Tour de Sterling

By Mike Penney, Contributor

One of the upsides of the pandemic is that it’s gotten a lot of people back outdoors. In June I bought a bicycle and over the summer set a goal to ride on all the public roads of Sterling. Maybe you saw me and wondered why I was on your dead-end road or cul-de-sac. I’ve now completed that goal and thought I’d share some observations:
The town has a great deal of conservation/forest/protected land, and that is a really great benefit. I applaud those who’ve made the decisions over the years to make sure it stays that way.

There are far too many hills in this town, someone should look into this.
It was cool to discover places I’d been by a million times but never ventured down or up, like the windy, steep Houghton Road right in the center of town.
It was neat to see cool statues and creative playscapes like a castle
or pirate ship in peoples’ yards. Sterling also has some REALLY nice houses; some unique ones too.
Some roads were hardly roads at all, like Park St. down by the beach.
For a nice view I suggest Osgood Rd. or Stephanie Anne Lane.
Some were so far out it was hard to believe they were still in Sterling at all, like Ridgewood Rd.
A couple dogs gave me a good barking as I went by. I was only chased by one, but to be fair there were “Beware of dog” signs and it was a dead-end so that’s on me.
A couple people either out on their lawns or out for a walk said hi to me, which was nice.
This little project was a great way to get to know the town and to see all of it. I recommend it for anyone with a set of wheels as long as you don’t mind a boatload of hills.