Realising that Rhode Island is mostly flat, I investigated bicycle hire.

It turned out that there was a company called Providence Cycles with 3 shops in Providence, none particularly near where I was staying. However the East Providence shop was very close to the East Bay Bikeway which runs from the centre of Providence down the coastline of an arm of Narragansett Bay to the resort of Bristol. Close inspection of the website revealed that a bike hired on a Friday, if returned by 11 am Sunday, would only cost one day’s charge of $45. They did not have e-bikes, so I ordered a hybrid, similar to the one I had until I bought an e-bike in August 2021.

Turns out the reason for this good deal is that all their shops close on Saturdays for religious reasons – the owners are Jewish. The East Providence shop is closed on Sundays as well, so I would have to return the bike to North Providence.

I had also noticed that buses have a carrier for two bikes on the front, so if it was all too difficult I could always get back to base (provided I had a bike light enough for me to lift on and off the carrier).

Friday, right after breakfast, I caught a bus to Downtown and another out to East Providence, then walked for 10 minutes to the shop. During the walk I noticed the following plaque set in the pavement. A relic of ‘The New Deal’?

The shop was only a 5 minute ride through a residential area to the Bikeway, which was mostly along an old railway line. It was quite shady for most of the route, being lined with trees. Fortunate as the temperature was in the 80s F.

One disadvantage of riding a bike is having to stop to take photos, so I don’t have as many as I would like.

The building on the island is (or was) a lighthouse. This arm of Narragansett Bay is probably a mile wide at this point.

Brickyard Pond Conservation Area

At times the old railway line left the coast and passed inland ponds (lakes) such as this one.

It being very hot, when I reached this small town (which I think is Warren) I was pleased to see a Del’s shop. Del’s frozen lemonade is a Rhode Island institution, available at many outlets, but the few actual shops have a wider selection of flavours. It is really a ‘slush’ but made from all natural ingredients. I was slowly supping a peach and mango one, when I noticed the flags at half mast. Just then a bell tolled for a minute. I realised it was 12 noon local time on the day that bells were supposed to toll for the Queen in the UK. I think the flags are outside a public building. Since then I have seen many flags flying at half mast.

Next time I tried a Del’s I had a watermelon lemonade, which was even better. But you have to drink it slowly as it is so, so cold.

Barrington River

The route crossed a large bridge where this river met the bay.

I managed to avoid taking any photos at all of Bristol, my destination! It wasn’t very big and there didn’t seem to be much of a beach. I think it would only be interesting for those who like messing about in small boats. I suspect a lot of the houses are second homes, or belong to retired people. There were no obvious hotels, and the only useful shops were few in number away from the coast.

The ride seemed not quite long enough, so I rode through Bristol and out into what passes for country to Mount Hope Farm, where there was a cycle loop. This turned out to be a posh hotel which catered for weddings, though the adverts said it had a regular Farmers Market. There was little sign of any actual farming going on, though there was plenty of land.

The view from Mount Hope Cove at the far end of the farm. The bridge in the distance connects Narragansett with Newport.

I then returned by the same route. On the way back I stopped for a rest on a bench. The next two photos are really left and right of a wider photo, and show the quality of the bike path, and typical scenery and housing.

The Bikeway took me to Fox Point, where I had walked in the last post, and I then had to navigate back to where I was staying. There are lots of cycle lanes in Rhode Island, and where they are lacking, signs often tell drivers to be aware of cyclists on the main carriageway. Of course the roads are also generally much wider than in the UK, so there is plenty of room for everyone. At significant side roads, cyclists have to use the same traffic light change request buttons as pedestrians, and wait for the signal to continue.

The day’s ride ended at 36 miles. It was really easy going, except for the heat, so I decided to go for a harder, more interesting option on Saturday. This was the Blackstone River Bikeway, which runs from Fox Point north to the town of Woonsocket near the border with Massachusetts.

The route started along the mouth of the Blackstone River, a former industrial area, now landscaped.

This photo shows an old opening railway bridge fairly early on.

The next few miles followed the general line of the river, but through residential and other roads to the town of Pawtucket. There is no countryside as such between Providence and Pawtucket, which also has a lot of former industrial sites.

This is Downtown Pawtucket on a Saturday morning.

I was unable to find anything on this ‘work of art’ other than a date of 2020!

The route continued through Central Falls, equally ex industrial, to Valley Falls. At this point the Bikeway picked up an old railway line, but I continued up the Main Street in search of a café. I found a Columbian one. Seems as though many Columbians have made Valley Falls their home. More issues with Spanish. I thought I had ordered an Americano, but I got a milky coffee already sweetened. The accompanying cranberry muffin was very good though.

From there onwards the ride was lovely and shady. It did undulate a bit, but no more than I could manage.

This was typical, usually with the river on the right, and later on a railway line on the left.

The photo above was taken from this old wooden bridge.

All along the river there used to be many, many mills for all sorts of industries, along with housing for the workers. Virtually all has now gone, except for Ashton Mill, which I believe is now a museum. I didn’t have the spare energy on a hot day to try and visit it.

The noticeboard was on the Bikeway side of the river.

Not long after the Bikeway crossed what seemed to be a still operating railway, though I saw no trains.

This dam at Albion was one of many which powered the mills.

Woonsocket was not very impressive, though it had a museum. This area advertised itself as the Historic Downtown, but was mostly empty shops.

I then returned the way I had come, with some pleasing coasting downhill at times, until I reached Central Falls.

Central Falls Town Hall – note the flag at half-mast

After that I lost the (badly) signed route, and saw a sign giving the temperature as 88F. I knew there was no shade on the ‘proper’ route, so as the traffic was light, I just cycled straight through Pawtucket and into Providence and then back to base.

All in all about 42 miles on Saturday. The decision to hire a bike was a good one.

On Sunday I cycled the six miles to North Providence and returned the bike, then caught a bus to Downtown, before catching a bus to Newport.

I have decided to do a separate post for my Sunday and Monday bus excursions as I have more to write about than I thought.