Torrington is a brass-and-hardware town that has outlived most of its factories, and the grit shows. It sits in the valley of the Naugatuck River's headwaters, in northwest Connecticut, ringed by hills that rise quickly in every direction, and it is the proper starting point for a loop into the high country around Mohawk Mountain. This is not a postcard village: it is a working small city, with a brick downtown, a handsome Art Deco theater called the Warner, and honest food at fair prices.
History here includes one of America's most divisive figures. John Brown, the abolitionist who led the raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859, was born in Torrington in 1800, and a marker and a small site recall his birthplace. The town was a center for brass, clocks and later hardware, and the valley once rang with factory noise. The mills have mostly gone, but their brick shells line the river.
The ride out is the draw. Heading west and north, Route 4 and Route 272 climb into the Litchfield Hills, through forests of oak and maple, past old stone walls, farms and tiny villages. Mohawk Mountain State Forest, near Cornwall, has Connecticut's oldest ski area, and the roads around it twist through shady woods with some real hills. The surface is generally good, but the shade can leave patches of damp and, in autumn, leaves. The curves are tight enough to be interesting without being savage, and the speed limits are low, so the best pace is steady and relaxed.
Torrington has everything a rider needs: fuel at several stations, supermarkets, diners and cafés, and enough hotels if you want to stay. The hills north of here have far fewer services, so fill up before leaving. The peak of the season is October, when the whole region is ablaze, but early summer, with deep green leaf and light traffic, is almost as good. Midweek mornings are quietest, and weekends in foliage season bring a steady stream of cars from New York and Boston, so be patient and enjoy the view from the saddle.