Several years ago I picked up a mountain bike from a co-worker. He bought it for traveling to work and back, but after one trip to the office he put the bike away and it sat in his house for a couple of years. Once the Blackstone Bike Path opened up, I got the bike for a steal and have ridden it on paved bike paths all over New England . Recently I found out that we have a designated multi-use trail in Franklin , Mass. Follow Grove Street for about a ½ mile north of King Street and you will find the beginning of the Southern New England Trunkline Trail. This 20-mile long, multi-use trail is unpaved and runs between Franklin and Douglas State Forest . It connects with other trails in Rhode Island to Willimantic Connecticut to cover 85 miles of rail-trails.

Right off the bat; I knew I was in for a workout. For the first quarter mile or so the rail-trail is a washboard of soft gravel. Playing with the gears to my bike I figure out by trial and error the best way to get though this area. Once the surface gets harder and I've worked out the kinks in my legs, I begin to move through the white pines and oaks. There are a couple of other trails breaking off heading into the Franklin State Forest , but I stick to the SNETT. Climbing over one mogul, the bike peddle hits a rock with a jar and I almost topple over. Thinking I broke the first rule for trekking; leave someone your itinerary , I bike on. Crossing Spring Street the trail closes in on you as you pass through some farmland back into the woods. Passing through the forest you see an old car chasse with a 12" pine growing through it. Sometimes the trail is above the surrounding area, over looking wetlands and other times it is traveling through a rock canyon. The canyon cut by man long ago to allow the passage of the now forgotten trains. At one point the trail most traveled, leaves the railroad bed and head up and around a wet area.

Eventually I come out onto Prospect Street . Here my old body tells me it's time to head back, that and the yard work I know that has to be completed. Retracing my tracks, I move a little faster along the trail. At the wet area I walk my bike up and around, taking the time to check out the chickadees and cardinals flying around. Arriving back at my van I witness the first snow flakes of December come down and I think maybe the yard work will wait to spring.