Greenfield, Deerfield and Turners Falls, Mass.

Here's a new twist on a ride I wrote about three years ago. I'm working on a book which describes rides that start and end at a brewery so the riders can enjoy a cold beer in celebration of their completed ride. This ride starts and ends at The People's Pint in Greenfield, Mass. Park for this ride at the Ames Street lot of Greenfield Public Parking between Federal and School Streets. There's ample parking here though you do have to pay. Bend around the corner to head south on Federal St., passing the People's Pint, your eventual destination. Cross over Main onto Bank Row and head downhill, under the railroad tracks and take a quick right on Mill St. Cross over the Green River and take a left uphill on a new bike path alongside Wisdom Way. You'll level out through the Franklin County Fairgrounds and cruise through the town outskirts. Cross the interstate and take a left on Upper Road. From the urban edge of Greenfield, you'll now rise into orchard land on the hillsides above the floodplain of the Deerfield River. It'll be hard to resist the ripening apples barely an arm's length from the road. It's a nice lilting ride along the orchard edges, climbing gradually for the first mile, levelling off and then swooping downhill for the last mile to the bridge across the Deerfield River. Left on Stillwater Rd., cruise along the river leaving orchard world and entering floodplain farm world. Left on Mill Village Rd. and you're surrounded by reminders that the Connecticut River Valley (though this is actually the Deerfield River Valley right here) is the vegetable basket of New England. Potato fields, expanses of day lily cultivation, patches of asparagus gone to seed, rows of corn and stunning weeping willows — a garden of Eden. After a couple miles of farm fields, you climb a bit and you're back in the late 18th Century at the head of the long, maple allée-d Main Street of Deerfield. The village is home to Historic Deerfield, "an outdoor museum that interprets the history and culture of early New England and the Connecticut River Valley. Visitors can tour 12 carefully preserved antique houses dating from 1730 to 1850 …" In addition to the museum buildings, there are numerous private homes impeccably preserved so it feels like a less touristy Sturbridge — more secretive and breathtaking. There's also Deerfield Academy with similarly beautiful architecture and greens, and the cozy Deerfield Inn. At the end of Old Main St., bend right and take a left on Rts. 5/10 heading north. It's a bit of a rude awakening to make the quick transition from 18th century placidness to fast-paced 21st Century traffic, but there's only about a mile of this before you take a right on River Rd. and climb until you get to the incredibly expansive East Deerfield Rail Yards — yet another distinctly different world. Bear left on McClelland Farm Rd. and take a left onto the lower end of the Canalside Rail Trail. You'll swoop down though shady forests and cross the long Connecticut River bridge into Turners Falls, Mass. At the end of the trail, take a left and then a right on Rod Shop Rd. to pass by an abandoned 1884 elementary school and more waiting-to-be-restored mill buildings. Left on Solar Ave., right on Montague City Rd. and then, to avoid some city sprawl, take a right on Turnpike Rd. and a left on Walnut St. Turn right on Montague City Rd. which turns into Avenue A, and you enter downtown Turners Falls. A paean to Turners Falls; this is a great ride, in part because you get to explore Turner's Falls, a somewhat lost small city that you've probably never been to. Lost less geographically and more lost in time. All of downtown is the perfect movie set for retro movies. Think "It's a Wonderful Life" or the more recent "Stranger Things" series. Stop to wander through and take a visit to the Great Falls Visitors Center to see a three-dimensional model of the Connecticut River Valley and expertly created dioramas of its flora and fauna. The "Great Falls" refers to the significant cataract on the Connecticut River that was the reason for the industrial development of Turners Falls. The falls were dammed, and a power canal was created to provide energy for an array of industrial mills in the 19th and early 20th Century. The canal is still intact, the mills mostly abandoned, with some being revitalized. Continue up Avenue A, past the beautiful Carnegie Library, and take a right on 3rd St. In quick succession: left on L St., right on 2nd, down to 1st and then find your way across grass or path to a left on the Canalside Trail. You'll twist around below the Great Falls Discovery Center and cruise along the power canal with views of the mill buildings. The industrial architecture along here — elevated walkways, large culverts, building ventilation structures, brick crenulations — is fascinating. The trail goes for longer than you'd imagine and eventuates into Depot St. At the Depot St./Montague City Rd. intersection, take a right and head south to cross the Connecticut River bridge. Bear left at the end of the bridge into a lost corner of Greenfield, separated from the main part of town by the long ridge of Rocky Mountain Park. This neighborhood for the next few miles, defined by the confluence of the Green, Deerfield and Connecticut Rivers was known as Cheapside. It was a mill village populated by German immigrants who worked in the Russell Cutlery factory that opened in 1836. It was busy with wharves and docks until boat transportation was supplanted by the railroad. Montague City Rd. becomes Cheapside St., you'll pass under a big railroad trestle and take a right uphill on Hope St. It's a short ride back up into Greenfield to your car and a pint. For a digital map of this ride, see: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/51314681 Turn by Turn: Greenfield, Deerfield and Turner's Falls 0 miles &emsp;&emsp;Park in Ames St. Greenfield Public Parking lot between Federal and &emsp;&emsp; &emsp;&emsp;School St. Left on Ames, right on Federal St. 0.1 miles&emsp;&emsp;Cross Main St., continue straight and downhill onto Bank St. 0.3 miles&emsp;&emsp;Right on Mill St. 0.5 miles&emsp;&emsp;Left onto Wisdom Way. (Bit of a bike trail going up the hill.) 1.8 miles&emsp;&emsp;Left on West Deerfield Upper Rd. Enter orchard world. 5.1 miles&emsp;&emsp;Left on Stillwater Rd. 6.1 miles Left on Mill Village Rd. Enter farm world. 7.8 miles Bear left on Old Main St. Enter 18th Century village. 8.8miles &emsp;&emsp;Bear right and then left on Rts. 5/10. Back to 21st Century. 10.0 miles Right on River Rd. 10.9 miles Left on McClelland Farm Rd., then quick left on Canalside Trail. 11.9 miles Right on Rod Shop Rd, then left on Solar Ave. 12.2 miles Right on Montague City Rd. and quick right on Turnpike Rd. 12.7 miles Left on Walnut St. 13.1 miles Right on Montague Rd. which becomes Avenue A. Enter 19th Century. 14.1 miles Right on 3rd St. 14.3 miles Left on L, right on 2nd, arrive 1st, cut over to a left on Canalside Trail. 14.8 miles Optional stop at Great Falls Discovery Center. Continue on Canalside Trail. At end of trail continue on to Depot St. 16.9 miles Right on Montague City Rd. Cross Connecticut River and stay on &emsp;&emsp; Montague City Rd. 18.4 miles Right on Hope St. 19.7 miles Left on Main St., right on Federal St., back to your car.