Biking from Somerville to Chelsea?

[gruene.livejournal.com]

If you ask Google for biking directions to Chelsea it suggests Broadway to Sullivan Square, then Rt. 99 / Alford Street over the Mystic River, then Beacham st. Does anyone have experience biking this route? Where does it fall on the continuum from pleasant to death-defying? Are there other ways to get there?

Thanks!

Comments

[ron_newman]

I've done this trip a few times. I wouldn't call it "pleasant" but I also would not say "death-defying." The main problem is that Beacham Street is totally beat up by truck traffic and is full of huge potholes. You'll want sturdy tires. Also good head and tail lights, if you're doing it at night.

From 99, you may want to turn right on Dexter, then left on Robin, then right on Beacham ... though those streets won't win any awards for smooth pavement either.

[ron_newman]

There is one other way - from Powderhouse Circle, take Warner Street, which becomes Harvard Street, to Route 16, and stay on that until you reach the turnoff for 2nd Street in Everett, which continues into Chelsea.

I don't much like this alternative. Route 16 east of Wellington Circle has fast traffic and not much of a shoulder. It will be much better after some soon-to-begin bridge reconstruction, but that's still a few years off.

[gruene.livejournal.com]

I saw it as an alternate route, but I agree that it's unacceptable. I wouldn't feel safe biking on that stretch of Rt. 16.

[ratushebarl.livejournal.com]

Done it many times. It's better than Rt 16 to be sure, and I'm not aware of any other options. Takes you through some interesting urban landscape.

You need your wits about you getting through Sullivan Square and over the bridge. There is a cushy bike lane on Rt 99 now. Dittoes that Beacham street is incredibly bad pavement, and also it's heavily trafficked by trucks during business hours.

On weekends, keep an eye out for cheap fruit that fell off a truck. Also the Dunkies next to the King Arthur is 24-hour.

[ron_newman]

Oh yes, the new bike lane on 99 is a major improvement. I used to hate that road before they striped it in.

The bike lane unfortunately disappears at the bridge over the Mystic because of construction -- all the car (and bike and pedestrian) traffic is funnelled onto one side of the bridge while the other side is rebuilt. I hope to someday get to see this project completed.

Rain can make the bridge crossing hazardous, as it is a metal grating rather than solid pavement.

[rosiewoodboat.livejournal.com]

I agree 100%.

[totient]

The main problem is that Beacham Street is totally beat up by truck traffic and is full of huge potholes. You'll want sturdy tires

I don't know where specifically you are going but Ron's words could as easily describe any street in Chelsea. Chances are Beacham, terrible as it is, won't be the worst surface you encounter.

[totient]

If I were trying to connect to 2nd Street, I would do so by crossing the Malden River on Medford St rather than Route 16. In six weeks the Northern Strand bike path will be finished but in the meantime Main St is an acceptable way through Everett and Bucknam St might actually be nice.

[ron_newman]

Unless you've actually seen Beacham Street you have no idea how bad a pavement surface can be. The Everett part is worse than the Chelsea side. Once it becomes Williams Street in Chelsea, it's actually pretty smooth.

[xuth.livejournal.com]

The only time I truly felt like traffic on 16 wasn't actively trying to kill me was when I was hauling a chest freezer on my bike. People were genuinely giving me a wide berth then. I used to ride 16 semi regularly because of where I lived and it's really something to avoid if at all possible.

[pywaket.livejournal.com]

You can avoid *some* of Beacham St by turning right at Behlen and continuing on Market as it turns left. I often do that even in a car, just because the pavement is marginally better and there's less traffic (you don't get caught behind the timid Camry driver going < 5 MPH). Unfortunately, that means you don't get to pass by Dunkies, The King Arthur and the trailer that sells and buys porn and pallets ;-)

[ron_newman]

That's really out of the way, though, since it means riding up to Medford Square first. (or, up Locust Street past the Meadow Glen Mall)

[ron_newman]

Here's a preview of the scenery along Beacham Street:

Scaryville is a picture book by local photographer Mark Peterson, whom I've met at a few local Open Studio events. The online "preview" actually shows the entire book, or you can look at the photos here instead.

The name Scaryville comes from a 2007 Yelp review of King Arthur's Lounge and Motel. For added lulz, be sure to read the filtered reviews too!

Here's a Google map of my bike route from Davis Square to Winthrop Beach "via Scaryville".

[totient]

Yeah, I had Locust St in mind. But if you're doing this because you don't like traffic, you might also not like crossing the Mystic on route 16 and prefer to do so on the Medford Pipe Bridge, aka Medford Square footbridge. And if you're coming from Clarendon Hill this might not even be so far out of the way.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I tend to avoid going north on 99 from Sullivan because I hate the grille on the bridge; I end up walking my bike on the sidewalk for that part if I do go that way.

[pywaket.livejournal.com]

Unless you've been to Costa Rica, *you* have no idea how bad pavement can be....

[gruene.livejournal.com]

Haha, yes.

I was in Costa Rica many years ago and I quickly learned the meaning of a new Spanish word: "huecos".

This is a common road sign there:


When I was getting a ride back from the airport (SFO) I was shocked at how smooth the road was an fast we were going.

[ron_newman]

Did either of you ride bikes there? I bet they had to be really sturdy ones.

[gruene.livejournal.com]

I don't remember biking, though it's possible we did at some point.

[pywaket.livejournal.com]

We didn't, but I saw *lots* of locals riding bikes. I remember "rush hour" in Liberia, and seeing 50+ bikes waiting on the main drag between downtown and the exuurbs on each side of the intersection waiting for the light to turn green to cross the Pan American Highway. It was pretty surreal, kinda like Critical Mass, only it was just people commuting to/from work. The bikes, for the most part, were just plain old bikes of various types: a few mountain bikes, some city-style 1 and 3 speeds and plenty of Huffy-grade ten-speeds. Nothing particularly "sturdy".

I also determined, from the rental car we had, that Hyundai has really improved the quality of their cars. We had an Elantra with over 180K kms on it, and it had not a squeak or rattle. Pretty impressive considering the roads....

[sissychrissy1.livejournal.com]

Beacham is significantly worse, by far, than any other streets in Chelsea.

[sissychrissy1.livejournal.com]

Agreed with Ron, especially on the detour onto Dexter and Robin. They aren't great alternatives, but they are slightly better, along with avoiding a few more semis.

[ron_newman]

Harder to do now since the bridge construction has shifted to the other side, and the sidewalk is now only on the left side of the bridge.