This circuit of Waterford and the western shore of New London Harbor will show you many things and give you a choice of many things to do in only 13-3/4 miles. The best place to start from is the town hall parking lot on the right side of Route 156, just west of the junction of Routes 1 and 156 in Waterford. (The renovated Town Hall has nice rest rooms.)

Proceed west on 156 about 1/2 mile to Great Neck Road (Route 213), where you turn left. Great Neck narrows, so use the sidewalk on this stretch. Just before Great Neck swings to the left and down toward the Harkness Estate, you'll catch your first glimpse of the ocean. About 3-1/2 miles into the ride, you reach the entrance to Harkness Memorial State Park. We recommend you stop here to visit the Newport-style mansion, with its enormous lawns and beautiful gardens.

Return to Route 213 and turn right, following signs to New London. At the first stop sign, turn right. At the next stop sign, turn left. (The O'Neill Theater is on the right.) Turn right when the road makes a T at Niles Hill Road. Go up Niles Hill. At the traffic light turn right onto Ocean Avenue, a T intersection, following the signs to Ocean Beach Park. Ocean Avenue is broad but very busy in the summer. When you reach Neptune Avenue, go straight ahead on Ocean Avenue, ignore the sign ONE WAY DON'T ENTER, and go through the pedestrian gate. There's no charge to "park" your bike — just be sure you lock it with a kryptonite lock to something fastened to the ground and where you can keep an eye on it! The parking lot at the end of Neptune Avenue is for motorized vehicles only.

Ocean Beach Park has a wide beach, well-maintained boardwalk, rides, restaurants, arcade, miniature golf, and water slide. With its view of the ocean, it's a good place for lingering over lunch.

Return to Neptune Avenue, turn right, cross Ocean Avenue, and then left onto Pequot Avenue. (Pequot is Mott Avenue to the right of Neptune.) You will enjoy an unobstructed view of New London's outer harbor as you ride along Pequot. As you approach downtown New London, you'll enter an area featuring small marinas, restaurants, and Monte Cristo Cottage, the boyhood home of Eugene O'Neill, and the setting for Ah, Wilderness and Long Day's Journey into Night. It's now a museum at 325 Pequot Avenue, about six houses before Thames Street. It's open Monday through Friday from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.

At School Street, turn left and climb back up to Ocean Avenue; turn right. In less than a mile, you'll come to Willetts Avenue. Turn left up a gentle incline, then downhill to Route 1, where there is a traffic light. Make your left-hand turn carefully onto this busy highway. At Clark Lane and the next traffic light, be alert again. Go straight ahead, getting into the left lane so that you can turn forty-five degrees to the left onto Route 156 west, and return to the parking lot just before the intersection.

TAKEN FROM

Short Bike Rides in Connecticut (Fifth Edition), written by Edwin Mullen and Jane Griffith

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