Colchester Streets Challenge - Challenging Motivation

A nice view from Water Tower Hill in Colchester.

I've decided to put the Colchester Streets Challenge on hold for the remainder of 2017. While I could devote weekends towards this goal, I've lost the motivation to get to roads that are a fair distance from home. While a challenge should be difficult to some degree, otherwise it's not a challenge, but especially a self-imposed one - at least the way I understand it - should be a source of inspiration...and frankly, I've lost interest. While I may finish a few more Colchester streets before the year's out, it's no longer my primary focus.

Other exciting events and projects have taken precedence:

• Coffeeneuring Challenge
• Revamping the Trek Antelope
• Getting to know the Dahon
• Bike overnights at camp
• Researching 2018 bike tour ideas

I'm also looking forward to gearing up for winter riding, more Burlington Bicycle Club rides, and weather dependent Cranksgiving and Winter Solstice events - all short term goals that I can easily get behind!

Colchester Streets Challenge - Lake Views, Dirt Roads, and Neighborhoods

I've been plugging along, ticking off more Colchester miles to, hopefully, fulfill my quest to ride all of Colchester's public streets in 2017. Sometimes I encounter the Mr. Ding-a-ling truck, it's driver passing out ice cream treats to anxious cyclists.

I get a kick out significant street signs. Will Superman fly overhead?

Colchester has a lot of dirt roads, this one jutted onto a peninsula, lined with quaint lakefront homes on Porter's Point.

Sometimes I feel like I'm pedaling on private land, but my map indicates otherwise.

My husband accompanies me on several outings, looping neighborhoods and a one-way ride towards a Winooski delta park, except we turned back because of deep water.

I have nearly finished one section of Colchester, though there are many more to go. So far I am surprised at the number of duplexes, Entire neighborhoods consist of duplexes. Others have single family homes, one has a neighborhood pool. One interesting neighborhood sported an abnormal share of homes angled outward on corner lots.

Riding Colchester's roads has been a sporadic affair. I've been busy with other summertime events, but once the weather cools off, I'll get back on a regular agenda.

Colchester Streets Challenge - Rising Water

In late February on a warm weekend morning, I began pedaling Colchester's roads. The first outing involved tacking on 4-5 miles after checking on our family's camp in northern Burlington. I often stop on my favorite Burlington/Colchester border: the pedestrian/bike bridge spanning the mouth of the Winooski River. On this particular morning, I was treated to ice flows moving beneath me, entering Lake Champlain plus hardcore kite boarders cresting waves in 35F degree water.

I also checked on Airport Park's bicycle rest stop, a project I was involved in a year ago, helping construct the covered table and erect the signage. Cyclist's and park users enjoy this spot and is often filled on warm summer days. I was pleased that the structure was holding up well. Afterwards, I looped through a few neighborhood streets.

On my second outing, I struggled with what to photograph. I pedaled through more non-descript neighborhoods filled with raised ranches and older homes falling in disrepair. And to be fair, brown grass is unappealing to start with! However, I came across a sweet miniature lighthouse decorating someone's front lawn, complete with lashed pilings and a crab.

I like the Airport Park neighborhood plus it's proximity to the causeway and waterfront trails.

I am constantly looking at house styles though, certainly a side benefit to this challenge. Colchester has lots of older homes, but has infilled during the past 20 years with new housing developments so there is an interesting mix of old lakefront camps on leased property, 1960's ranches, and over-the-top construction, maximizing on lake views, plus every kind of style in between. There is a high percentage of private roads also -  which I find curious, and now I understand, accounts for all the dotted lines on my map - not included in my "public roads" itinerary. I plan to read about Colchester's history, and in particular, why the high incidence of private roads and neighborhoods.

As I head back towards the waterfront trail, I observed the swollen Winooski River. The water is creeping up the boat ramp in this low-lying neighborhood. I was also reminded of the endangered Lake Surgeon, and because I'm not a fisherperson, it's easy to forget. There's a reason I've only seen this species in a tank.

From the fish and game access, it was a unique view of an area that's been under construction for seemingly a long time before housing goes up. I can tell there's been shoreline restoration and reinforcement, so perhaps the developer needed to get that part done before anything else.

Onward, I stop "on the border", a reversal loop of the previous excursion. This time, the mouth of the river is threatening Burlington's North Cove community.  A lot has happened since that first ride, Hurricane Stella dropped 29" of snow, upriver snow is melting - just this week the lake level has risen 2 feet!

And when I look the opposite direction, I'm reminded how Burlington and Colchester are linked in more ways than one. Both communities share the river as a boundary, and in 2004 they came together to build and commemorate this wonderful bridge that walkers, pedalers, fisher-people, and tourists share - a precious connection that's a real treasure.

Colchester Streets Challenge - The Beginning

Like two years ago where I completed Burlington's Streets, my challenge in 2017 is to pedal all of neighboring Colchester's public roads. I contemplated cycling South Burlington roads last year, but my heart wasn't in leaving Lake Champlain for trips inland. Most of my weekend rides begin from our family's lakefront camp, so it made sense to add Colchester to the list. Colchester is easily accessed by bike path - a northern continuation of Burlington's waterfront trail - plus Colchester has it's own growing network of trails. Because of it's sprawling land mass (58 square miles, 1/3 water views) I can also set off from home to get to the southern portion of the city.

My husband claims it will be a more daunting challenge without streets in close proximity, but I see the opposite. I see an opportunity to ride to one neighborhood and complete all streets in one trip, whereas Burlington's grid pattern meant I retraced my route numerous times to insure I completed every single street. Whether or not Colchester has more street miles than Burlington is unconfirmed, but I don't have a problem with the miles either way, and neither do I feel the urge to compare the two regions.

Colchester has long suffered from an identity problem. There is no core, but instead there are districts: Mallett's Bay, Airport Park, Porter's Point, Mallet's Bay Avenue, Kellogg/Severance/Blakely Road, Route 2A and 7, and a small northern hamlet that feels more like Milton than Colchester.  In the upper northeast quadrant of the map, there's a segment of Brigham Hill Road I may need to access from my mom's home in Essex to fulfill my quest.

I printed a Colchester street map from the city's website in 8.5 x 11" sections so I can easily read street names, plus I will only need to tote a few sheets at a time on my bike. I'm less inclined to document every street name like I did two years ago. I see this year's challenge as a looser arrangement, perhaps only highlighting each street finished on the map. For me, the framework is more about riding on roads I haven't been on in a long time and discovering new neighborhoods. The task itself should motivate me to see what's around the corner!