# Bike routes around Boston



## shortstack3000 (Jan 5, 2012)

Looking to start getting some good rides in, but I'm not a huge fan of riding on these busy/crappy roads.

Anyone have some good 'loops' or quieter areas for riding??
I'm in the Brighton area


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## BostonAruban (Dec 13, 2011)

Best paths is the Charles river loop. 18 miles from Museum of Science all the way to Watertown square. I do that loop at least three times a week. To switch it up I just change direction, clock wise or counter clock wise. Now is the right time since the summer it gets crowded.


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## Janders (Nov 19, 2006)

How far do you want to go? You'll need 5-10 miles to get out of "city" but there are plenty of good loops.

You can take Mass. Ave up to Lexington (10 miles), and from there do tons of nice loops towards Carlise, Bedford, Concord, Lincoln, Sudbury. You can also use the Minuteman BIkeway to get from Cambridge to Bedford if you like, and do loops from it...

You can also head out Trapelo Rd. through Belmont to tons of nice ex-urban loops.

Or you can head SW out through Newton, Needham, towards Dover.

I tried to post links, but don't have enough posts... sorry.

Some local teams/shops have good loops listed on their website if you google search. Charles River Wheelmen have a lot of maps/queue sheets on their site. Or you can do what I do, steal rides that look good off Strava. Helps to have a GPS since it is hard to navigate around Boston.


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## Jay Strongbow (May 8, 2010)

I was going to say basically the same thing as Janders. once you get to Lexington there are some really good loops/routes.

In addition to checking web sites joining group rides is another good way to learn the routes. Quad cycle in Arlington is a good group ride to learn the Concord/Carlisle area. during the summer when a lot of people join they send out several groups separated by level so it's good for just about anyone.


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## ornoth (Oct 9, 2005)

One good exit from Brighton is Beacon Street, then use Grant to cut over to Comm Ave. Once you're out to Auburndale you can cut up to Weston, and from there your choices are many and varied. Green Line Velo will start doing rides out of Cleveland Circle at some point.


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## ornoth (Oct 9, 2005)

And if you're nearer Brookline Village than Comm Ave, you could take West Roxbury Parkway and Enneking down to Great Blue Hill, and back by Unquity or Truman and Walk Hill. From Mattapan you could take Eliot (not River) and pick up the Neponset path to Port Norfolk and Tenean Beach.


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## shortstack3000 (Jan 5, 2012)

Thanks for the tips, much appreciated. I'll map some of these and hopefully test one out tomorrow (if the weather is as predicted!) - I'm very close to jumping on the Charles River loop, that may be the first. 18 miles is probably the minimum I should be doing. I need to get in shape for the Pan Mass in August.


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## shortstack3000 (Jan 5, 2012)

Only did about 15 miles this morning around the Charles River - the learning curve from mtb to road is a little steeper than I anticipated (and it was real windy today!)


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## torch511 (Mar 4, 2012)

Yes it was. Was riding around the farmlands of north Middleboro/Halifax MA today and the wind was just BRUTAL. My weather station at the house was giving me 20mph sustained at time of ride but I just had to sneak out to test out my new ride!


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## ornoth (Oct 9, 2005)

If you're training up and following the Charles River path, there's a decent hill not far from the path in Waltham. 

Leave the path and take either Elm, Moody, or Prospect up to Main Street and go west to Prospect Hill Road. You can follow that up the hill, into the park, and back down the other side until you get to Totten Pond, then come back the same way. 

There's also two spurs off the park through-road that go up to the two summits. The southern one is more bike-friendly, and (if you climb the short path past the end of the road) provides a great vew of greater Boston. 

While it's not quite Great Blue Hill length, the pitch gets pretty serious, and is more sustained going north-to-south. It'll kick your butt, but doing a few repeats of Prospect Hill will really build your climbing strength.


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## BostonAruban (Dec 13, 2011)

ornoth said:


> If you're training up and following the Charles River path, there's a decent hill not far from the path in Waltham.
> 
> Leave the path and take either Elm, Moody, or Prospect up to Main Street and go west to Prospect Hill Road. You can follow that up the hill, into the park, and back down the other side until you get to Totten Pond, then come back the same way.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the tip ornoth.
I've been looking for a trail around that end of Charles River. I ride the river route from Museum if Science all the way to Brandeis U and I'm always looking for ways around that area to keep the ride interesting. Do you recommend Prospect Hill on a road bike?


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## BostonG (Apr 13, 2010)

BostonAruban said:


> Thanks for the tip ornoth.
> I've been looking for a trail around that end of Charles River. I ride the river route from Museum if Science all the way to Brandeis U and I'm always looking for ways around that area to keep the ride interesting. Do you recommend Prospect Hill on a road bike?


Prospect hill is good for a road bike. Wheelworks staged a couple competitions. Don’t think there will be one this year. Here is some info on it and a video of a guy riding up the hill:

RDJ Memorial Hill Climb - Wheelworks Bicycle Stores and Cycling Centers


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## BostonG (Apr 13, 2010)

Charles River path is going to get pretty crowded soon. Cambridge side is much more banged up than the Boston side. 

I’m in Brookline. I love where I live but it isn’t the best for riding. Takes me a few miles to get out of the busy area. Many good suggestions were already given so I’ll just add my .02 about my favorites. 

As someone suggested, take a look at the CRW site and go to their cue sheets – tons of good rides on there. For me, being in Brookline, I like the cue sheets for the Saturday morning fitness rides – There are different mile options, starting with a 20 mile ride and going on up from there. The roads are not banged up and are nicely marked and the routes are well travelled by cyclists so motorists are paying attention. Pretty scenery too and gentle rolling roads. The 20 miler makes for a good standard ride: about 7 miles to get to the start (good warm up), do the 20 mile ride, 7 miles back (cool down). That one is becoming a standard for me. There are so many groups riding those routes that it’s not uncommon to come across one and if you feel the urge, ask to tag along for a while. 

You can map this out on google or something - My other standard is riding up Beacon (towards Cleveland Circle), make a right after the BC reservoir and a left onto Commonwealth. Then ride Commonwealth (6 out of 10 effort) for a few miles and cross over I-95, make a right onto Loring Rd and then a left onto Meadowbrook (private rd). Great place to hammer over the short rollers (9 out of 10 effort – no messing around) and relax when you hit the golf course (3 of 10). Make a left onto Wellsely Rd (6 of 10) and Bear left onto Newton St. Then a left onto Commonwealth – but you don’t go home after that…Make a right onto Park rd and then a right onto Intervale (golf course will be on your right), then go up the short hill (10 of 10) – hammer it hard, fun, fun! Right onto Oxbow, left onto Ridgeway where it evens out – vomit a little then take a drink and proceed to Glen Rd (5 of 10). make left onto Glen then a left to Washington and left onto Commonwealth (yes, a left), make a right on Lexington and then another right onto Wolcott which becomes Webster. Ride easy here (3 of 10) and then make a right onto Cherry and a left back to Washington, then a right onto Highland…another hill! 8 of 10 up that one because you’ll hit a 4 way stop so you’ll need a bit in the tank to deal with any traffic. Highland will become Valentine and will pour you out onto Commonwealth. Make a left and go home. That’s about a 35 mile ride for me and is a good work out. I’d have to say that the fitness ride is more fun and scenic, while this one is a better workout (it’s too ugly to take it easy).

You can also use Summit ave for repeats.


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## ornoth (Oct 9, 2005)

BostonG said:


> My other standard is riding up Beacon (towards Cleveland Circle), make a right after the BC reservoir and a left onto Commonwealth. Then ride Commonwealth (6 out of 10 effort) for a few miles and cross over I-95, make a right onto Loring Rd and then a left onto Meadowbrook (private rd). Great place to hammer over the short rollers (9 out of 10 effort – no messing around) and relax when you hit the golf course (3 of 10).


This is perfect, because it ties in with BostonAruban's comment. If you've already come up the Charles River Path to Waltham and go down to Brandeis, then you only need to continue south on... uhh... South, which turns into River when it crosses the... uhh... river. From River you can either connect to Loring or use Summer->Farm->Cedar to cut across, both of which connect you to BostonG's Meadowbrook, the golf course, and any number of routes, including my favorite: Weston->Concord->Sudbury->Glezen->Sherman's Bridge etc.


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## Chris_T (May 7, 2007)

I've been riding with these guys for over a decade: 

Quad Cycles fitness rides for all abilities with the inimitable Bobby Mac
9:30 am Saturday and Sunday, 1043 Mass Ave in Arlington, quad cycles dot com

And you can learn a lot by looking at pavement markings and following them around. For the less adventurous you can find out where they go first:

crw dot org/CueSheets/ArrowGuide.php


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## mogarbage (Jul 18, 2011)

Hey chris what time does quad cycles roll back into arlington? 1230-1?


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## ornoth (Oct 9, 2005)

mogarbage said:


> Hey chris what time does quad cycles roll back into arlington? 1230-1?


The bad news: It varies. A lot.

The good news: That's because after going out to Bedford, the Quaddies' route basically consists of repeating circles on different roads, so you're never more than 5-8 miles from a return route, and people bail out and head home at different points. Quite welcoming to new folks too, if you speak up and ask questions.


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