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Guided Bicycle Tours of the area's Rail Trails
For 2007, there will be FREE guided bike tours every Tuesday in May, June, July and August. These are all rides that are not difficult, or fast, but they are more of an educational experience.
All rides will start at 6:00 p.m. promptly--and return to point of origin by dusk.
There will be no rides on the 5th Tuesday of the month--and once again, no charge for the rides.
Half the rides will start at the Sugar Maple Trailside Inn, 62 Chestnut St. Florence, MA. The others will start at the trail head noted below.
Capacity of each ride will be 20 riders and all participants must RSVP ahead of time. (phone at 413-575-2277 or email at craig@craigdp.com )
No heavy hills will be encountered though some safe, on-road portions will be a part of each ride.
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| Click here for a more detailed map |
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Ride 1. [1st Tuesday of the month] We will start at SMTI and head west on the City of Northampton Bikeway, head into Look Park and then after a short 1/2 mile on-road segment of Rt 9 we'll proceed into Leeds and explore the future trail along the Mill River. Educational component will focus on history of the New Haven Railroad's Williamsburg Branch, the industrial villages of Florence and Leeds and the politics of trail building. Dates are: May 1, June 5, July 3, August 7.
Useful site: http://fntg.net Map here: http://fntg.net/fntgmap2007-05.pdf |
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| Click here for a more detailed map |
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Ride 2 [2nd Tuesday of the month] The ride will start at SMTI and head east on the City of Northampton Bikeway, through the Stop and Shop parking lot, cross Rt 5 and then head onto the soon to be opened, newly built extension of the Norwottuck Trail. We will then head into downtown Northampton for a tour of future rail trail connections, and a exploration of the diverted Mill River. The educational component will include theory of remaking streets into places more attractive for bikes and pedestrians, design of rail trails, and a short history of downtown Northampton and the long diverted Mill River. May 8, June 12, July 10, August 14.
Useful site: http://fntg.net Map here: http://fntg.net/fntgmap2007-05.pdf
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| Click here for a more detailed map |
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Ride 3. [3rd Tuesday of the month] This ride will start at the Smith's Ferry trail head for the Manhan Rail Trail on Rt 5. We will head west on the ex Boston & Maine RR's Mt Tom Branch and then into downtown Easthampton via the ex New Haven Railroad's Canal Division. Together these two storied branchlines make up the Manhan Rail Trail--a component of the larger Farmington Canal Greenway, being constructed north from New Haven, CT. The educational component will focus on the politics of trail building, the meaning of the abundant railroad archaeology found along the Manhan Rail Trail, the economic development aspects of rail trails, and a discussion of brownfield redevelopment along rail trails. May 15, June 19, July 17, August 21.
Useful site: http://www.manhanrailtrail.org Map here: http://manhanrailtrail.org/map/ |
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| Click here for a more detailed map |
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Ride 4. [4th Tuesday of the month] The ride will start at the Damon Road trailhead for the Norwottuck Trail. We will head east along the state park agency's regional gem. We will discuss the history of one of the state's most interesting railroads--the MassCentral branch of the Boston & Maine Railroad as well as a discussion of the politics of long distance trails in a state without any regional governance. There will also be an update on the efforts to build out the rest of the corridor from Northampton to Boston as a rail trail. May 22, June 26, July 24, August 28.
Info about the entire project; Boston to Northampton. http://www.masscentralrailtrail.org/ Info about the western most segment--the Norwottuck Rail Trail. http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/nwrt.htm |
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| Tour participants in 2002 |
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Every Tuesday this summer, [May through August] we will be running an innovative special offer. Register to ride on our FREE Tuesday evening guided bike tours AND book in for that night at our award-winning B&B, and you can take 10% off the standard pricing.
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