The Suitcase of Courage: Why Cycle Wednesday:River Village Tour

"I cannot endure to waste anything precious as autumn sunshine by staying in the house."

-Nathaniel Hawthorne

Mrs. Suitcase and I, agreeing with Mr. Hawthorne, decided Saturday would be a perfect day to play tourist - starting right from our very own driveway. So we got on our "cycling clothes," got our bikes, and went out to spend the day exploring. With the miracle of blogland, you can join us on our tour of some of the little towns in the area . . .

Since we planned to stop frequently, shop sparingly and eat copiously, we figured these cycling clothes would be more appropriate than our usual outfits. That's right - just regular plain ol' clothes. No lycra required (though we did wear helmets).

And, of course, the bikes had to be more practical too - all the better to carry whatever stuff we might discover we couldn't live without.

There was no real agenda or actual plan. Thankfully, no heart rates to hit or intervals to do. Just a beautiful day, a beautiful wife and two bikes - not so beautiful, but certainly functional. While there was no schedule, we were both hungry so decided the first stop would be to get breakfast.

This (not so) little farm stand was on the way - many pumpkins, a harbinger of fall.

After taking one of our favorite backroads (smooth/winding pavement, little/no traffic) we made it to, appropriately enough, "Debbie's Restaurant" in Centerbrook. Nothing's better than "diner coffee" and a hearty breakfast to start a bike tour.

Next stop was Ivoryton to see the playhouse and, hopefully, get to the church on time for the blessing of the animals.

There were 7 dogs, 4 cats and one ferret - we're told - that were blessed by the local vicar. Unfortunately, the service didn't last as long as we'd expected and we just missed the end of it. But got a lovely tour of a beautiful country church.

Here's the Ivoryton Playhouse - the first self-supported summer theater in the country. Click on the link to see who all played here - including such notables as varied as Katherine Hepburn (natch - a local!), Groucho Marx, and Gloria Vanderbilt. It's still in operation today.

Across the street was this little store. Looks like it used to be the local general store (a fixture in every small community). The old truck adds to the charm.

One of the best things about this area is that folks take historical preservation seriously. This house - as remarkable as it is - is pretty typical.

View of Falls River along the road between Ivoryton and Essex.

I got my first exposure to the lower CT River Valley right after high school when I started working for the Valley Railroad in Essex. I used to ride my bike (a Puch 12 speed - remember those?) all over the place after work and on weekends and got very familiar with the area. Like just about everything around here, it hasn't changed much in 20 years (! can't believe it's been that long), but the VRR is the Essex Steam Train now. This pic combines my two favorite hobbies - that's my bike, and that's the locomotive I used to fire. Throughout the day, we could hear the whistle echoing off the hills. Very evocative and romantic.

From the evocative to the provocative. There "just happened" to be a book sale going on at the Essex Public Library. Of course we had to stop and check it out (no pun intended).

Good thing my "other" bike has a rack. Does buying books when we already have WAY too many books qualify as a handicap?

Another book store, and another stop. This time in the center of Essex.

Main Street, Essex

Connecticut River at "Foot of Main." Regular readers will recognize this scene at the end of Main Street, 1/2 way 'round the cul de sac.

Essex is practically chock full of fine old homes and beautiful gardens, even in the fall. This is coming back up from the river on a side street.

In a previous post, I shared the discovery of a couple of new roads in the area. This beautiful scene is at the end of one of those dead-end streets. "Fred & Ethel" paddle by . . .

We finally leave picturesque Essex. Interesting sign indicating our departure. No Town Line Sprint required.

The back road from Essex to Deep River is called, appropriately enough, "River Road." Here you can see why. I literally just stopped the bike on the road and shot this scene looking north.

The subject of another previous post - this time with the "real" camera, and in MUCH better light. But, for some reason, I think the other photo is much more moody.

I mentioned earlier that the Essex Steam Train was running the day we did our tour. Surprisingly, they were actually running two separate trains(!) This is the dinner train, run in addition to the regular steam train. No wonder we were hearing lots of whistles!

Lunch, finally. In keeping with our "Continental Bike Tour" theme, we ate at a pretty outdoor cafe. Feast Gourmet Market is in an old store on Main Street in Deep River and the food is fantastic. I had "Thanksgiving on bread" (my description of a turkey & cranberry chutney sandwich).

After we finished touring Deep River, we headed to Chester. This is along the road on my (not so) normal bike route to work. Another benefit of slowing your ride down: Of all the times I've been past this spot, I never noticed this stone before (and, given the shadows, almost missed it this time too). It's a VERY old mile marker indicating 34 miles to Hartford.

Chester, CT

After exploring Chester for a bit, we rode back over to the river to take the Chester/Hadlyme Ferry across the river and back. It's pretty hilly on the other side, so we just got some photos and came back. Good thing, since we were at our farthest point of the day and wanted to be sure to get home by dark.

Gillette Castle, view from the ferry. William Gillette was an early-20th century actor famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. For more about the ferry and this part of the state, click on this ride I did back in July.

Summer swing in autumn sunset. Hadlyme Landing, CT

Old barn on the way back home. Centerbrook, CT

Back in Essex and an autumn-sunset view of the Valley Railroad. That's E.E. Dickinson's old Witch Hazel plant in the background.

As we headed home, trying to beat the sun to the horizon, the air got cooler and the scent of autumn in the air was unmistakable. But we had one last stop to make. Just about every day for the last bunch of weeks, I've driven past a certain spot on my way home from work at about the same time. This time of year, the sunlight is just right and you can see in the distance from the road a spectacular view of the river, lit by the sunset. I'd been wanting to stop there for some time, but hadn't managed to do it. As Deb and I rode down the road - as it happened, at about the same time of day I'm usually driving through there - I told her to turn at the next street and go to the end . . .

Unfortunately, this pic doesn't do the scene justice. I can't imagine how stunning this spot will be when the fall foliage is at its peak. But for now, a shot of the river lit by the setting sun will provide a fitting ending to our tour of the villages of the lower Connecticut River valley. I hope you enjoyed coming along for the ride.