Cycling Swanzey's covered bridges

Swanzey and Winchester, NH 18.3 miles. Elevation gain 810 feet. Mellow to moderate. A leisurely amble along the banks of the Ashuelot River and through five stately covered bridges, four in Swanzey and one in Winchester. Located directly south of Keene, Swanzey is mostly old post-glacial lake bottom and Ashuelot River floodplains. Therefore, the rides here are mellow, sometimes slightly roll-y. This is not a spectacular ride, but it's very soothing. I finish this ride feeling like I've taken a relaxing yoga class. The roads are quiet, and there aren't many places you can connect this many covered bridges so easily. (Caution, this ride includes about a mile of Class 6 road with chunky gravel. Wide tires recommended.) Between 1827 and 1912, over 300 covered bridges were built throughout New Hampshire. Only just over 50 of these historic structures remain, and you'll pass through five on this ride. They're a link to a time when the mode of transportation was horse and oxen, and they're a testament to the skill of the timber framers and stone masons who built them. Start this ride at Frogg Brewing at 580 Sawyers Crossing Road in Swanzey. Take a right out of parking lot onto Sawyers Crossing and it's immediately serene. The conservation land on both sides of the road is owned by Yale University so not many houses. Eventually you'll come to the Sawyers Crossing/Cresson Bridge built in 1859. The completion of the construction was celebrated with a big dance held right on the bridge. Lanterns were hung from the rafters, a four piece orchestra played, lunch was served at midnight, and the dance continued all night. Those old-timers knew how to have fun! After the bridge continues into the village of Swanzey Center along a nice new bikeable sidewalk. After the roundabout, cross the south branch of the Ashuelot and at the top of the hill bear right on Oliver Hill Road. Notice the towering Mad Max-esque structure in the middle of the gravel pit on your right. The glaciers left behind lots of sand and gravel! Geographic note: Take a look at a map and try to make sense of all the comings and goings of the Ashuelot River and its branches in Swanzey. It's remarkably squiggly and twisty. The Ashuelot rises about 30 miles north of Keene and is rocky and rapid strewn till it gets to the Surry Mountain Dam above Keene. After that it flows through silty soil, which allows the river to kink and meander effortlessly making for hundreds of little abandoned oxbow lakes. You'll never see them because they're lost in thickets of river bottom forest filled with poison ivy and dense shrubbery. Fun to look at on the map though. At 3.8 miles, take a right on quiet Whitcomb Road and at the T, a right on Carlton Road. Voila, the cutest bridge on the tour, hidden and almost secret, Carlton Bridge. The original bridge here was built in 1789 and this incarnation was built in 1869. When it was built, a wagon fully loaded with hay was used as a standard for the height and width of the opening. I love the lost-in-time feeling of this bridge. Soon, take a left on Old Homestead Hwy. and in a half mile, a right on Swanzey Lake Road. This next four mile stretch is lovely with lots of old Capes and meadows. You'll pass the outlet of Swanzey Lake, climb a bit, and then descend through more placid meadows. At 10.5 miles take a left on Holbrook Avenue/Westport Village Road and wend your way into Westport. Truly a lost village — I lived in the Monadnock Region for 30 years before coming upon it. After the village, take a left on mean Rt. 10 for just a smidge and then take your first right to arrive at the Coombs Bridge built in 1843 over the main stem of the Ashuelot. You're in the northern edge of Winchester here. Take a right on Old Swanzey Road and you now actually must climb a few hills. You'll get to a Road Closed: Subject to Gates and Bars sign. Don't worry, it's still bikeable but the surface gets chunky for the next mile. Gravel bikes recommended. But what a cool landscape — you're slivered between another expansive sand and gravel pit and an immense lily pond. Very different from any other part of the ride. Bear right on Kempton Road and cross mean Rt. 10, take a right on Westport Village Road and arrive at the Slate Bridge reconstructed in 1862. In 1842, William Wheelock was halfway across the earlier bridge with a span of four oxen when the bridge collapsed dropping both driver and animals into the river. Luckily, neither William or the oxen were hurt. Take a left on Holbrook Avenue to retrace your steps for a half mile and then continue up along fairly new, smooth pavement into the compact appealing village of West Swanzey. Check out the jewelbox Stratton Free Library. Left on Main Street and descend to Thompson Bridge built in 1832. Note that there's a cozy but airy separate pedestrian and bike passage way on the right side of the bridge. Just wide enough, and with great views of the river. Take a right on North Winchester Street and then a right on mean Rt. 10, but only for half a mile. Right on Sawyers Crossing and you're home free. For a digital map of this ride, see: ridewithgps.com/routes/55816001 Apres Velo The Frogg Brewing brewery and taproom are in a red, low-slung building in open meadows stretching down to the river. Comfortable indoor seating, a big covered patio and some outdoor seating as well. It has become an active community gathering spot with craft nights, live music, jeep and bike meet-ups, country line dancing, football-game-watching and a Cowboy Hat Burning workshop, whatever that is. It's a down-home kind of place. For food, there's pretty good pizza on Wednesday nights, and the Lily Pad Food Truck Thursday thru Sundays. Dependable food at reasonable prices. For something really different. try the Fruit Patch — it's a Berliner weise with a puree of tropical fruits added to it. It looks like a glass of orange juice, not transparent at all, with pineapple and mango yumminess. Like a cross between a beer and a smoothie. My wife turned up her nose at it; I loved it. Or, for light and refreshing get a Real Slim Shandy, on tap or in a can — an easy drinking wheat lager with just the right amount of lemon sweetness. Even better, you can get the Sub Zero Slushie — a shandy slushie! Definitely the only time I've had a beer slushie in a New England brewery. This ride is excerpted from a new book I'm finishing up, "Beer Biking in New England," which features bike rides that start and end at a brewery. You enjoy a beer at the end of the ride. No drinking while biking! Look for this book in spring 2027.