Eight-Day "Heritage Ride 2016" Bicycle Tour From CT to Canada Began July 23 at Weir Farm in Wilton

On Saturday, July 23, 2016, Connecticut’s only National Historic Site, Weir Farm National Historic Site in Wilton, hosted the kick-off of the “Heritage Ride 2016” Bikeway Tour that will end Sunday, July 31st in Montreal, Canada. The eight-day tour will take dozens of volunteer cyclists through towns and rural back roads across western Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont. The awareness-building tour will highlight the scenic and historic attractions along the Western New England Greenway – a nationally-recognized “U.S. Bicycle Route” by AASHTO-American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

The “grassroots” Western New England Greenway was created by a group of volunteer cyclists who wanted to highlight the many beautiful bike routes available western portions of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont. The Greenway is a multi-segment, multi-state bike route that links New York City and Montreal and has been developed with supportive administration by the not-for-profit Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area (Housatonic Heritage), the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership in Burlington, VT, and the National Park Service RTCA – Rivers, Trails and Conservation -Program which provides technical assistance.

On July 23rd at Weir Farm in Wilton the 15 cyclists began their ride along the Greenway to highlight some of the best cycling roadways throughout western regions of Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont. The group also made informational stops in New Milford and Kent to provide area residents with opportunities to learn about the Greenway’s highly-scenic and history-rich Heritage Bikeway.

Weir Farm National Historic Site at 235 Nod Hill Rd. in Wilton, CT, commemorates the life and work of American impressionist painter J. Alden Weir and other artists who stayed at his home to paint or lived there. It is one of two sites in the National Park Service devoted to the visual arts and was chosen as the “Heritage Ridge 2016” “Kick Off” location in celebration of the 100 year anniversary of the National Park Service.

About the Western New England Greenway and Heritage Bikeway:

The Western New England Greenway and Heritage Bikeway corridor follows mostly low-volume roadways through the very western portions of CT, MA and VT. The southern entry point connects the East Coast Greenway at the Merritt Parkway near Norwalk, CT with Quebec’s Route Verte at the Canadian border. The Bikeway includes over 300 miles of mapped routes that include nearby lodging, dining, cycling shops and heritage sites.

Since 2010, the “grassroots” group of volunteers from CT, MA and VT worked to establish the Western New England Greenway by encouraging various local groups to collaborate on a larger vision. The committee of volunteers has coordinated four annual conferences, created a website and Facebook site, and published maps of the most favorable on- and off-road routes that now comprise the Greenway.

The Greenway’s regional network of bicycling routes is also supported by organizations that include the Norwalk River Valley Trail (http://www.nrvt-trail.com/), the Town of Brookfield (CT), New Milford River Trail (www.nmbikewalk.org), Upper Housatonic Valley National Heritage Area (www.HousatonicHeritage.org), Housatonic Valley Association (http://www.hvatoday.org/).

For more information about the Western New England Greenway programs download the flyer at http://wnegreenway.org/bike-route/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Bike-Tour-2016.pdf, visit www.WNEGreenway.org, on Facebook: www.facebook.com/WesternNewEnglandGreenway or email: Info@WNEGreenway.org.

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Submitted by Redding, CT

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