Originally, I was going to do my Three Lake Populaire (Lilly, Waramug, Zoar) sans Gravle route which is about 66 miles but blew that off and hung around with my sons and played commuter games, also it was a cold and that made a better excuse to chicken out. The afternoon warmed up and I had 3 hours to kill and what better way to do that but on the bike!
Instead of three lakes, I rode, two. Over Lillilonah into Bridgewater and then up my favorite hill, Town Line, in which there is a barn with an American flag painted on it. Every time I see it I get goose bumps and it makes me proud to be an American.
Town Line Hill is a two part climb, really steep (18%) to the barn and then another steep (14%) section after that, but that's what makes it fun!
Once on top, the views are awesome. On a clear day, like today, you can see all the way to Woodbury to the east, Newtown & Bethel to the South, and to north you can see Washington, CT.
Off to the west, all you can see is Bridgewater because there is more hill.
There are some really cool farms atop this hill, too.
From here, it's a roller coaster ride down to the Blue Barns that I might try avoiding next time by riding back into Bridgewater and coming down Rt 67. Last weekend, a postal worker, probably reading someone's mail, drifted into my lane and almost ran into me. It wasn't close but it made me think of exit strategies, like heading for the ditch on my right and not going OTB in the process. Today however, was simply bucolic.
My ride took me through Roxbury with it's loan General Store and Gas Station and then back towards Newtown. I opted out of West Purchase Brook and found the climb on Purchase Brook to be a lot longer but just as high. The West Purchase Brook climb is shorter but a lot more steeper. Then it was a great descent past George C Waldo State Park, and the lovely smell of garbage that wafts from Mitchell's Farm and over Lake Zoar.
Riding through Newtown, I stopped off at my daughter's art project for a selfie and then headed home. All in all, a great route, with some nice climbing and great views.
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