TBGG: Tri-Bury Gravel Grinder

The Tri-Bury Gravel Grinder is not the most challenging route around but it is a good distance to work on your speed and cadence because it's so flat.  The route uses three Rail Trails: Larkin Bridle Trail, Middlebury Greenway, and the Woodbury Trolley Path.

The map above shows the intended route (in blue) and what was last ridden by the Le Gravle Randonneurs (in red). For more details on the actual route, please click the Read More link below for important notes and a view of it from Ride With GPS.  Please use at your own risk!

Parking:  You can park either at the Exit 14 or Exit 15 commuter lots.  If you want a 30 mile ride and a nice dirt road at then end, ride this route from Exit 14.  You can also park at Meadowview Park in Middlebury and ride the entire route from either direction.  There is also a parking lot on Route 63 in Naugatuck by the terminus of the Larkin Bridle Trail.

Larkin Bridle Trail Notes:

The trail is a 10 mile Greenway that runs on the old railroad bed of the long since defunct New York & New England Railroad.  The surface is crushed stone, for the most part, but some of the road crossings where the train was elevated have eroded and are more rocky and harder to navigate so be careful.

Curt Smith Road Intersection: the trail goes across the road and into someone's driveway and then veers into a stream bed.  This section is really washed out and hard your bike.  My recommendation for people riding skinnier tires is take a left on Curt Smith, ride up to the intersection with Seymour Rd (RT 67) and ride to where the trail cuts back across the road and continue heading east.  The descent from the road is washed out and narrow so you might want to consider walking it.

Towantic Road: After big rainstorms, on either side of Towantic Road tend to flood. The east side of the road is a year round stream so be prepared to get wet. Be prepared to walk your bike up and down from the road.

HORSES:  The Larkin Bridle Trail is frequently used by the equestrienne community.  When encountering a single horse or group of horses please extend all manner of courtesies to these animals and their riders.  Always stop your bike and ask the rider if it is safe to ride by them and give them as much breadth as possible.  If you ride up on a group of horses riding the same direction as you, make your presence known to the riders and let them know you are passing them.

Woodbury Trolley Path Notes:

The path is an old right of way that the Woodbury Trolley line used to get down to Route 67 and on into Woodbury proper.  It starts at the end of Old Trolley Bed Road and skirts the old Woodbury Reservoir.  After making the turn east from reservoir the path tends to be more of a stream 3/4s of the year so keep your eye out for washouts.  At the bottom of the hill, in the summer months watch out for poison ivy that grows right up the edge of the trail.

Route Alternatives:

Flanders Nature Center:  After the Quassy Amusement Park, instead of riding straight down to Old Trolley Bed Road, you can turn off onto Old Woodbury Road and by the dam turn right onto W Lake Rd.  At the top of the hill, W Lake makes a 90 degree turn east but you can ride straight using an old Right of Way that then cuts through the middle of Flanders Nature Center as a fun alternative. 

Use at your own risk!

Future Routing Considerations:

On the 1950's Woodbury Topo (below) there is an old road that went from the Pomperaug section of Woodbury to Soutbury which is now a quary owned by O&G.  A couple of years ago I called O&G about the possibility of riding back there and they said it was fine but not to do so during hunting season because those woods were actively hunted.  Not sure if it would be worth struggle to ride through there with blowdowns and a surface that probably hasn't been touched in 50 years which might lend itself to some hike-a-bike conditions.