Originally Posted by Jim from Boston

Hi BikEthan,

Haven't seen you around on the Forums since you moved way out there. That Northwest sector out 117 and other parallel roads is a favored region for road cycling on Saturdays, so I can't speak about inbound weekday traffic. I imagine as you get near the city, commuter traffic will get heavier, but more alternative routes will be available.

My favorite map for the Metro Boston region is the local map from AAA, if you can get one. It covers a wide area, to just west of I-495, and is detailed enough to show a lot of nice back roads; the scale is 2.25 miles per inch. What are your alternative modes? As you may know, the Commuter Rail allows bikes on the train during off-peak hours, but all the early morning weekday inbound trains on the Fitchburg Line are peak, and the earliest non-peak outbound train is not until 7:35 PM.

Another source might be to post to the thread, "Metro Boston:good ride today?" on the Northeast Regional Discussion Forum because a lot of those correspondents ride in the Western sectors. Good luck and let us know. It's finally that time of year for good long-distance commutes.