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blahberrry t1_j8altsl wrote

  1. I think the East Coast Greenway is meant to be more of a road bike trail - yes. Although some states do have some unpaved sections. Just checked it out on this map.

1a. Trestle Trail from CT to Log Bridge Road in RI is not paved. I rode the unpaved Trestle Trail section recently and it's really fun. A little muddy and icy right now in a few areas - and some frozen dirtbike/atv ruts - but nothing a light gravel tire can't handle.

  1. Yes - Once on the WST, it is all a separate, dedicated nonmotorized path. There are some nice gravel horse trails that parallel the paved path in Coventry - I like to ride them as long as I don't see any horses. Bikes are supposed to yield to horses and I try not to piss anyone off.

  2. I haven't biked from Bristol to Newport, but I believe it's just road riding. If you are aiming to get to Newport - the Mt Hope bridge is super sketchy to bike over. It's a mile-long 2-lane bridge with no shoulder. (If you want to just touch the other state border to say you crossed the state by bike, you could hop off the East Bay bike path in Warren and head towards MA from there.)

Hope this helps!

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monkiesandtool t1_j8awdve wrote

To compliment blahberry's comments
1a, there is a section between Lois Farm and Hopkins Hollow that is nearly impassable (the row is nearly reclaimed by nature, with a decent amount of standing water). West of Lois Farm is a (recently) improved dirt ROW out to the state line, with points east of Log Bridge fully paved to (Nearly) Cranston St in Cranston.

On the CT side, there is old asphalt that runs for some distance from 14A (though It does discontine by the time it crosses RT14 in Sterling, Nonetheless the original ROW has been built over in Mossup (where it crosses over Main St and it just a dirt path along Plainfield Rd under I-395 at MilePost 31.4. West of it (up to the current Providence and Worcester Yard). It's Impassable

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blahberrry t1_j8b2w46 wrote

u/monkiesandtool Thank you! Want to mention that there is a detour that you can use to pass the area with the standing water. It runs right next to the trail, just above it. If you're riding west to east, the detour will be on the right side.

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degggendorf OP t1_j8bbkum wrote

Awesome, thank you for the detail; that's just what I need!

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degggendorf OP t1_j8bbewf wrote

>Hope this helps!

Of course, thank you!

>A little muddy and icy right now in a few areas - and some frozen dirtbike/atv ruts - but nothing a light gravel tire can't handle.

Oh nice, sounds like a blast

> I like to ride them as long as I don't see any horses. Bikes are supposed to yield to horses and I try not to piss anyone off.

Good to know, thank you! I'll make sure to brush up on my etiquette rules before going.

>. (If you want to just touch the other state border to say you crossed the state by bike, you could hop off the East Bay bike path in Warren and head towards MA from there.)

Good call, that sounds like a good plan.

Thank you for all the help!

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degggendorf OP t1_jaex1cb wrote

Hey just wanted to check back in, in case you care to hear about how it went.

Two weekends ago now, I made the CT->MA ride, and went as smooth as butter. I did just what you suggested and shot east from Warren to touch Swansea.

Of course, everything you said was accurate. I came across a few big frozen puddles on the Moosup trail, but the bypass trails were easy to find and easy enough to ride. Then the whole WST was fast. The worst part was the stiff headwind on the EBBP, but hat's NBD. I was concerned about my stamina, but that wasn't an issue at all...steady pace not working too hard, ended up at 13mph average.

That first section from Plainfield CT was indeed in pretty rough shape, but still fun! I think I'll take a run with my trail bike in the other direction, from where the WST horse trails start then head west on all dirt into Moosup. Then some scouting runs on the North-South trail too, to see which bike I'd want to take.

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