Pain in the glass
My public service announcement of the week: Do NOT take your road bicycle on the ten-mile Norwottuck Rail Trail that connects Northampton and Amherst, Mass. My wife and I found out last Sunday, the annoying way.
The trail has trestle bridges, lovely vistas, blah-blah-blah. What they don’t tell you is that the paving is shot through with SHARDS OF GLASS – ten minutes into the ride my tire was shredded. The guy who runs the bike shop located oh so conveniently on the trail says he orders dozens of tires a week, and urged me to contact the town fathers to register my complaint about a situation that has persisted for 15 years.
Moral of story: Don’t bike on the Norwuttuck Rail Trail unless you’re sure your tires are rugged or nubby enough to handle it.
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JustASC is written by Andrew Silow-Carroll, Editor-in-Chief of the 
June 24th, 2008 at 3:20 pm
Indeed, the glass on the Norwottuck is a known problem. The glass was supposed to be there (as a way of recycling), but only on the undercoat. Unfortunately the contractor messed up and put it on top. The glass permeates up through the asphalt after freeze/thaw cycles and heavy rains. While I’ve biked the trail dozens of times without incident, your experience was unfortunately common.
The good news is that the trail is scheduled for repaving, which should address the problem once and for all. In addition, the rail trail network in Northampton heading west and south does not feature this glitch.
Sorry for the glitch on your ride, and hope that you’ll be back!
Nick Horton
President, Friends of Northampton Trails and Greenways