Tracing the Shepaug Railroad

On my latest Gravle adventure, I decided to follow the Shepaug Railroad Right of Way, north from from Tunnel Road to the Rumsey Hall School in Romford, CT.   The roadbed is accessible primarily in three places:  (1) Roxbury Land Trust property off of Minor Bridge; (2) Steep Rock Reservation; (3) Hidden Valley section of Steep Rock Reservation. On this ride I didn't ride the section from Minor Bridge to Rt 67.

I usually ride the section through the lower part of the Steep Rock Reservation north to south but since my goal was to ride the section through Hidden Valley I tried something new and went the opposite way.  

The treat to this ride is riding through the tunnel and to be honest, riding in this direction seemed like it was a whole new route. Originally, I intended to link up from Steep Rock to the road behind the Gunnery, called Ferry Bridge Road but I got confused and headed back up another route that put me on Rt 199.

I did find an unmarked road off of Ferry Bridge that ran behind the school that was a great dirt descent.  I will have to try this route again to see if I can make the connection.

Above the Shepaug River the trail get's really narrow and it's not part of the original road bed.  The Shepaug line actually cuts more inland before this section but I missed that turn on this ride.

I had heard that the Rumsey Hall Cross Country Team used the old Railroad bed to run on so I figured it would be OK to ride.  I had ridden this part before but stopped at the gate because it was too muddy to press on.  On this ride, however, it pretty dry with an occasional mud patch here and there.  What I wasn't ready for was all the traffic.  I came across a dog walker and a couple of runners.

Hidden Valley Gravle

My first Gravle ride on the Fredmobile was in May 2013 and my goal this year was to ride as much Gravle in preparation for D2R2.  While I have ridden Steep Rock quite a few times I had never ridden the Hidden Valley Section.  Of course my fascination with this area and the train line that ran through keeps drawing me back again and again and it was because of this I learned that there was a branch line created that went to New Preston and the shores of Lake Waramug.

 My ride started out from Roxbury Market and it was lightly raining, and of course I forgot to bring a fender.  I headed up Walker Brook Road and eventually over to Route 202.  Heading down Rt 47 was when I figured out that this had to be the original roadbed for the New Preston Branch line.  It's not marked on any maps available on line but judging from the road grade and some interesting abutments near the intersection with Route 202, this had to be the route that the New Preston Branch line took!

Will's First Taste of Gravle

I introduced my brother-in-law from New York City to the Gravle of Roxbury and Washington, CT back in 2012.  He and his family were up visiting and we had done some riding before when I suggested that he bring his bike, an old Specialized Stump Jumper, and we go ride some dirt roads. 

2009 Tour de Roxbury (reprise)

The planned 2009 Route

What was I thinking?  My first Gravel Grinder kicked off by riding with a bunch of hard core road riders and I got dropped on the first hill.