Day 63, Sept 24. Willimantic, CT to Meridan, CT

After a Fab 4 breakfast- eggs, crispy cheese, bacon and an english muffin, at the Lighthouse Cafe, we headed out for Meridan, CT. All was going well when I spied a cool pedestrian bridge. After a bit of exploration, we discovered it was the Hop River Rail Trail. We altered our route and are better for it. The surface is hard packed sand and powered limestone which makes a peaceful crunching sound as our tires roll over it, but it was the scenery that stole the show. Canopied trees lined sheer drop offs and rolling hills. Soon we were riding through solid rock blasted away to make way for railroad. Part of the East Coast Greenway, the trail goes from Vernon to Mansfield, CT
This is a must visit  trail. (trail info) The trip through the cut passes are breathtaking, like something out of a movie. I've ridden through some beautiful landscapes, but this one takes the cake. Do yourself a favor and visit.

As beautifully as this picture turned out, it pales in comparison to the real thing.

It took us 3 hours to advance 15 miles, because we

It's the East Coast, so of course there is a 

history lesson to be learned.

kept stopping to gawk and take pictures, but eventually we had to leave the trail and make our way to the hotel. The trail had been an uphill climb, so we were rewarded with a long glide down. The rest of the way there was a "bit more" climbing, but that is a story for another day.