Spent Saturday mostly on the bike. Got out at 9--early by my Saturday standards, usually still in Random Walk state then, wondering what happened to the work week and kind of glad it did. I had some goals for this one: to ride the Harvard Shaker Village area, to explore that portion of Devens that isn't off-limits to civilians and subject to loud noises, and to ride some likely-looking roads that looked to have good veiws of the Dead River. All this had come from a lot of staring at Google Maps, plus miscellaneous topical web sites.
The Minuteman was in a state of cheerful efficient congestion, all well-behaved, in their lanes and each moving at their own pace without impeding others. This theme was echoed in Bedford, first by a crowd of roadies forming up at Depot Park for a Quad Cycles group ride, then on Railroad Ave., where the
PMC Kids Rides were in progress. Lots of kids--some of them remarkably little--on their bicycles wearing red shirts and happy grins.
Out Route 62 to Concord, with lots of road bikes and relatively few cars for company, and prevailing good spirits; this continued throughout the day. Used Lowell Street and Barrett's Mill Road to connect to Strawberry Hill Road, the start of a middle path to Harvard that runs North of Rt 117, but South of Rt 225, and has the advantage of crossing I-495 and Route 2 without ramps. Strawberry Hill Road got me to Acton; one short block on the Great Road, the pleasant length of Brook Street, and two long blocks on Main Street/Rt 27 got me to Nagog Hill Road, the next long segment of the way West. Rode that into Littleton, pausing to admire Lake Nagog, then climbed the hill past horse farms and riding stables to Nashoba Road and the start of Apple Country.
The down-hill run on Nashoba Road brought the highest speed of the ride, 32 mph. A one-block jog on Newtown Road put me on Harwood Avenue, which starts with a view of the Great Pyramids of Littleton. If you need firewood, these folks will fix you up.
There are a number of conservation areas on Harwood Avenue, Littleton has made a praise-worthy investment in these. Stopped for lunch at
Bumblebee Park, an old farmstead that has a popular sledding hill.
Continued on Harwood Avenue, ramp-free, across I-495: this always makes me happy on a ride, it means the bicycle has carried me beyond my own neighborhood. Crossed Mill Pond on the causeway, and stopped to admire the view; there's a swan and her cygnets in the middle distance, just white specks in this image.
Rode into the Littleton Depot neighborhood, parallel to the active freight rail line. The old depot, now home to a stove repair business, is a preserved relic of an earlier era when the rails carried passengers, as well. A few old B&M cars, permanently sidelined, complete the picture, but the signals are active down the track, and the roadbed is in good repair.
Harwood Avenue ended, and a short-block jog put me on Harvard Road, the next link in this way West. Unlike many Massachusets towns, Littleton has an active manufacturing business at its heart: the Very Fine/Sunny Delight/Fruit2O factory. These folks put the freight service to good use. The area smells faintly of nectar, which must drive the hummingbirds and bees wild.
To be continued...
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