Originally Posted by
Bishbike
Rod, how is 225 between Westford and Carlisle? Never taken it past Ferns.
Originally Posted by
rholland1951
Pretty, hilly, sometimes pretty hilly. Traffic isn't bad until after Forge Village, when it merges with 119 until Groton Center; that stretch is rideable, but can get a little nerve-wracking, so I generally detour around that. The stretch between Fern's and Forge Village is both direct and pleasant. Mostly the pavement is in good shape, but there are a few exceptions. The worst pavement is on the hill just west of Carlisle Center.
+10. Thanks for that report, Rod. Rte 4/225 from Lexington westward is one of my favorite
long (about 70 miles) training rides from Boston; and then I return by way of Harvard. Last year, for about 3-4 hours along the route, starting in Boston, I was passed by wave after wave of strong riders on the B to B Harpoon ride going up to Vermont.
Looking at the at the map, I think I by-passed Rte 119 via Westford Road to Sandy Pond Road to Ayer Road into Harvard; and back to Boston via Route 117.
The first year I did it, (?) 2011, in Harvard or thereabouts I encountered riders on the Annual MassBike Summer Ride which had started from Lexington. In 2013, and this year, that Ride that starts from NARA park in North Acton, on Rte 27, just a short distance south of Rte 225. (That venue on July 26 of this year is reprised as the
Boston version of the Sixth Annual Fifty-Plus Bikeforum Ride, attracting subscribers from as far away as Michigan).
B to B Harpoon riders in Arlington