Cycling in Rhode Island & New England!
Below are some bicycle routes with maps. If you're interested
in riding at Brown, you may be interested in the
Brown
Cycling Club (Recreation and Racing) or
Bike-to-Brown
(Bicycle Commuting Community).
East
Bay Bike Path
The
East
Bay Bike Path is a flat, scenic ride down the shore
of Narragansett Bay. There
are ice
cream shops at frequent intervals, as well as restaurants at the end
after
13 miles in Bristol. To get there by car, take 195 East to
the Veterans
Memorial Parkway (exit just after crossing the river), which runs next
to
the bike path where it starts and has parking for the path. To get
there
by bicycle (a ten minute ride from Brown campus), go east from campus
down
Waterman St., turning right on Gano St. At the end of Gano you will
pass
under the 195 bridge -- immediately after passing under it, take the
bike
path / pedestrian ramp to your right. This will take you across the 195
bridge as a pedestrian. Watch for broken glass and potholes. When you
cross
the bridge you will come immediately to Warren Ave. Cross it and
continue
south along 1st St, and you will come across the bike path when you hit
the
Veterans Memorial Parkway, in two blocks.
Lincoln
Woods
For mountain biking, visit
Lincoln Woods,
where there is a network of
forest
trails. To get there, take I-95 North, to Rte. 146 North, to Lincoln
Woods
State Park exit, and follow signs. You can also ride there in about 30
minutes.
Navigate the Back-Roads
Free Rhode Island bicycle maps put out by the department of
transportation
are available at local bike shops. Rubel also makes wonderful
Massachusetts
bike maps. Both maps mark hills & suggested routes,
and some mark
ice cream and bike shops. Also try the books Short Bike Rides
in Rhode
Island and Short Bike Rides in Eastern Massachusetts, available at most
local
bookstores.
Here are some of the routes I take often. Best to refer to a
map to
understand them, especially if there are errors (please tell me if
there
are!)
Escape the city to the North:
From Faunce Arch (the corner
of Brown and Waterman on the Green), go north on Brown St. Left at
Olney
St., down the hill. Right at North Main St. (lights). Left at Branch
Ave
(lights). Continue on Branch Ave. until you pass under Rte. 146, and
then
make a right on Woodward Rd. (do NOT go right up the off ramp of 146,
you'll
regret that; Woodward is immediately afterward). {If you were to
continue
on Branch Ave. just half a block instead of turning, you would come to
Providence
Bicycle, our sponsoring bicycle shop http://www.providencebicycle.com/
331-6610} At this point traffic will lighten. Follow Woodward Rd.
uphill and across
Mineral Springs Ave. (lights) and take the first left on a tiny street
which
happens to be called Angell Rd. Pass the parking lots on either side
and
take a left on Benjamin Dr. At Lexington Ave, go right. Follow this
road
(it will become Angell Rd. again) out of the city. When you see Whipple
Rd. on your left, that's one way to go. Otherwise, go straight and hit
Jenks
Hill Rd. (Rt. 123). You can now find yourself on the free Rhode Island
bike
map "Guide to Cycling in the Ocean State 2001" just to the west of
Lincoln
Woods -- explore!
MAP
Escape the city to the East:
From
Faunce Arch (the corner
of Brown and Waterman on the Green), go east on Waterman St. At the end
of Waterman St., veer left to cross the river on the Henderson Bridge
(after
Butler St. lights). Do not take the first exit ramp, but rather the
second
(please be careful of traffic). At the end of the ramp, go right to
proceed
north on Massasoit Ave. At North Broadway (lights), go left. Continue
(it
becomes Newman Ave) until you enter Massachusetts (after a small
causeway). After a school, turn right onto Woodward Ave. Now you'll
find yourself
entering rural Seekonk. Refer to the Rubel Bike Map of Eastern
Massachusetts
and explore!
MAP
A nice hilly ride:
This ride takes about two and
a half hours. Refer to a map. Follow the directions for getting out of
the city to the
north. Go left on Whipple Rd. Cross Rte. 7 and go right on Ridge Rd.
After
passing under I-295, go left on Capron Rd. At Rte. 5, go right and
immediately
left on Pleasant View Ave. Go Right on Log Rd. At the first fork, stay
right to continue on Log Rd (instead of Mann School Rd.). At the fork
after
the reservoir, veer left to stay on Log Rd. Left on Burlingame Rd. At
the
end, left on Mann School Rd. Right on Swan Rd. At Cedar Swamp Rd. (Rte.
5), jog left to take Mountaindale Rd. At the bottom of the hill, sharp
left
on County Rd. Right on Wolf Hill Rd. Veer right at the fork, continue
on
Whipple Rd. At the end, go right then your first left to find Whipple
Rd.
again (steep uphill). This road will take you back along your route out
of the city.
MAP
A nice flat ride:
This ride
takes about an hour and a half. Refer to a map. Follow the directions
for getting out of the city to the
east. Go out Woodward Rd. Take a left at the end on Prospect St. At the
end, go left and immediately right onto Homestead Ave. Go left on Rocky
Hill Rd., then immediately right on Ash St. Left on Fairfield St. Left
on Agricultural Ave. Left on Tremont St. Left on Cross St. Cross St.
will lead you onto Pine St., and from there, go left on Brown Ave. This
will return you to Rte. 152, where you will make a left, to retrace
your
route back into the city (you will pass Woodward Ave. on your left).
MAP
From Providence to Boston (route by Rafe Jones)
MAP
HERE
Rafe notes that this route includes Branch St. on the way
out of
Providence, which no longer exists. See the map above for a
suggested alternative. -- Kate.
> I've ridden back and forth to
Bostona few times, and
have worked
> out a route
that I really like. It's about 67 miles from one end to the
> other (that is, from Brown's campus to Davis Square), and not
too hilly.
> In the description below I assume that you've got a Rubel bike
map for
> Eastern Mass -- they're the green ones and are excellent maps
in my
> opinion. Provbike has them, and Esta's might too.
There are a lot of
> turns on my
route
and it might be annoying the first time you ride it to
> have to keep consulting the directions. But I think
the payoff in
> scenicness and lack of traffic is worth it.
>
> Here it is: from campus, ride down to Blackstone Blvd (Lloyd
St. will get
> you there). Take Blackstone heading north, and turn
right onto Alfred
> Stone ave just before Blackstone ends. Bend around
to your left onto
> Pleasant street, and pretty soon there will start being some
streets to
> your right. Pick one and jog over one block to the
right to get on Taft
> st, which parallels Pleasant. Continue straight on
Taft for quite a while
> (it becomes Roosevelt Ave at some point), through several
traffic lights.
> Eventually you will cross the river and Roosevelt will bend to
the right,
> up a hill. There'll be a road that continues more or
less straight
> (Branch St.). Take it. Now basically
follow the river (on your left)
> though there's a weird right/left thing you have to do to at
one point.
> You'll wind up on Ralco Way, and in not too long turn right
onto Abbott
> St. After about 4 blocks turn right onto Havens St.
Its a tiny little
> thing with speed bumps at first, but it turns into a nice road
(and
> becomes Curran St.) Stay on it for a long while.
It crosses 123, then
> goes on and on, until going around a big turn to the right.
Turn left on
> Depot (not marked, but it'll feel like the proper way to go).
go 400m or
> so, then turn left onto Mendon Rd (also unmarked, but a larger
road that
> immediately goes up a hill). All this should take
less than half an hour.
>
> Stay on Mendon for
six or seven miles (it becomes Abbott Run rd.
> or something) until it Ts on Nate Whipple Highway.
Turn left, then after
> 300m or so turn right onto 114. After 1 km or so,
turn right onto
> Reservoir Rd. Follow it through the big reservoir
and beyond, until you
> come to Burnt Swamp Rd, which will be the left fork at a Y
intersection.
> (Great name, no? How do you burn a swamp?)
Follow it (crossing RI/MA
> border), til you hit 121. Now I'll assume you're
looking at your Rubel
> map. Take Sheldon to Summer, go through Franklin and
get on Lincoln St.
> At Medway, get on Holliston St. (This was the worst
street on the whole
> trip when I rode it, and still not that bad.) It
becomes Norfolk. Then
> Fiske-Mill-Goulding-Lake-Farm-South.
Then left on 16 for just a bit, then
> right on Everett and right on Cottage into Natick.
Then
> Walnut-Bacon-Oak-Rathbun. Rathbun Ts onto Winter.
Go right, then left
> when it Ts on Highland. When you hit Weston, take
Merriam St. and Weston
> Rd. to Lincoln, then Bedford Rd. across 2 to 2A.
Right for a bit, then
> right onto Mill. Then Lincon St. to Worthen to Mass
Ave. to the
Minuteman
> Bike Path. That takes you at least into
Davis Square and likely farther
> (I've never ridden it past Davis). It's very poorly
marked and confusing
> at Arlington and Alewife. Either ask someone or
follow people who seem to
> know where they're going.
>
> I hope this is useful.
>
> Best,
> Rafe Jones
