rholland1951

Sure: here's the route, 18 miles round trip. If you're coming from Alewife, ride up the Minuteman to Linwood, take Linwood a short block to Belknap Street (right), take that a short block to Marion Road (left), follow that up to Mass. Ave., cross Mass. Ave. to Bates Road, ride that a few blocks until it becomes River Road (as you cross Broadway, as I recall). River Road puts you on the track; take that across the Mystic Valley Parkway (and the Mystic River) into West Medford, where it becomes Harvard Street. Follow Harvard Street to High Street, and take that East, taking care not to come to grief crossing the railroad tracks. High Street is hilly and fun to ride. The rest of the route is pretty much as it appears on the map.

You'll pick up the Northern Strand Community Trail off Medford Street, Malden, at the Bell Rock Cemetery (Malden's old burying ground, and worth a visit). Go North. The Malden and Everett segments are paved; the Revere and Saugus segments are gravel (well, not real gravel, since there's some recycled asphalt mixed in with the rocks, but it rides like gravel), so 28mm or wider tires are helpful. The Saugus section of the trail continues on beyond the track on the map I linked, but is worth a try, both for the nice views of the tidal marshes of the Saugus River, and for easy access to the historic Saugus Iron Works. Watch out for some trail erosion at the far end of the bridge across the Saugus River; it was starting to get a little hazardous the last time I was there (~2 months ago). The trail ends at the Lynn line, but that's the jumping off points for rides to Nahant, Marblehead, Salem, and points North and East, not to mention the Lynn Woods; the Lynn Common is worth a visit, too.

Enjoy!

rod