Farms Village Road, not confusing for an out-of-towner, that so much went wrong last time. Better prepared with BOTH route and road names I nonchalantly turned onto Westledge and made my way past meadows, farms, and farm stands. I caught this sign out of the corner of my eye and my adoration of hops obliged me to snap a picture.


There were, to my dismay, no hops in said brook.

There was, however, clean cold water which was quite refreshing on this, a very hot day. This willow and its shade also seemed to be calling out for a hammock and a good book.


The picturesque scenery continued as I rode down Westledge, which subsequently turned into North Canton Rd. and then West Simsbury Rd. At the end of the latter, however I passed a sign which made me laugh and shake my head...

Apparently once you leave Simsbury and get into Canton the use of route signage once again becomes acceptable.

I turned North onto 179, passed this gorgeous horse farm...

... and headed up a mean hill, 2.0 miles long with a max grade of 9.0%. As me and my burning legs crested the hill I came across some road art that perfectly mirrored my sentiment.


Cresting the hill I enjoyed the fruits of my efforts and cruised down the backside of the hill and turned onto 219 (where I again came across a sign that would have been helpful on my first attempt).


This section of the ride turned out to be the most scenic and for a moment of two I thought I had ridden all the way up to NH or VT. If anyone is feeling up for it take a ride out this way and check it out, you wont regret it as you can see.






Riding further I even came across a very nice iron bridge!


Thusfar my ride had gone largely without a hitch, however this was where I turned onto the Farmington River "Turnpike". I started out down a side road which I (foolishly) remarked as being one of the nicest "turnpikes" I had ever seen. I twisted and turned along the road through the woods until the pavement abruptly ended!


The next couple miles were spent managing bumps and avoiding rocks along the gravel access road. On the plus side this little detour offered me a great view of the river and I got to move along in the shade.


When I reached Route 44 I turned North as planned but coming across the road I had intended on taking noticed that it looked to offer little more infrastructure than my last path! I decided to turn around and head back into Canton via 44. I crossed the river over the gorge and caught glimpse of a fly fisherman and several tubers enjoying the river...


I hopped off Rt 44 and cut over on Rt 202 and rode down Powder Hill road again crossing a scenic small iron bridge over the river.


From here I headed back through Collinsville, back over the mountain via the now seemingly smaller hill over Mountain Spring Rd and back down Route 4, pleasantly pleased that I had completed my intended ride without getting dreadfully lost and all less than an hour's ride from the city.

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A ride gone wrong...

So while about 90% of the time I get lost while riding it can be attributed to google maps telling me there are roads where there are not a recent ride gone wrong I can only blame on myself (or perhaps as I later found out, the town of Simsbury).

A couple weeks ago I was scheduled to work a six day week which meant that on a couple days I was going to get out at 2.00. I had not been out on a 40+ mile ride yet this summer so I figured this would be the perfect opportunity. Unfortunately, however several factors would prove to derail my plans, shorten my ride, and leave me cold and wet trapped in the rain.

While I had planned to leave work at 2.00 this happened to be the week (much like this week) where we saw rain and thunderstorms every single day. The day had been fair but at about 1.45 a brutal thunderstorm rolled in that soaked the roads and kicked up the wind. I saw no point in trudging through the rain so I delayed my departure till the rain stopped at about 3.15. I raced home, quickly changed, and pulled up the radar. It showed a series of small thunderstorms moving in a line with 30 minute gaps between them. Not a fan of modifying my plans due to the weather I calculated a route by which I could race ahead of the storm, head West, and loop through Simsbury, into Barkhamsted, and South around a second storm. I wrote down my route which was a loop along routes 309, 179, 219, and 44. I stepped out the back door to the sounds of rumbling thunder, again questioned the intelligence of my decision, and hopped on the bike. As I rode North along Quaker, Asylum, and Steele St. and jumped onto 185. The whole time I was right on the edge of the storm as a picture taken over my shoulder along Elizabeth Park looked as such:


And this...


After moving down 185 towards Bloomfield the view to the West looked like this...

The view to the East however, was less inviting...


I headed up over Simsbury Mountain and noticed this foreboding sign on the way down which made me again question my choice to venture out...


READ MORE after the jump!



The weather was great though and I continued on through the back roads of Simsbury which turned out to be much more scenic than I thought. Here are a few pictures of the rolling hills and fields that remain in this increasingly sprawling area...


And...


I wanted to ask this little lady the answer to the proverbial question but left her to her bug hunting...



Things were going smoothly until I get to the intersection of Stratton Brook Rd and Rt 309. My route list informed me to turn left on 309, however I came to realize at this point that none of the roads are signed with route numbers!! (I found out the next day from a customer at work that allegedly Simsbury only recently moved away from the route numbering in favor of road names. Perhaps the numbers were a little too urbanizing in a pristine town like Simsbury (note sarcasm)). This I knew would turn out to be quite the problem as I would have to guess which road was which. I made my series of turns not confident that I was heading in the right direction. Eventually, however, I turned onto a major road which I sensed was Rt 44 and felt a little better as to my situation. After a couple miles, however, I realized that I was rather on Rt 202 and not only very far from my intended location but heading right back into the heart of a round of storms.

Along the river....


Clouds coming...


I had meant to travel counter-clockwise but somehow while making the same series of left and right turns had gone clockwise and was now heading South back into Simsbury. This meant that I had not only lost about 10 miles of my intended ride but that I had NOT ridden around the storm and would soon be soaked. The rain started slow at first and I rode on but soon it was coming down in sheets and the lightening started to pick up. At first I grabbed a spot under a tree but then noticed a nice awning across the street.

Here is my pathetic set-up as I waited for the rain to clear.


After about 20 minutes the rain cleared and I made my way back over Simsbury Mountain and home again. A few shots along the way proved that had I been about 20 miles West I'd be nice and dry...



The roads were quite wet...

As was I when I got home...


All in all still a pleasant ride but I sure learned never to ride without as much route information as is possible. Because everyone remember, Simsbury hates route numbers!!!
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