For casual bicyclists, life doesn't get much better than a bike path.
There's no car traffic to worry about (pedestrian traffic is another matter, but more on that later). Bike paths are usually flat, straight, and very difficult to get lost on. They often traverse beautiful natural areas, such as the East Bay Bike Path which follows an old railroad bed along a scenic stretch of Narragansett Bay.
In use for about 20 years, the East Bay path has been, by most all accounts, a success story for the state's Department of Environmental Management, which maintains it, the Department of Transportation, which built it, and the countless thousands of riders who enjoy it each year.
Even its residential neighbors in suburban cities and towns from East Providence to Bristol (many of whom objected vociferously to the bike path when it was first proposed) now consider the path an asset to their communities and a boon to their property values.
Although serious bicyclists tend to avoid bike paths because so many non-cyclists use them (see accompanying box), for the infrequent or casual rider, they are a little bit of heaven.
Rhode Island has four bike paths, one for each region of the state.
Oldest and busiest
At 14.5 miles, the East Bay Bike Path is the oldest and busiest, running from India Point Park on the Providence waterfront, over the Washington Bridge, and along Narragansett Bay through the city of East Providence and the towns of Barrington, Warren, and Bristol, where it ends at Independence Park, conveniently close to a half-dozen attractive places to have lunch or a snack before heading back north. A round-trip ride is about 29 miles.
Running through two beautiful waterfront state parks (Haines State Park in East Providence and Colt State Park in Bristol), the East Bay Bike Path is kept scrupulously groomed by the same state parks division of the Department of Environmental Management that also takes care of Colt and the East Providence part of Haines. (The Barrington portion of Haines is maintained by that town.)
In effect, the East Bay path is a linear state park, something like Boston's Emerald Necklace of parks along the Charles River.
There are plenty of places along the path to park and leave your car while you ride: Most popular are the lots along Veterans Parkway in East Providence and at Barrington Shopping Center, or at the Bristol end at Independence Park.
Not surprisingly, the success and popularity of the East Bay path have led to a push by state agencies and communities around Rhode Island to create more bike paths.
Already, there are three in various stages of completion.
Canal and river
The longest, at 5.5 miles, is the Blackstone River Bikeway, which follows the Blackstone canal and river from Lonsdale (Route 123 close to the Lincoln town line) to the village of Manville in Cumberland (Route 120).
Plans call for extending the path south to Pawtucket and north to Woonsocket, ultimately to make it 14 miles long. But for now, the completed portion of the path gives a hint of what it one day might be: An avenue though history, along scenic natural and manmade waterways and transportation routes.
Starting, as most people do, from the parking lot at the entrance to Blackstone State Park on Route 123, the path follows the old canal and passes numerous tumbling streams and waterfalls that, at this time of year, are roaring with water.
Crossing the river at Ashton via a green metal bridge that was added last fall, the path then proceeds north on a segment that was completed early last summer.
Sights to see include the old brick Ashton Mill and the soaring concrete arches that hold up the Route 295 highway bridge.
Because so much of it is in state parkland, this path also is maintained by the state Department of Environmental Management, Parks Division. For now, the path ends abruptly in an industrial area of Manville.
The round-trip run is 11 miles.
Into the wild
Down in South County, another scenic but truncated path covers just about 4 miles from Kingston's historic train station to Rodman Street in Peace Dale, following the route of the former Narragansett Pier railroad, which in Victorian times carried passengers and freight. The train's last run was in 1952.
At present, while neighbors squabble over rights-of-way and property issues, bike riders on the South County Bike Path will likely wait months or years before being able to ride the planned route, which would take them all the way to Narragansett near the town beach, adding about two more miles to the present path.
In the meantime, the existing path is lovely, and it is beautifully maintained by the town of South Kingstown. Benches sponsored by local rotaries and other groups dot the route, and plaques offer photos and information about the natural environment, including the nearby Great Swamp and its feeder streams and wildlife refuges.
Best of all, the wild areas bordering the path in Kingston are filled with massive rhododendrons and mountain laurels that will burst into bloom in a few weeks.
For now, the path cuts off at Rodman Street near Kingstown Road, for a round-trip run of about 8 miles. The best place to access it is from the Kingston train station parking lot, where there is plenty of parking, and the entrance to the path is clearly marked.
Confusing route
At the moment, the West Bay Bike Path is both the least appealing and the most confusing cycling route in the state.
Confusing because it's known by the names of several cities and towns through which it passes (including Cranston, West Warwick and Coventry), as well as by the more general, though still mystifying title of the Washington Secondary Bikeway. Unappealing because its five-mile length runs almost entirely through heavily urbanized and commercialized areas.
Starting near Cranston Street between a Kmart and a Lowe's, the path crosses busy Park Avenue near Knightsville and then runs through Meshanticut and Oaklawn, ending at the West Warwick line near the malls, although construction is under way on the next segment there.
Another segment of a little over two miles has also been completed, but it's not connected to anything yet and lies about three miles further along, near Toll Gate Road in West Warwick. (Eventually, the completed bike path with link up with the planned 2,500-mile East Coast Greenway, which will stretch from Maine to Florida.)
Much of the Cranston path runs behind commercial areas of Oaklawn Avenue, so the ambience is more urban than naturalistic, with odors from laundromats and Chinese food wafting by from time to time. There's also more graffiti and litter along this path than along any other, and there have been reports of unpleasant encounters with local teenagers.
The Cranston portion of the West Bay path is maintained by that city; other portions will be maintained by the towns it traverses as it is completed.
Right now, the longest possible contiguous round-trip ride is 9 miles. The best place to park is in the area of the Kmart parking lot that is closest to the path.
For general information about the state's bike paths, the Web site is www.dot.state.ri.us/webtran/bikeri/html
A state map detailing the paths as well as other good bike routes in the Rhode Island is called A Guide to Cycling in the Ocean State, but it is currently being updated and revised, and old copies are scarce. For information, call 222-4203, ext. 4042.
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