Swanzey Covered Bridge Ride

On Sunday, May 6th, five of us (myself, Johnny, Eric, Rick and Richard) met up for this ride at the terminal parking lot of the Keene Dillart-Hopkins Airport at 10AM.  The day began as mostly cloudy with a slight chill, but progressively warmed and cleared through the day.

We got ready and headed out a little after 10AM.  We left the airport and headed south on Route 32 along the airport property.  We diverted over to Whitcomb Road and soon reached the Carleton Bridge.  From here we continued southward and made it to a stretch of Class 6 road (Rabbit Hollow).  We had gone around the closed section of road, that we had walked our bikes through last time, but this section had gotten badly torn up due to recent logging operations in the area.  It was muddy and it still required us to walk our bikes through parts of it.

Back on paved secondary roads we made our way to Winchester center and just a little further southwest we reached the Ashuelot Bridge (a beautiful latticed structure).  Here we took an extended snack break...it was now about 1PM.  After the rest we were now halfway around the loop and we headed back northward along Old Westport Road.  This passed through farmland on the way to the Coombs Bridge.  After crossing the bridge we quickly reached Rt 10 and headed north for a short time before heading into Westport Village and the Slate Bridge.  The Thompson Bridge in West Swanzey was reached shortly thereafter.  As we continued northward we biked through more dense residential areas around the Eaton and Old Eaton Roads, where we ultimately crossed the final bridge of our tour...the Cresson Bridge.

Afterwards we headed back northward along Rts. 10, 101 and 12 until we finally made it back to our cars at the Airport parking lot.  It was now 3:30PM.  After resting up and stowing our bikes we headed into Keene and had a nice dinner at the Elm City Brewing Company.

It turned out to be a wonderful, fun ride with a great group of guys.  Thanks to Rick, Richard, Johnny and Eric for joining me on this activity...I look forward to seeing everyone on a further outing again soon!

Join me for this 36-37 mile bike ride through the Swanzey and Winchester countrysides, where we will visit six covered bridges which span the Ashuelot River.  These include the Ashuelot, Coombs, Slate, Thompson, Cresson and Carleton Bridges.  The bridges were constructed between 1832 and 1869. This ride will be a loop and for the most part travel will be along secondary paved roads.

What to Bring:  Typical spring gear should be appropriate:  shorts/biking shorts, helmet and a windbreaker/raingear (just in case, depending on the forecast).  Also bring along lunch, snacks and plenty of water.  Optionally, sunscreen and anything else that you may require for a day out.  NOTE:  There will be opportunities to pick up food/drink along the route. 

Forecasted rain or severe weather will postpone this trip to another date.

Afterwards:  We should be completed with the ride by 3 or 4PM.  If there is sufficient interest, we'll cap the day off with snacks/dinner/drinks in Keene afterwards.