This fall, I have experienced the bike paths, neighborhoods, city streets, and side roads of Rhode Island on my Trek bike. My upcoming charity ride for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank is just a few days away now. In the past 2 weeks, I have ridden what I was call 4 Stages of my ride from Old Mountain Field in Wakefield to Cardines Field in Newport a few times separately. And on Saturday, I combined Stages 2, 3, and 4 to really push myself and see where I was at physically.

Deviating from the route guidance map, I decided to bike from my house, down to Frenchtown Road, onto Post Road, into East Greenwich. From downtown EG, I followed the route through Apponaug, past the Crowne Plaza Hotel, passed the Warwick Mall, and eventually ending up on the Washington Secondary Bike Path. This was a much safer route than the previous route, which took me up Route 2 and onto Bald Hill Road. I stayed on the bike path into Cranston and then followed the bike route into Providence, over the Washington Bridge and eventually onto the East Bay Bike Path.

Following the East Bay Bike Path to the end in Bristol, I hopped onto the side roads of downtown Bristol and ended up on Hope St. Up the hill, passed Roger Williams University (on my left), I took a deep breath and entered the Mount Hope Bridge. Climbing the steep incline, I started to second guess my plan to cross this bridge on my bike. Honestly, it says bike friendly but I beg to differ. Once I got to the top of the bridge, then coasted down the other side into Portsmouth, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.

Once in Portsmouth, I followed the route guidance down Route 114 to Turnpike Ave and eventually onto Middle Road. Again, Route 114 is not a really bike friendly road and there is very little room for error. However, Middle Road is fantastic to ride on and I followed it to connect with Union St, then Sandy Point Ave. From there, I weaved and wove my way through awesome country roads, passed vineyards and working farms of Portsmouth, into Middletown and the beach area of Newport. Riding past Aquidneck Elementary School and Middletown Little League, I knew I was really, really close.

Down the hill, past Easton’s beach, the Cliff Walk, Bellevue Ave, down through the business and restaurant district of Newport, I followed America’s Cup Ave all the way to Cardines Field. All sights very familiar to me, having spent a ton of time in Newport over the years. A very successful 50 something mile ride.

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Few things to write about. First off, the training for this ride for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank has been a lot of fun. I love exploring Rhode Island on my Trek bike and honestly have enjoyed every mile that I have ridden. Second, along my route on Saturday, I stopped a few times and checked out food pantries and community centers to pay my homage to the work they are doing. Third, the weather this week is not looking promising for training and quite possibly the ride itself. Should the weather be a factor in my ride and training this week, I will do my best to chronicle the great work of these food pantries along the route and hope to ride another day. Fingers crossed, I hope to be able to complete this charity ride, even if I have to do it in individual stages on separate days, as I have already do this past few weeks.

Fundraising Website – Charity Ride for the RI Food Bank

Facebook Fundraising Page – Noel’s Fundraising Page for RI Food Bank

And thank you to everyone who has donated so far.

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