I stuck to the Mohawk Trail through Shelburne Falls where a side glance as I crossed the river piqued my interest. I turned around and walked up the the Bridge of Flowers which is a walking bridge with a full flower garden on both sides of the path the entire length of the bridge! It was in full bloom and I smelled the roses and enjoyed the amazing display of dahlias, daisies, and hibiscus that were literally bigger than my hand. It has been these gems that I randomly find in towns that excite me about the possibility of each new place I see.
I continued through Greenfield and compared the topo map to Google's biking route suggestion. Sure enough the biking route was going to take me right over the top of a sizeable hill instead of the near route around. I did my own routing and got on Route 2/2A. This was a busy highway but I've been on the interstate with cars going 75 so this 55 was small potatoes (what does that idiom even mean??). My goal was a Subway in the town of Orange but when 2A split from 2 I took the wrong option and didn't realize it until I was too far past. I pulled off to a gas station for a Gatorade and banana instead of a sandwich and ended up talking to a few motorcyclists. One of them asked if I had been hassled by the "staties" since biking on the highway was prohibited. Prohibited? I hadn't seen any signs but be said it was probably because I entered in more rural and slow Greenfield. At this point I wasn't close to any other side streets so I got back on and saw the warning sign about walking, biking, and horseback riding. All I really needed to do was ride this for maybe 8-10 miles until the next significant exit when I could get back onto 2A.
I got probably 3 miles when a statie going the other way flipped around, flashed the lights, and pulled me over. I was two days away from finishing this ride and now I get pulled over?! He came out tough with the bad cop routine saying he'd have to give me a $90 ticket or a date in court. I feigned the ignorance which I'd truly had not long before, saying in many other states I'd ridden the highways but soon decided to keep my mouth shut as he took my license to check me out. He came back with the good cop side and said, somewhat surprised given my vagabond appearance, that I had no criminal record so it would be a shame to start one with a "stupid thing like this." I thanked him but he wasn't quite finished.
As it was illegal to ride or walk on the highway I could either wait for a tow truck to haul me off (which probably wouldn't have been free), or walk to the next exit on the other side of the guardrail. I hoisted the fully loaded bike over the rail and began pushing it through the weeds and dirt. I had to haul it for just under half a mile, at one point having to hoist onto the highway and back over to get around a massive bush that blocked all the level terrain next to the steep hillside. I finally saw a side road and elected to make for it instead of trudge another mile like this to the actual exit. One more fence stood in the way but soon I was back on pavement having no harm done except for being filthy and getting a hole torn in the leg of my shorts when I scraped the guardrail.
I proceeded to reorient myself and was soon riding 2A towards Fitchburg. When I was getting close my spirits rose at the unexpected smell of mash and sure enough I was riding by the Wachusetts Brewing Co. I stopped in for a couple free samples and had to pass on the tour, but was now ready to finish the day. When I got to the grocery store in Fitchburg I talked briefly outside with a man about touring and his former bike shop. When I came back out I had a tshirt of his bike shop stuffed into my helmet. Since he had just been out doing errands this man must have literally given me the tshirt off his back! I laughed and decided to keep it, it makes for a good souvenir and I'll wear it once it's washed.
I finished the ride up to Pearl Hill and set up camp in another beautiful state park. I made a tasty meal, had a Sam Adams, and did some reflecting of the trip and the fact that this would be my last night camping on this amazing journey. It is a shame there weren't more parks along the ride since the beginning and end of this trip have been so enjoyable when exploring them. It seems like ages ago when I was arriving near dark on the CA coast and exploring each park in the morning with glee. I settled in to enjoy the quiet night before the excitement picks back up in Boston.
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