Keep the Sound on Your Right

Yesterday, I learned the answer to one of life’s burning questions.

I learned that it is about 92 miles from Greenpoint, Brooklyn to New Haven, Connecticut.

Trip 3778979 map full

I also learned that the Two Roads Brewery in Stratford, Connecticut is 70 miles from Greenpoint.

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The last long ride I did last year was one of my favorites. It was a long but flat run from the Bronx to New Haven, Connecticut, along what one day could be the East Coast Greenway. For what the ride lacks in climbing difficulty and sweeping vistas from up high, it makes up for it in distance. Without too much effort, you can ride almost 80 miles, or over 90 if you start in Manhattan, and still finish before it’s dark, which at this time of year happens well before 5:00 PM.

I was thrilled to have the chance to ride it again as it could very well be the last long ride I do before March. I even started in Greenpoint all the way to the start in the Bronx.

This year, I was deputized as a co-leader of ride and leader the “fast” group, riding at about an 18-MPH pace. As an official co-leader of the ride, I, in turn, deputized another rider as a co-co-leader of the fast group. Knowing that she is a beer aficionado, I asked her if she wouldn’t mind stopping by the Two Roads Brewing Company’s tap room in Stratford. Our route passed right in front of the brewery about 55 miles from the ride’s start in Pelham, and she agreed that we could not afford to miss an opportunity to fill our growlito for the train ride back to New York City.

After stopping in at the brewery, our small, “fast” group of four riders became even smaller. Our fearless co-leader had to return to the city for an important evening engagement, and another rider was taking it easy as he was returning from an injury earlier in the season. That left just me and one other rider to finish the route at our accelerated pace. The “slow” group, consisted of five riders, and rode at a more leisurely pace.

In all, I rode 92.8 miles, finishing in New Haven at about 4:20 PM. For as fast as we were going, the “slow” group must have finished no more than ten minutes behind us because they caught the 4:45 train back to New York. One of things that frustrates me about club rides is after traveling for many miles, we seemingly always arrive at our destination only to take to take a train right back to New York. It’s safe to assume that as cyclists, we’re an intrepid group and wouldn’t mind exploring a little.

My fellow rider agreed that we should at least grab some food and a beer before boarding the train in New Haven to New York City. Upon the recommendation of a staffer at Two Roads, we went to BAR on Crown Street, a huge restaurant-bar that welcomed us with a pint, a pizza, and a place to stash our bikes inside.

It made for a more interesting destination than the New Haven train station.

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2 Comments

    1. Hi Brad, I believe Neile, club president of the New York Cycle Club, contacted you guys about our arrival. Bryan welcomed us upon our arrival and secured our bikes while we filled our glasses.

      We had a smaller-than-expected group because it was only 40° but I had a great time. I’m looking into setting up a hilly ride from Westport, north past the Merritt Parkway, and back down to finish at the Brewery, catching the Metro North train Stratford.