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| Route Sheets with a Yellow Shaded Title Bar |
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Route sheets with a yellow shaded title bar at the top of the page have been submitted by website users and were not part of the original portfolio of rides. Most of these rides do not have GPS data to determine their hilliness and their accuracy may not have been checked by the www.ctbikeroutes.org team. |
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| Using the Route Sheets |
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You'll notice that maps are not provided for the bike routes on this website. To prepare maps, for over 250 rides, would simply take too much time. With this in mind, every effort has been made to make the cue sheets as accurate as possible, so the routes can be easily followed without a map. Still, for anyone unfamiliar with the area of a route, we strongly recommend that you bring along a detailed street map – just in case. |
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The following conventions are used on the route sheets. Being familiar with these conventions will make them easier to follow: |
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Always be aware of the next turn you need to take and how soon it will occur. Turns that occur very soon after another (less than 0.1 miles) are often indicated on the route sheet as either QR or QL for "quick right" and "quick left." Because some turns come up quickly, it is a good idea to always look at least two cues ahead. |
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All turns from one road to another are noted on the route sheets with the distance from the start of the ride. At times, when a road continues straight, or makes a turn, the route sheet will depict this by indicating the direction to go (e.g., ST for straight, R for right, etc.) with the initials TCO, which means "To Continue On." Keep in mind that each bicycle computer may be calibrated a bit differently from other bicycle computers. For this reason, the actual distances on the route sheet may trend slightly greater or less on your computer. |
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Always go straight at intersections/stop signs/traffic lights unless the route sheet indicates otherwise. If no choice is exactly straight, take the road that has the same name as the road you are already on. |
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Often, when a road enters another town, and occasionally at intersections, the name of the road changes. These changes are indicated by ">>" ("becomes"); for example, Atwater St >> Canal St (Atwater St becomes Canal St). |
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Generally, when a road has both a name and a route number, both are indicated on the route sheet. |
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Occasionally, but not often, the route will use a dirt road. These are indicated on the route sheet. |
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At times a turn will be onto a road without a street sign. These are indicated on the route sheet with "(n/s)," meaning "no sign." |
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Be aware that things can change. Street signs may be missing or may have been installed after the route sheet was developed. Stop signs and traffic lights may have been added, and intersections may have been realigned. And, although occurring very infrequently, a street name on a map may be different from the name on a street sign. Where we have noticed this, the street name on the street sign has been used. |
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Route sheet entries in italics are points of interest and/or suggested lunch/snack/regrouping spots. These also have either "O" or "Look" in the "Dir" column. Additional points of interest, as well as places to buy food and drink, are shown on the Ride Description. |
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Items in parentheses in the "Road Info/Description" column contain either additional information about a turn to help make sure you go the correct way, or an indication to use extra caution. |
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When used, the symbol "~" means "about" or "approximately" |
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| Seasonal Nature of Comfort Stations and Other Facilities |
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An attempt has been made to identify public bathrooms and places where food and beverages can be purchased. Please keep in mind that many of these facilities (especially those at state parks and town parks) are open on a seasonal basis only. |
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| Lunch Stops |
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Suggested lunch/snack stops are mentioned on many (but not all) of the route sheets. These suggested stops do not imply that there is a place nearby to purchase food or beverages, only that there is a place to get off the road and relax, perhaps with a picnic table or two and some interesting scenery.
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| Dates on Route Sheets |
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Please note that the dates that appear on the bottom of the route sheets are the dates that the route sheet was typed and added to the ride portfolio. Occasionally, there will a 2nd date prefixed by the words "revised" or "updated." Don't be alarmed that many of these dates are several years old…each and every ride document was carefully reviewed just prior to being installed into the website's data base. The ride descriptions and the ride route sheets are as accurate as we are able to make them. |
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| Route Sheet "Caution" Alerts |
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On most Route Sheets, the ride developers have inserted notes to exercise extra caution or to be careful at certain mileage cues. These are generally on busy roads and/or with at difficult left turns. There may also be other places along the route that require a bit of extra care, so always pay attention to traffic and road conditions while riding. As a matter of safe riding practice, all left turns should be executed very cautiously.
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| Abbreviations not Explained on Route Sheets |
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CPL: Commuter Parking Lot. A list of CPL's in Connecticut can be found at the Department of Transportation web site. |
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| Maps |
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Maps are hosted at RidewithGPS.com |
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When using maps be sure to zoom in to get the proper detail. The cue points and turns may not be visible on a map unless zoomed in, especially if the ride is long or has many turns. Compare the route sheet and map to get the proper "scale" before starting your ride. |
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