Down by the Seashore

View from Niantic "Boardwalk" looking south.

Today I took a trip to Niantic which is on the Long Island Sound. As you can see from these pictures, the weather was fantastic. Temperature was low 80s, humidity was low, and there was a cool breeze coming off the water. 

Originally I had planned to attend a used book sale in the other direction. But since I have a gift certificate for a used book store in Niantic, I decided to try to use it up and also check out the boardwalk and perhaps get a lobster roll.

The visit to the book store was rather disappointing. Their FB page proclaimed their opposition to the recent Supreme Court decision regarding Roe v. Wade. I don't know why a store thinks it needs to take a position, especially since what they wrote was mostly emotional and was not factually accurate. So the thought of shopping at such a place left a bad taste in my mouth. However, a gift certificate means the money was already spent, so it was not my money. Unfortunately, I was not able to find enough on my list, so there is a credit balance left. On the plus side, I found a two volume set of the Complete Sherlock Holmes.

After I finished my book browsing, I walked along Main Street. Earlier, I noticed a sign identifying the Boardwalk. When I arrived, it appeared that admission might be charged: a sign indicated $15 for walk-ins. However, I figured no harm asking. Good thing, because the fee was for the beach; the boardwalk was free!

As you can see from the sign below, the "boardwalk" is 1.1 miles long. The "boardwalk" is actually concrete. On one side are railroad tracks and the Niantic Bay is on the other side.

I walked the entire distance and back. There is a beach at each end of the boardwalk.  In between are mostly rocks but at the north end is more sand but no life guard. A group of young men were playing volleyball and a smattering of people were sun bathing. Two people were swimming parallel to the shore in the area w/o lifeguards.

Me.

My feet wet enjoying the surf in the Long Island Sound.

There were several sections of the north beach that were unguarded. So I took off my shoes and walked along the edge of the beach. Very rocky and it looked like the bottom dropped off quickly (with a couple feet). The tide chart shows the tide was rising when I was there but I think there is isn't much difference as far as the beach is concerned.

The railroad tracks are directly adjacent to the boardwalk. I got the impression that the railroad bridge at the north end was typically up unless a train was coming.

Looking North along the "Boardwalk" with Amtrak train heading south.

Railroad bridge over the Gut 

 

between the Niantic River and the Bay.

 

 

After a nice afternoon, enjoying the sunshine and fresh air, my appetite reminded me that I had not eaten all day. In the past, a visit to the shore almost always involved a lobster roll from Lenny & Joe's in Madison. But this time I decided to try something different.

My late mother-in-law used to summer in Old Saybrook and I often heard about her trips to the nearby seafood stand, Johnny Ad's. So on the way home, I stopped in Old Saybrook and visited Johnny Ad's and was quite impressed. I kicked myself for waiting so long to visit this place. The buttered lobster roll was delicious and came with a serving of coleslaw. Right now, seafood is not cheap but it was worth it.

Johnny Ad's in Old Saybrook.

Buttered lobster roll with lemon wedge and coleslaw.

All in all, it turned out to be a very fine day down by the seashore.

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Links:

https://johnnyads.com/

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Written Sunday 10 July 2022.

Memorial Day Ride

Reservoir No. 3 looking North from the Red Trail (on the dam).

Today (Memorial Day) I tried something a bit different in order to expand my bicycle riding: I used my new bike rack to take my bike to a nearby park (~7 miles). Now this is not entirely new to me but it is something that I have not done for years, so it was a step forward to regaining my cycling skills. Today's ride, while not long, also involved some "off-road" cycling (sort of).

I rode for about an hour. The weather was wonderful: sunny (as you can see from the above picture) and in the 80s, no breeze (headwinds). Total mileage was an unimpressive 9 miles but I was going for something new rather than distance. I don't remember when was the last time I rode at this park.

Arriving late morning meant the paths had a lot of walkers: singles and couples, families with strollers, scooters, a few other bikes. The paved paths have a marked bicycle lane at the right. Still need to watch out for children wandering into the lane as well as walkers with ear pods or headphones that detach them from the reality of the surroundings.

Turtle at the side of the Red Loop path (apparently
pondering if it was worth trying to cross).

I started out on the Red Loop (~3.4 miles posted). Bike lanes are marked so that travel is clockwise. From the parking lot start, therefore, the first half of the Red Loop is essentially uphill. There were a few challenging steep sections that my gear shifting did not meet well and I was left spinning the pedals furiously in order to inch up the incline. I think I did the Red Loop twice before daring the Yellow Loop (~2 miles posted).

My original plan was to do the Red Loop, then the Yellow, and back to the Red. I assumed the Yellow Loop also had a paved path but that was because I did not look at the map carefully. Although the map shows the Yellow Loop as an unpaved path, it really was generally hard gravel (but not all hard, there was enough loose gravel to make it interesting). 

Perhaps if I had studied the map more closely I might have realized that a substantial portion of the Yellow Loop was uphill. However, I kept pedaling and made it without stopping or getting off the bike. One walker, approaching me from the opposite direction, encouraged me to "keep going." That helped and I did. The climb seemed forever and I could barely breathe by the time I reached the top. I'm not half the man I used to be (but I'm working on improving). After the Yellow Loop, I was basically done for the day. 

Overall, it was a good time on the bike. I will go back so I can work on shifting gears and climbing. I may also do the Yellow Loop again. In looking at the map more closely, I noticed other paved roads that may be suitable for riding longer distances. Something to explore in the future.

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Written Tues 31 May 2022. 🌞

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Helmet hair.

Back to Biking

 

During the summer of 2020 I had resumed biking after years of being off. However, that effort ceased after a flat (rear) tire in early August (that was a tough month). With all the changes that occurred in my life after that, I did not have the oomph to get it fixed (nor did I have the tools to do it myself).

Last spring (2021), most of the bike stores were overwhelmed (and closed) because of COVID-19 restrictions. I called the shop where I originally purchased the bike. They promised to call back when they would be able to handle the repair but I never heard back from them (nor did I follow-up).

This year (2022), with the fading of COVID, things opened up more. I called the bike shop and they called back a few days later as promised. Today, I picked up my bike after it had undergone a tune-up, new (used) tires & tubes, new gear cassette, and new chain; I also purchased a rack to use on the car so it will be easier to transport the bike (otherwise, I would have to take off the front tire, fold down the back seat of the car, and squeeze the bike into the cargo compartment).

As can be seen from the picture above, my cycle is a mountain bike. When I first moved to Connecticut (over 30 years ago), the streets were so lousy that I bought a mountain bike in hopes that it would have the ability to endure the potholes and crap in the street. So now this is the only bike that I have. Alas, as mentioned above, the tires are not immune to glass (which, unfortunately, seems to be prolific on the nearby streets and sidewalks). While the bigger (i.e., wider) tires provide more cushion, they also generate more friction and, hence, slow the riding down. But that's okay for now since my goal is to get the muscles back in shape-I was never a racer.

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Written Tues 31 May 2022.🌞

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