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All the photos of today’s rider are HERE

The day began cool enough to dress like a bike riding chef from upstate NY.  Well not that cold but you get the point.

It was 47 F when the ride began in East Providence R.I. this morning. The sun was shining and the wind was just a whisper.   On the subject of the shining sun.  It was 9 AM and I was riding east.  All I could see was the sun and not the four people I almost rode into.

The East Bay Bike Path is a rail to trail conversion.  It’s 16 miles from East Providence to Barrington, R.I..  When riding most rail to trail conversions, there is very little to see.  Most were freight rails and towns are often quite a way off the trail. Much of the riding is on lonely dirt paths with miles and miles of nothing much.  The East Bay rail road was a passenger rail that carried people to and from Providence for school, work, or connecting trains to  New York or Boston and had stations in all five towns along the route. Main St. in all these places are no more than a block away.

Willie Wier , author and Adventure Cyclist has traveled all over the world on his bicycle. He set out to ride the KATY trail in Missouri a few years back.  Hours and hours of riding on this trail and seeing no one really bothered him.  One of the best things about bike touring is seeing things and meeting people. With that in mind, he got off the trail and did the rest of his week long bike ride on the streets and roads.  Today I got off the trail on Warren R.I. in search of a decent coffee shop.  While riding down Main St. I spotted a coffee shop with lots of activity.  Even on this chilly day, the sidewalk tables were occupied. One thing I learned traveling is that good restaurants have full parking lots, and in this case, few available tables.  I was pleasantly amazed when I entered the joint.  It was very eclectic and looked very much like one of those men’s clubs you see on old movies.  The Coffee Depot offered comfortable chairs, a library, and a counter from end to end filled with coffee shop goodies.

                                                The Coffee Depot goodies section

The temperature rose to the high fifties and I was treated to the full colors of fall in New England during my 20 mile ride.

And the wildlife.