Friday, June 25, 2010

First long ride of the year

"In case you didn't already know," I said, "We're in a different state now."

"I know," Nicole said as we stopped at an intersection in lovely Southwick, Massachusetts on the Farmington Canal Trail. Our Garmin 605 GPS showed we had crossed the state line, that little dip where Massachusetts extends into Connecticut near Granby. But everything in plain sight was different: the hand-painted lettering on the sings and the local sandwich shop and bakery, the look of the RV dealership across the street, even the bike path itself now had a solid yellow line painted down the middle of it. No explicit sign or GPS signal was necessary.

"Can we get a pie," Nicole asked, half hoping I would say yes to the tasty treat, half hoping I would say no so that we could finish our 30-mile ride uninterrupted. We're gearing up for an epic Maine to Florida bike tour this fall. This Monday we rode the northern section of the Farmington Canal Trail from Simsbury to Southwick and back. The relatively flat ride of the converted rail bed made for a great 30 miler for the start of our training.

Over the course of our next three months, we will be steadily increasing our mileage and our carrying capacity--riding fully loaded as opposed to just a few essentials. That means we soon be riding with a tent, sleeping bags, food, stove--everything that will go on the big trip. In lieu of vacation, we will be riding our bikes on mini-tours this summer, camping out locally to get a feel of the big journey yet to come.

In the meantime, there will certainly be a return training trip to the Farmington Canal Trail. We want to bring home a pie!