By
kltron
in
4/19/2013 3:47:20 PM
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April 13, 2013: Did some trail work (with some very nice people) on the Holliston section near the Milford line and in the afternoon rode into Holliston on the unimproved section. There's .9 miles of nice stone dust at South St. (hint of what's coming!), and that turns into cinder, later gravel, some single-track through grass, and finally ballast as you go along. At one point (depending on conditions), you need to hop up on the side onto a single track for about 1/4 mile to get around some significant water (this was April, so...). There's an unimproved bridge over a road not far from the Phipps Tunnel--be careful, you can't just "bomb through" on this trail! The ballast used on this railbed is large, sharp chunks of rock I didn't want to ride my bike on, so I walked from time to time, finishing my ride-walk at the Dopping Brook Water Treatment Plant, returning on-road to South St.
In stark contrast with the paved Milford side, the Holliston section is a work in progress. But don't write it off entirely. The humps in the cinder created by the ATVs are fun, the trail goes through Holliston Conservation Land where there are walking trails, through the Phipps Tunnel (must see!), and over an 8-arch bridge. You can make it from the Milford line to the Phipps Tunnel at Highland St. fairly well, but the 8-arch bridge (for now) is in a ballast section where I did a lot of walking. And because there are no railings on the 8-arch bridge, I recommend walking anyway.
The plan is to clear the trail and put down stone dust, then make it part of a 20+ mile Upper Charles loop with surrounding towns. I think they have a great start and some must-see items like the Phipps Tunnel that will shine as more of the trail is completed. Really looking forward to this in the coming years!
Mass Central Rail Trail
Wachusett Greenways from Coldbrook Rd. to Worcester Rd.
By
kltron
in
11/4/2012 5:52:00 PM
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On October 27, 2012 I rode the Wachusett Greenways section of the MCRT west of Coldbrook Road to the Ware River, a newly constructed section.
The new section goes off the ROW and uses a bendy switchback to drop down to another abandoned ROW along the Ware River near the Ware River Dam. A new footbridge is being constructed to replace an older one a short distance downstream from the dam, allowing access to the trail from Rte. 122 (Worcester Rd) in Barre, MA.
The new section is currently dirt and gravel, but it's very smooth and very usable.
By
kltron
in
6/29/2012 9:42:35 PM
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I rode the Winnipesaukee Rail Trail from Tilton to Franklin, then on-road through Franklin to Chance Pond Rd. to pick up the Northern Rail Trail for a ride to Potter Place in Andover, NH. It was a scramble up from Chance Pond Rd. to the Northern Rail Trail atop a railroad bridge, and I was greeted by a smooth crushed stone trail with a concrete mile marker nearby (the trail in that section has been graded and resurfaced recently, and the work is heading south to reach Concord, NH). I hopped back on my hybrid bicycle and rode northwest. Much of the trail is isolated and wooded with the occasional street crossing, but for stretches it parallels and crosses local routes, which you can sometimes see and hear. The trail's surface changed to slightly larger stone for a short while, and for some stretches it was more like an old dirt road with a variable surface, but it was still very passable on a hybrid. There are several bridges over water and several underpasses beneath roads, including one trestle that crosses very near a covered bridge. After a short while I encountered Webster Lake, where you can hop off the trail and stop for a swim if you like. Further up the trail is Highland Lake, and beyond that the trail turns rather dry in the hotter weather. There is little canopy, so have plenty of water handy--bring what you need, as there are no stores visible from the trail pretty much all the way from Franklin to Andover. I rode into Potter Place in Andover, NH, passing some short sections of track that are in place as part of this historical section of town, and one siding had a boxcar, another a caboose. I discovered that the station and the old general store were open as historical exhibits, a few hours on Saturdays and Sundays. It was great to look at the railroad station as it was years ago, the same with the caboose out back and the general store across the street. The people from the Andover Historical Society were delightful and gave me tours. Had I not been so worn out from the hot, sunny ride I would have spent more time chatting, but I opted to go lie down at the picnic table near the station and have a late lunch. Someone has created a small garden in a shady cellar hole near the picnic area behind the station, making the picnic area relaxing after your ride. As the day was wearing on, I hopped back on the bike and made my way back to Franklin and then the Winnipesaukee River Trail to where I parked the car in Tilton, a total of about 34 miles round trip.
Assabet River Rail-Trail
Maynard to Stow section, part of a half century ride
By
kltron
in
5/31/2012 9:16:07 PM
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A delightful half century: http://tinyurl.com/Bedford-Marlboro-HalfCentury
...which incorporated the two larger currently open sections of the Assabet River Rail Trail (and the Reformatory Branch Rail Trail and the Minuteman Rail Trail).
The section of the ARRT between Maynard and Stow is 2.4 miles. It's part of the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge, and it offers a few glimpses of the river through the thick foliage and some small open areas that lead to the bank of the river. The trailhead is on Winter St. in Maynard, but it is not clearly marked. In fact, it looks like you're going onto someone's dirt driveway for a while. As you get further into the Refuge, the old railbed has been widened and turned into a dirt road. You'll see some cars driving along in this section. After this wider section the railbed narrows again to a one-lane dirt road, and it's in reasonable shape for a hybrid or mountain bike, but there are a few muddy spots, and the path can be a little overgrown. It is very passable, though, to Sudbury Rd. in Stow, where there is a locked gate to keep cars out (although cars can get in from the other side).
The railbed continues across Sudbury Rd., but it's well overgrown and didn't seem passable at this time (May 27, 2012), and I think the rails and ties are still in place at some point. From Sudbury Rd. I went on-road to pick up the paved section of the ARRT in Hudson (which people have written about in other posts).
By
kltron
in
5/20/2012 8:27:20 PM
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I rode part of the Wachusett Greenways section of the MCRT from Glenwood Rd. in Rutland, MA to Coldbrook Rd. in Barre, MA, roughly 7 miles each way. The trail is mostly on the old right of way, although it skips off from time to time where bridges are no longer available or where the trail had to be re-routed for other reasons, such as private property.
When the trail reaches Miles Rd. in Rutland, there's no obvious spot where it continues, and there is no signage. If heading west, turn right on the road and go down a small hill about 1/8 mi and look on the left for a kiosk, parking lot, and the trail.
The trail is stone dust and fairly smooth. From east to west there is an elevation drop from about 1100' to 770', so it's a fast ride. The trail is woodsy and fairly secluded with a few quiet road crossings, one high speed but low traffic. You pass many beautiful ponds along the way, but the jewel is the Charnock Cut, a lush, green section of trail loaded with mosses and ferns owing to the water dripping from the sides of the cut. It's a must-see.
I went a bit past the end of the "improved" section of trail at the old Coldbrook Springs Railroad Depot site near Coldbrook Rd. to see what the trail is like heading to Barre. There is logging in there right now, and the right of way is "unimproved". At a small stream about a third of a mile away from Coldbrook Rd. the bridge is gone, and that was the end of my ride. My total ride was just under 16 miles that were well worth it on a gorgeous spring day.
By
kltron
in
5/13/2012 9:39:37 AM
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I parked at a playground on Turnpike Rd. in Townsend, MA. It was about 4 miles...mostly uphill...along Barker Hill Rd. to the Mason Railroad trailhead on Morse Rd. in Mason, NH. I rode the Mason Railroad Trail from Morse Rd. to Adams Hill Rd. in Greenville, somewhere around 8 or 9 miles. Google maps indicates the trail ends here, but the railbed does continue, although it had water and did not look good for biking. TrailLink indicates that the trail continues to a road, stops, then picks up somewhere in the woods for a short distance.
The railroad trail is a constant incline (if heading north), several hundred feet over the distance. The early uphill ride to get to the trail, the gravel/cinder/dirt surface (ballast), and the incline led to an extremely tiring ride for me. As you get near the end at Adams Hill Rd., there's some water on the trail to negotiate, and overall the trail is not as smooth as it was for most of its distance. There are one or two sandy spots. At Adams Hill Rd. I took very quiet back roads on my return, but this area of New Hampshire is somewhat hilly, so there were more hills to climb, until nearing the end when it was all downhill with lots of turns--I think my brakes were smoking!
The trail is very quiet. I saw one other cyclist (heading north to south, probably a good idea) and several hikers near the Adams Hill Rd. side. Two people flew by me on dirt bikes. And, as someone else pointed out, there had been a horse on the trail, and there were pockmarks for a while.
For scenery this trail is largely in the woods, running next to old stone walls a lot of the way. There are two beautiful ponds. It's a very quiet and pleasant woodsy ride, although it'll take some effort.