rumrunn6

no but I always glance up there wondering what is up there.
not uncommon for a cyclist to be legally in the right, but not popular with a local resident. why spoil a fun day w/ rude encounters. at least you tried something new

not far from that spot, I have parked at the Sanborn School aka Concord Middle School & worked my way to the back lot, then across a field, to a little foot trail, to the paved trail. seemed harmless enough, on the weekend that I tried it, one time, a cpl yrs ago


heading out soon w/ Wifey to the RBT from Concord ctr to Bedford. hoping not to get bitten by a dog off leash. Wifey recently heard about another dog bite on next-door.com

rumrunn6

there's a dirt lot right here, for the Davis Farm hiking trails, which I rode on my bike one time




across the street from where the BFRT ends. this is what the end of the BFRT used to look like


I came out there, crossed 117, then rode into the Davis Farm trails. very pretty. but lost sight of any RR bed in Davis Farm

rumrunn6

July 2019

the round trip from Sanborn, to 117, across 117, into Davis Farm, until the trails get small & confusing, then back North across 117 again & into the brush of the BFRT

I reach route 117 at about the 2:40 mark

before I got digital image stabilization & don't know why the audio cuts out. it's a pretty bad video, I'm sorry

just some of the bushwhacking

EVlove

A couple of PSAs from the BFRT Facebook page:

EVlove

An otherwise unremarkable ride mostly on the BFRT today. That tree in Westford has indeed been cleared, but mowing in Chelmsford hasn't gotten far, as of the early afternoon. The machine was doing the section north of town center and nothing else had been cut yet.

FrozenBiker 

Nice colors this week and a good crowd on the path. I began in West Concord, heading north up to Rte 225. That was the southern-most point in 2012 when I rode down from Lowell. Turning around there, I headed south to the end at Powder Mill. This was a fun ride!









More pictures from this ride in the link below

rumrunn6

fwiw - driving to work this morning, noticed some new signage at one of the Route 27 crossings. the really awkward, off-angle crossing.

or maybe I just never noticed it before???

https://maps.app.goo.gl/chRG5C18N6Fn5W5fA

FrozenBiker 

The signpost was there in Mid-October. A women asked if I were lost while looking it

Hey I meant to post this comparison last month (2012 - 2023)

)

rumrunn6

haha that qualifies as new to me!

& wow, nice comparison! look at that! trying to think when I first started riding that trail. my kids were small & we used to park in the dirt patch

we drove there to ride to the Brickhouse for lunch. I guess I never really looked South. I'll bet that would have been fun to explore!

EVlove

I never noticed that particular one before, either, but as you say that's a bad crossing and I keep my eyes on the road. It's the same design as several others that were installed near NARA Park earlier this summer so it's probably been there for a few months.

rumrunn6

fwiw
- South of the Acton train station there's a packed down foot track that looks terribly bumpy & icy
- further North, I saw no center foot track & lots of trees hanging down over the path

EVlove

There've been a few skiing and snowshoeing pictures from the BFRT on social media. It's their turn now! I did occasionally see people training on roller skis throughout the summer.

rumrunn6

of course today I saw pavement & puddles in Acton & further up, a soggy mess & downed branches. not much good for anyone

EVlove

Word on the Friends of the BFRT Facebook group is that either "everything melted" or "there is still slushy snow." I might get a ride in tomorrow.

EVlove

I did have time for an extended recon ride today, from Chelmsford center to NARA Park. I parked at the library and made my way past this impressive flow (Beaver Brook, one wonders how many hundreds so named there must be in the country) to the Brickhouse lot to pick up the trail.



I found the trail still pretty dicey until I got to Westford, and unrideable on parts of the first section, between the center and High St in Chelmsford. I was on the Zizzo, which is on nominally 38-406 tires, with a very mild tread pattern. Not optimal but provided for good exercise of the line-picking and reflex-sharpening kind. I saw only one other bike track, and only in one direction.



I followed suit on my return and bypassed that section via Littleton Road/Route 110, which runs parallel and within sight, but is very busy with a 40 mph limit. Not something I like to do.

The rest of the way to NARA was quite alright, although strewn with tree debris. Here and there fresh wood chips told of larger obstacles having been cleared.

ETA: And do mind the snow berms at several of the road crossings.

rumrunn6

EVlove wow, that's a workout!

EVlove

Ah, not really. About 14 miles out and back, at a modest pace and all flat, except where the BFRT briefly leaves the old rail bed at NARA Park.

rumrunn6

oh good! I remember a cpl rides over frozen footprints & slushy mounds intersperse w/ frozen mounds & it was quite a workout

EVlove

Ah, I see what you mean. Yes, that first section was challenging, and I probably should have turned around. But I figured it had to get better, since Chelmsford got among the highest snowfall totals.

Anyway, academic now. I managed to get 4.5 miles in today, in between downpours, and now we have proper winter temps in the forecast.