Quick Spin on The Rail Trail

It was a little bit chilly this morning in Lebanon for someone who just migrated north from the almost tropical summer weather of North Carolina. So after letting the sun warm things up a little I headed out to a nice cloudless, crisp 47 degree morning. At first I thought it might be too cold for shorts and a long sleeve tee shirt. That first descent was a bit chilly. But once I started spinning the pedals I warmed up nicely.

The weather turned out to be just another perfect New England late summer day. I made my way into Lebanon, and then hit the rail trail. We had a little rain yesterday morning so I was worried it may have been too muddy. Turns out it was really great. I think some rain and then almost 24 hours of drying out makes the trail kind of packed down. The last time I rode on the trail I felt like my tires were constantly sinking in to the sandy, deep gravel parts. Today was different, the ground below my tires felt much more firm and confidence inspiring. I think I even managed four personal records on Strava, woop woop!

The rail trail to me, is the most enjoyable on weekdays when every one else is at work or school. You almost feel like the whole trail is yours for the day. Once you get a few miles out of Enfield, things really thin out and quiet down. My trusty Trek 520 carried me along faithfully again today for 30 miles. I have just over a thousand miles on that bike now. I anticipate I will be putting many more on it. Its a great platform for a day of riding.

I stopped in at the Meadow Lounge thinking I could grab a mid-ride beer; no luck though. They only open at 4pm on Thursdays. But maybe tomorrow I will ride by there and check it out. But more likely I will do a different ride since I just did a good chunk of the rail trail today.

I was able to snap a few photos today too. It will be interesting to get some more to see the progression of the leaves turning color. After turning around at about the fourteen mile mark, I headed back to Lebanon. I stopped in for lunch at the Village Pizza since I burned a few calories out on the trail.