I decided to expand my bike path horizons, so this morning I took a trip up to Lincoln to ride the Blackstone River Bikeway. It is quite a pretty ride through the woods alongside the Blackstone River and Canal. It's dead flat, being next to a river and all, and there are only a handful of street crossings, so it's a nice, easy ride. Well, except for the last half mile if you happen to park up at the snazzy new Blackstone Valley State Park visitors center. It's very convenient, being right on I-295, and it even has it's own Dunkies, but it's also up on top of the biggest hill they could find. Going down to the valley is nice and easy, but that half-mile climb back up the hill after you've already ridden 17 miles? Not a lot of fun.
Eventually the path is supposed to run from up in Worcester all the way down to Providence, where it will connect to the East Bay path. It's far from completed, though. I rode the longest segment today, which is about eight miles long if you include the part under construction at the northern end. That just about gets you to Woonsocket. It looks like they've completed a shorter segment in Worcester (which apparently starts a couple of blocks from
ocvictor and myainsel's house), and there are some rougher trails available betwixt and between, although it's hard to tell from the map exactly what's open yet and where. It's a little far (45 minutes or so) for me to do often, but it is a fun option to have.
