Sat, Aug 17, 2024
(~721 miles)

Despite the fun I was having toodling around on shorter day-rides, eating myself into a stupor – as August wore on, it felt about time for another challenge. With several certification ride ideas cooking on the back burner, as the weekend approached and weather forecast looked agreeable, I decided it was a good opportunity to knock out, as proof-of-concept, the first “Ride Around Connecticut” certification for the Iron Butt Association.

Accumulating the minimum 1000 miles in 24 hours would require three laps around the circumference of the Nutmeg State. I’d already exchanged a few emails with Howard Entman at the IBA to get pre-approval for my intended route, including the basic route map and a description of the necessary towns to ride through. Everything was set, so I just needed to ride it!

I’ll start in North Stonington, at the southeast corner of Connecticut, proceeding in clockwise fashion around the edges of the state. Then do it two more times, with slight changes to the exact routing on each lap to test out a few different options between main roads and back roads, and to keep things interesting. My routing plan shows the basic, most direct route in blue, with optional closer-to-the-edge back roads visible in red and green. Lap 1 would follow the red line, getting as close to the edges as possible for a more definitive outline of the state.

I planned for a 0300 start. It takes just under an hour to cross Rhode Island diagonally to the southwest, but I left the house a bit late at 0225 after swigging a cup of joe. Traffic through Providence was absent in the wee hours. I hadn’t gotten much sleep, but felt excited and alert enough as the caffeine from the coffee buzzed through my veins. Temperatures were in the low 60s and weather was clear. The forecast map from before bedtime showed some stalled wet weather out in central NY/PA that seemed like it would remain a non-issue for most of the day.

There’s a handy modern Shell station with a store off the first interstate exit, about a mile after crossing the line into Connecticut. Likely serves a lot of the traffic heading in and out from the Foxwoods casino a few miles to the northwest. Other than the casino, there isn’t much happening in this little corner of the state – a lot of woods, stone walls, and quiet curvy roads.

I, of course, wouldn’t be enjoying any such roads for now. Securing an (accurately time-stamped) gas receipt to document the start of my ride at 0329, I immediately rejoined I-95 for the 100+ mile run on slab, paralleling the southern coastline of the state. Traffic remained light, so I made very good time across this leg, with a single pee stop at the familiar off/on service plaza in Branford. Remaining on 95 ensures passing through the required city limits of Bridgeport to get over to the small panhandle, where I finally exited in Greenwich around 0500.

This was the first time I’ve been off the highway in the panhandle region. As with most geographical oddities, there’s an interesting history behind Connecticut’s little tucked tail. Following a series land treaties with the Dutch-settled territory of New Amsterdam and then conflicting royal charters issued by the British monarchy, the rectangle of land largely consisting of the city of Greenwich found itself about to be absorbed by the new and more influential territory of New York. Upon outcry from the citizenry and some fancy politicking by the Connecticut governing assembly, the land was allowed to remain in Connecticut in exchange for a long 2 mile strip of land north of it up to the border with Massachusetts that comes out to about the same acreage.. That narrow slice is known as “the oblong” and creates the slightly diagonal western state border and offset tri-state boundary in the northwest corner.

Though it was still mostly dark, as I wound my way north through the wealthy NYC suburb of Greenwich, I could tell I was rolling through a well-to-do neighborhood, by the brightly lit mansions, high walls, and well-manicured trees and flower beds draping the sides of of the surprisingly curvy local roads. Following Lake Ave to Round Hill Road, in maybe six miles I turned on the small onramp for route 15, the Merritt Parkway, to head back east along the top of the panhandle rectangle.

North Stamford is the next required town, to ensure riders are tracing the shape of the panhandle, using the Merritt. After just a couple miles, I took the exit there to briefly scout out a little diner where I hoped to stop on the next lap (not open yet). I used the bathroom at a nearby Dunkin (somewhat regretting that unaccompanied coffee now) and then hopped back on the parkway for a few more miles.

As the sky began to lighten, I exited north onto US 7 to begin my leg up the western state border, shortly passing through Wilton, the next required jurisdiction on this route. The early hour allowed me to continue making speed-limit-plus progress all the way up to Danbury. This was my first time riding this portion of route 7 so it was interesting to take in a new area. I wouldn’t realize until the following lap how congested the traffic can be along this stretch.

At Danbury, one of my alternate lap plans jogs a couple miles east on I-84 to continue north on US 7 for the entire west-side leg. However, as I was committed to doing extra back roads nearer the border on this lap, I only joined the slab for a quarter mile or so before exiting into the urban streets of Danbury. After a pit stop at Micky D’s for the restroom and a breakfast sandwich to soak up that coffee, I continued on CT 37 to CT 39, up the western shore of Candlewood Lake. Passing through Sherman, I passed by my favorite pie shop, American Pie Company. My intent was to either stop in on the next lap for a slice or take a whole pie to-go, depending on timing.

Merging back onto US 7 in Gaylordsville (yes, really), I continued north into more rural environs of Kent and Cornwall Bridge. After passing Kent Falls State Park and seeing an empty parking lot with nobody manning the entry gate yet, I just had to turn around to get a couple photos of the falls. There was also a huge flock of turkeys enjoying the large open picnic fields of this usually busy  park.

It felt good to stretch my legs a bit with the short walk. My timing turned out perfect, as other visitors started to arrive while walking back to the bike. I saw a ranger’s truck pull in to start charging admission for the day as I scooted on out the exit. In Cornwall Bridge, I diverged from route 7 once again to follow CT 4 closer to the NY border, picking up CT 41 and passing through the charming but busy little towns of Sharon, Lakeville, and Salisbury. It’s pretty riding in this corner of the state, with some nice curves to enjoy even on the bigger roads (if they’re empty). Taking US 44 east from Salisbury was the start of my next leg along the northern border of the state, shortly reaching North Canaan, the next required town to hit, at the intersection with US 7.

Route 44 took me to Norfolk where I veered off the fastest lap route once again, onto CT 216. I paused briefly along the shoulder for a couple quick snapshots of a roadside “rock frog”. They are a rare species, with a population of about 3 that I know of in the state. 🤪

Next up was a very nice stretch of curvy riding mainly through woods, taking Deer Hill Road over into Riverton, then CT 20 up and around the elongated blue slash of Barkhamsted Reservoir, which you can’t actually see through the trees at this time of year. In Hartland, I pulled in at a convenient ballfield with porta-potty for a quick break. Checking my Spotwalla trip page, I noted that it didn’t seem to be generating tracking points as often as I might have expected. I forced an OK marker through and saw it come up so I figured the process was working and just needed a quick “poke” to wake it up. Back on the road, I monitored things for a few miles until I saw the next GPS point get sent through, and then put it out of my mind for the moment.

I continued due east through North Granby, coming within a stone’s throw of the Mass border where the “Southwick jog” projects down into Connecticut like a squared-off “outy” belly button on the stomach of the Bay State (another interesting geography story). Past tobacco fields and sheds I flew along, picking up CT 168 through the Suffield towns to CT 159 along the Connecticut River. A quick mile north to CT 190, over the river and made it through the usually busy strip-mall hell of Enfield (required town) and Hazardville before most of the businesses were open for the day. Several more quiet miles followed, before running the short and picturesque main drag of Stafford Springs, along the Willimantic River.

Up and out of the valley, taking 190 to its terminus past I-84 in Union, where I turned on CT 171 down steep curvy grades to zip past secluded and popular Bigelow Hollow State Park. It appeared that parking lots had already filled and overflow vehicles were searching for legal spots along the roadway. Continued straight on the fun and snaky CT 197 for another 10 miles or so up to roll into the village of Quinebaug, bagging the next required jurisdiction. Then CT 131 ESE before cutting onto local roads through the quiet Wilsonville neighborhood, crossing the French River by the derelict mill complex to get over to I-395.

It was a welcome break to be back on the slab, even if it was only for 10 miles or so. Iron Butt rides on mostly back roads are quite a bit more exhausting when compared to riding mostly interstates, with fewer chances to rest your throttle hand or put your feet up to stretch out. You have to remain more engaged with the traffic and road conditions, rather than just setting cruise control and relying on your lizard brain to watch for danger as the highway roll out in front of you. I stretched my legs gratefully out onto the highway pegs, did some back stretches, and sighed with relief!

In Dayville, I exited to follow some of the funnest motorcycling roads of this ride, including state routes 664 and 49. This more closely parallels the eastern border of the state, as 395 wanders more to the southwest. It would be allowed to keep to the slab here to make better time, requiring a short out-and-back on I-95 to the corner town of North Stonington, but I’m still going for that crisper-looking outline of the state shape in my final track.

Pulling back up to the the starting Shell station pumps at 10:40, my first lap of the state was complete after about 7:10 ride time. Knowing that was before most traffic had hit the roads, this meant the clock would bear close watching for the remainder of the ride. I had figured the following laps might be shorter since I didn’t intend to add all the back roads together again on the same lap, but traffic was an unknown factor. When creating these rides, I have tried to pick required “ride-thru” towns that will allow a fairly straightforward and quicker ride if the rider stays on main roads, but that leave options for routing closer to the borders, even at the sacrifice of adding more time or miles. That way, riders have the freedom to choose the more scenic route, or to bail out of the more aggressive plan if time gets too tight.

After a nature break and filling the tanks, I dropped a “Fuel” marker to my Spotwalla map via the Bubbler app and got back onto 95 after just eight minutes, to begin my second transversal of the southern coastline region. Traffic was noticeably heavier now, and it only got worse (much worse, actually) as I continued further west. There was backup through each larger city, sometimes for several miles. I rode creatively to duck around and through as much of the backup as possible. The heat of the day had built up by now, amplified by the sun reflecting off the harsh unshaded tarmac of the interstate. The stop and go really wore me out, and after a too-close call with a semi truck running hot in the right lane as it approached the next jam of stopped cars, I committed more fully to using the “motorcycle lane” to keep myself safely out of harm’s way for as many miles as possible.

It was somewhere towards the end of this stretch where I saw that my Bubbler GPS app wasn’t updating my Spotwalla track reliably again. I forced a couple more points through by rebooting the phone and resolved to look at the issue in more detail when I had a chance to stop. I started to worry a bit more about the tracking situation now, since I was depending on this satellite track to prove out the route I was taking for this ride. I was only stopping for gas once each lap, which is about 350 miles, the maximum distance allowed between fuel stops for many IBA rides.

After fighting through incessant traffic in Bridgeport and Stamford, I finally exited in Greenwich again to continue around the panhandle. What a difference a few hours makes in traffic! The local town roads were just as busy as 95 had been and everyone drives EXACTLY the speed limit! It was slow going, sweltering at the couple stoplights to get through town. The cruise up through the fancy-schmancy mansions was a bit more shaded and pleasant, though much slower than my quick pre-dawn passage on the last lap.

Once again, I exited off the Merritt Parkway in North Stamford and pulled into the now full parking lot of the Lakeside Diner. When scouting this route out beforehand, I’d had an eye out for any local-flavor eating establishments that might be worth a visit along the way. The Lakeside had come up as noteworthy due to their famous handmade cinnamon-sugar donuts. While I didn’t have time to stop for a full meal, especially given how packed the place was, I was determined to snag a few of those donuts and enjoy a few minutes off the bike after that torturous and unsettling slog on 95.

Taking four donuts to-go in a little paper sack, I sat outside on a bench to enjoy a couple of them while reviewing my progress on the Spotwalla map.

Uh oh. It was at this point that I realized that the gaps in my tracking were a lot worse than I’d realized. My heart sunk when I zoomed out to see the entire map and saw that Bubbler had failed to update at all between Enfield (north central) and the lap-ending fuel stop in North Stonington. There were no stored GPS points either, which can sometimes happen when you lose cell/Internet service. This means I have no documentation that I had in fact ridden out to the northeast corner of the state. And with that realization, my certification ride attempt has come to a grinding halt. 😩 It’s over, done, finite.

Well crap! Now all that’s left to do is limp my way home. Why couldn’t I have noticed this back at the gas station in North Stonington for a quicker ride home? I’d just ridden the entire width of the state again in tortuous I-95 traffic and heat to no purpose at all! 😩😩😩

Getting back onto the Merritt, traffic was still heavy and shortly became a stop-and-go parking lot. I didn’t have the patience to sit in dead traffic at this point and there are no shoulders to ride on this highway. So I took the very next exit and decided to explore my way east on local roads though the panhandle to get back over to route 7. It might be useful to identify an alternate route to get around similar traffic during some future attempt at this ride. However, the local roads seemed just as congested and slow, with the residents of this entire area seemingly never venturing above the posted speed limits.

Zooming around the map on my GPS to identify likely roads, I ended up crawling straight through the busy town of New Canaan to get over to US 7 in Wilton. I probably would have been better off riding a bit further north, closer to the NY line to take some less busier back roads there along the border – maybe next time. Now early afternoon, the ride up route 7 was also a painful and hot slog, with lots of traffic, stoplights, and slow infuriating drivers.

Reaching I-84 in Danbury at last was a huge relief and I stuck to the bigger faster roads for a fairly direct route home, using I-691, CT 2 and I-395 to get US 6 into Rhode Island. I pulled into the driveway just past 1630, feeling whupped and a bit sorry for myself. Nothing a couple IPAs and hot dogs couldn’t fix while I licked my wounds.

After poking around a bit online, I discovered the likely source of my Bubbler GPS app tracking problem was a permission on my phone. It had probably gotten reset during an Android update. 🤷‍♂️ I should have been much more diligent about ensuring my tracking was functional, especially on a ride like this where the Spotwalla track is primary evidence of my route. I’ll be back to re-attempt this one and already have an idea about how to approach things a bit smarter timing-wise, to mitigate the horrendous I-95 traffic.