AMC Bike - Blackstone river Greenway

It's rare that I do a weekend bike ride with the AMC.  Usually, Tuesday nights after work are my "go-to" but I haven't seen many of those this year, and I really felt like getting some cycling miles in.  Besides this looked like a really interesting trip.  Besides doing biking on the trail, a side-trip to Old Slater Mill National Historic Monument, part of the Blackstone River Valley National Historic Park.  There are 6 sites associated with this park in both Rhode Island and Massachusetts.  

We will start the ride in Central Falls and initially head south into Pawtucket where we plan to catch up with a ranger tour of Old Slater Mill.  After that, we'll head north on the trail to log a total of around 20 miles.

So we're riding down the street, single file, when I suddenly hear what sounds like a compressor releasing it's air.  But that's not what it was.

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It turned out to be a bike tire going flat.  In fact it was MY bike tire going flat.  In all the years that I've been biking, I have never had a flat tire while on a ride.

Fortunately I am prepared with a spare tube and tools. 
What was also fortunate was having out people who have clearly done this before.  

We all worked together to get the tire on just right

We arrive at Slater's Mill in Pawtucket, part of the National Park Service.

This is why the mill is here, the Blackstone River runs right past here and generate power for industry.

Lucky us.  We basically have a tour and guide all to ourseleves.

There were lots of neat exhibits inside, too.

Following the tour, it's back on the streets to head up to the rail trail.  Nice views!

Not surprisingly, there are some bridges on the rail trail as we cross the river a couple times.

For a rail trail, the path takes some twists and turns and is quite interesting.

This was my turnaround point because I have to get back to Leominster for a graduation party.  The rese of the group continued to another historic site (Captain Wilbur Kelly House Museum, I think).

My totals were 19.94m in 1:57.  A good day despite the flat tire.