Less-traveled, easy bike trails?

[rjkp.livejournal.com]

 Hi.  I'm looking for recommendations for easy, quiet/empty bike trails anywhere within 45 minutes of Boston.  I'm kind of rusty, and I just want a nice place to practice riding my cheap road bike in peace.  The Minuteman trail is tough for me, because I'm out of practice and I spook easily, and the bike/rollerblade/jogger/stroller traffic is too much for me!

Any ideas would be appreciated...thanks!

Comments

[curiositykt.livejournal.com]

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/northeast/nash.htm this one, easily accessible in Ayer, is quite nice, very easy, and not terribly crowded.

[ifotismeni]

i would recommend this one as well!

[ron_newman]

Me too - I was going to post the same suggestion if you hadn't already done so. You can take your bike on an MBTA commuter train from Porter Square to Ayer. The trail starts a block from the Ayer train station and goes a mile beyond the New Hampshire border.

[ron_newman]

The Neponset River Trail is not very long, but is quite pleasant and uncrowded. You can ride to it from Ashmont station on the Red Line. (Unfortunately you cannot take your bike on the Mattapan trolley, which would get you much closer.)

From the Neponset trail you can wander into Pope John Paul II Park which has lots more paved trails, though they are officially pedestrian trails rather than bike paths.

Horn Pond Parkway, on the west side of Horn Pond in Woburn, is closed to car traffic and is a great place to walk, run, rollerskate, or ride a bike. Since it is a closed road, it is very wide, and you won't conflict with other traffic.

The Arnold Arboretum and Forest Hills Cemetery, both in Jamaica Plain, are lovely quiet places to ride a bike. The Arboretum is entirely closed to car traffic, while the cemetery has occasional visitors in cars. Both are a short bike ride from Forest Hills station on the Orange Line. Be ready for hills, especially in the Arboretum.

Finally, the Charles River paths west of Harvard Square, towards Watertown and Waltham, don't get much use, at least not compared to the very busy sections east of Harvard Square.

[clevernonsense.livejournal.com]

do you keep normal business hours? i occasionally take days off from work to ride either minuteman or around the arboretum/franklin park areas. somewhat empty then.

[ukelele.livejournal.com]

When I was learning how to bike a few years back, we would go to the parking lots of the office buildings at Alewife -- on weekends they're pretty quiet. Not at all scenic, of course, but if you just need a safe place to practice fundamentals, it works.

[rjkp.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the advice, everyone! Lots of options! :)

[lizzielizzie.livejournal.com]

Try the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail (http://www.brucefreemanrailtrail.org/). It isn't very long, but if you start in Chelmsford Center is tends to be pretty underpopulated.

Fresh Pond

[serious-noir.livejournal.com]

For easy/slow + nearby, biking around Fresh Pond is pleasant.

Re: Fresh Pond

[gruene.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't describe Fresh Pond as uncrowded though. It can be worse than the minuteman, at least in my experience.

East Bay Bicycle Path (East Providence)

[fefie.livejournal.com]

Just a little beyond your 45-min travel-to limit is the East Bay Bicycle Path from Providence to Bristol RI:

http://www.traillink.com/viewtrail.aspx?AcctID=6017101

Astonishingly uncrowded on summer weekends (especially compared with the Minuteman)this gem of a (flat) path has wonderful scenery ranging from woods, to marshes to the ocean. Well worth the drive to get to.

Re: East Bay Bicycle Path (East Providence)

[ron_newman]

You can also take your bike on an MBTA train to Providence and ride to the start of the path at India Point park, but bring a good map with you. This area is confusing because Providence is relocating a major expressway. The last time I went, the path crossed the river on a very narrow bridge sidewalk where you pretty much had to walk your bike.

[masswich.livejournal.com]

For quick, easy and sparsely populated, there are the Mystic River trails. There's a 3-4 mile loop around Route 28, Route 16, I-93 and 16, starting at the parking lot on Route 16 near Wellington Circle. There is also a more scenic (but with more road crossings) route up the Mystic starting at Alewife Brook Parking and following the Mystic up to the lakes and back, parallel to Mystic Valley Parkway.

In the mid-term, it looks like these routes might be connected to the Minuteman along Route 16 with a "real" bike route. That would be great.