I’ll be doing some training around Hamden, CT over the next few years (wife’s in grad school). I ran on a tree covered trail today (that was super nice but for the insane humidity), but I’d love suggestions for some 3-4 hour rides. The roads around here are super windy with zero shoulder.
Welcome to New England. You’ll be surprised by the elevation in CT too. I used to easily get 75-100 ft/mile. You’re about to become an amazing climber.
Look up the sound cyclists. Also Zane’s.
Great organized rides: tour of litchfield hills, bloomin metric, closer to free ride, bike ms has a nice route in centralish CT
Riding along the shore to Milford is very popular. Nice roads and flat by the sound. Go anywhere inland and you’ll be climbing or descending.
New haven also has the canal trail bike path that goes all the way to Massachusetts.
Get away from new haven to more rural and you’ll find lots of good country roads.
If you find a way across 91, routes 77, 79, and 80 are all good. As other poster said, riding along the shore is going to be a good bet. Going east toward Guilford/Westbrook is better. Go all way to old saybrook and you’d be very very happy. There’s a bike lane on the bridge carrying 95 across the CT river so you can even get to Lyme and beyond going that way. I’ve gone up to haddam from there, good stuff.
Milford is indeed nice, but once you get to Bridgeport it’s a complete roadblock. You do not want to ride thru Bridgeport. If you head due west from Hamden you can go above Bridgeport then back down to the shore, though. Monroe, bethel, Redding all good spots to find roads too of you stay inland going that way.
DM me if you’d like we can connect on Strava and I can send you some ride files. I’ve spent lots of time in many areas of southern CT spanning from from Stamford to old saybrook.
I’m training for IM Lake Placid in less than 60 days, looking for long bike routes, starting out from western Stamford on the Greenwich border, any suggestions??? I’m not sure how to DM on this platform…
Super helpful!!! Thanks, guys!
Any pool suggestions? I swam at Cheshire, which is nice, but awfully spendy for nonresidents.
I used to swim at the JCC of greater New Haven. NIce gym, nice 25 yard pool. NOt sure where you are based out of though but its right outside New Haven in Woodbridge.
Definitely go north for some rides, get out of greater NH. Roxbury, Woodbury around that area. Best riding in CT is without doubt the NW corner, Barkhamstead Riverton. Google the tokeneke road race course for a general idea.
Also for a roadie ride the Sleeping Giant Tuesday night world championships in that area is fast, typical roadie mentality though so be ready for that if you go.
Hamden has an La fitness I swam at a few times. I was closer to the Milford one so I used that mainly.
It’s a little drive from Hamden but the McCann Natatorium in Milford is a good swim spot to have on your list. It’s just a building with a pool & showers, nothing more & nothing less, very simple but clean and well run. There no membership, just drop-in for something like $5.
For VO2 max / short-ish suprathreshold intervals, the climb up CT route 42 to Holiday Hill in Cheshire/Prospect is quite good. About a mile at 9 percent, takes me 6 or so minutes at threshold.
Yale Cycling has good routes here, though they start in New Haven. I recommend the Little City route. In general the backroads in the Durham/Guilford/Killington area are windy, beautiful, and little-traversed. Guilford Center is a great place for a cafe stop.
There is also a fast group ride on Tuesday evenings that leaves from the Sleeping Giant parking lot in Hamden.
I just moved out of Hamden. Good luck with that place. Decided to move to Northern California because taxes were cheaper and the democrats are more tolerable in Cali. (True story)
There are some good routes. The rail trail is fine but it gets busy on nice days. There’s a Tuesday/Thursday group ride with the New Haven bike club you can join. Also the lulu’s loop out of new Haven is a real god ride.