Assemble at this coffee shop in Hardware City
The Ride
With the Beeline Moto 2’s compass pointing toward central Connecticut and indicating 50.7 miles straight line distance to the coffee shop, I thumbed the starter on the BMW R18 Classic. The big boxer engine swung to life with the characteristic shake and twist to the right that BMW’s boxers have had for more than a century. Those who’ve never tried the Bavarian Big Boxer are missing out, as it is one of the most characterful motorcycles you can buy today. It is no wonder it’s often the bike I pull out of the garage, and today was no different. Unlike many cruiser riders, I tend not to ride on the highways…. I find them boring and too straight. The R18 is a cruiser for riders who like curves, and it will handle far better than any 800lb motorcycle has any right to. So, I fully expect the 50 miles the compass is showing will end up far more as I aim to hit all the twisty backroads to lead me toward New Britain. See our article on discovering new roads with Beeline.
I head north on Route 121 as I depart Cross River, NY, but of course the compass is pointing more to the northeast, so I turn right onto Chapel Road, which twists and turns up a hill to end near Lake Waccabuc’s western shore and the eponymous Mead Family Chapel at the corner of Mead Street.
Mead Street continues in a northeast direction, but when it ends at Hawley Road and there is construction to the left, I turn right, now heading more of a southeast direction. As I near the entrance for Mountain Lakes Park, the road twists to descend the small ridge on the north side of Lake Waccabuc and the twin lakes of Lake Rippowam and Oscaleta Lake.
At the bottom of the descent, the road is renamed to Oscaleta Road, leading into Twin Lakes Village, and on my left, I see Twin Lakes Road leading east to bisect those two lakes. The road makes a 90-degree turn to the left heading east, just north of Truesdale Lake, and crosses the border into Connecticut, becoming West Mountain Road. In general, roads with names like Mountain, Hill, Hollow, or River are the fun twisty roads perfect for a motorcycle, so I’m on a good path.
I’m led into Ridgefield, Connecticut, and join Route 35, which is here more of one of those typical shopping stroads with strip malls on either side…. Not the most fun roads. I hit some traffic in Danbury, and after a failed diversion, I wait for the traffic to clear so I can head west on White Street (Route 6) and leave Danbury behind me.
Route 6 heads east toward Newtown, CT, and then I turned down Church Hill Road as it descended into Sandy Hook. Newtown & Sandy Hook have an unfortunate public association with a 2012 school shooting, but they are charming small towns worth visiting.
The only downside of Sandy Hook is that, as you hit the village’s downtown, there is a road that looks very promising, climbing the hill on the other side. It winds nicely, leading toward Riverside, running alongside the Housatonic River. While that sounds great, unfortunately, all the roads essentially have no outlet to cross the river, nor even to continue. So, backtracking south got me to Route 34 heading roughly east. Of course, the compass was still urging me to find a left, and I thought one looked promising with the name Bennetts Bridge Road, hoping that would lead to a bridge over the river. While perhaps there was a bridge years ago and the name has held, the road led only to a handful of no-outlet roads near the waterfront, but no crossings. So, another backtrack to Route 34, which crosses over the river at the dam, so I was finally on the other side of the river and hoped I’d find some good roads going forward.
Punkup Road heads roughly northeast and aligns with the compass indication on the Beeline, so I turn on that and I’m rewarded with a nice climb up a hill with some winding roads as it leads toward Oxford, CT. I stopped for a break on the outskirts of Naugatuck.
