I work in Acton, and I live in Cambridge. Given that the driving distance is about 20 miles, and the biking distance about 25, it was only a matter of time until I rode the route. This week I did it in both directions, although not on the same time. All I can say is, thank goodness for the minuteman bikeway.
This month, I have been consistently taking my bike from my apartment near Harvard Square to Porter Square, taking the commuter rail to Concord, and riding the back roads (Concord Center-Lowell Road-Barretts Mill Road-Strawberry Hill Road-Great Road) to work. I do the exact same route back. The route going west is mostly uphill, which flattens out a quarter mile before Pope road, and then has a big downhill before Great Road. The reverse direction is uphill at the beginning and then past Pope road, almost all downhill.
I did that on Tuesday going into work, but I was feeling gloomy that day and left early enough to catch the 5:23 train back to Concord. Once I went past the Colonial Inn, however, I continued around the traffic circle and traveled up route 62 toward Bedford. I had done this part of the trip in reverse when I went to Walden Pond. The route is quite pleasant; the traffic is not too fast, the shoulder is just wide enough, and the homes are always interesting. Right on McMahon, and then straight into the Minuteman Bikeway, and home. 1 hour, 40 minutes or so from North Acton to Harvard Square.
On Friday, I missed the 7:37 train and didn’t feel like waiting for the 8:27 train; based on my Tuesday trip, I figured I could leave right then and tie the train, but having had a sweet morning bike ride. So that’s what I did. However, this time, I went through Carlisle by taking route 225 west. The correct route goes south on Concord Rd from downtown Carlisle, and right on South Rd, which connects to Pope Road and then Strawberry Hill Road. Instead, I stuck on Concord Rd, which turns into Lowell Road (gosh, where have I heard of that before?) and took a 3-mile-or-so detour which put me back on my normal route from the train station, hills and all.
Riding on 225 was nice, but the traffic there is at the upper limit of my comfort. The shoulder is narrow in many places going west, and much narrower going east. I am told that the homes there are required to be on at least 2 acres, and it shows; the roads are under-developed, mostly shaded, and generally quite lovely.
August 20, 2009
Last week, I finally did the trip home correctly through Carlisle. I went up Pope Road, South Street, Concord Rd, Rte 225 and then right at Bedford Center to get on the Minuteman Path. It was really nice; 225 is by far the busiest leg, but it’s really not bad, and the cars were very respectful despite the limited shoulder.