Danvers Rail Adventure: Advanced Level Cyclo-Cross or MTB Ride

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Salem, MA, US

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Route Overview

All Day Adventures

Hiking, Cyclo-Cross, MTB, Fat Bike, Road Bike: in Eastern Mass, and New England www.AllDayAdventures.org

39 mi.

1,080 ft.

This is a long endurance Cyclo-Cross ride. Not a ride for beginners. Hits real Single-tracks at, Willowdale, Bradley Palmer, Gordon Woods, Bev Commons, Many Connector trails, at 35+ miles, this ride will beat you up.

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Route Details

The **Danvers Rail Trail** Cycle-Cross Adventure. Sounds innocent enough, but this an Advanced Level Endurance Ride.  The persona of a rail trail will quickly fade after you hit the forest of the Willowdale Estates. This ride will test your limits. Not *how fast* you can ride this route, but *if* you can finish it....

[**www.AllDayAdventures.org**](https://www.alldayadventures.org)

**Cyclo Cross:** Advance to Expert Level Experiance Expect 10 MPH average. 4-6 hours.

**Mountain Bike:** Intermediate Advanced (because of distance) These trails are much easier for a real mountain bike, but much slower on the roads. Expect 6 MPH average and 4 - 7 hours.

**Riding Equipment:** You will wreck your road bike! This is a ride for a **Cycle-Cross** bike. There will be a mix of rugged fire roads and real single-track. Tire selection is important. I use 40mm Maxis Ravagers.  Road slicks would be a mistake. You will need 36-40 mm width and a high center line, with side knobs. A fully rigid MTB (with trail-slicks) is a good alternative bike. Suspension bikes work, but there is a lot of road riding too.   **Mountain Bike:** Almost any fast rolling tire set-up will be fine.

**About this Ride:** This is a 39+ mile Cycle-Cross ride.  The first ~12 miles starts with some road riding from Salem to Danvers where it turns into a flat @photo[rail trail](2493755). Starting at **Mile 13**the next 10 miles of the ride will be on single-tracks. And another 6 more to follow.

This ride starts and ends in Salem, with careful planning you can define your own start. However, there are great sights to be seen on the original route if you are new to the area. Do not let this ride fool you. Contact me if you have questions.  This ride is for experienced riders.  Expect 4 – 6 hours saddle time. 100+oz water is required.

**Riding the Route:**  Travel from Salem to Danvers, you will pass by the Danvers waterfront. A few views of the inner harbor before starting the Rail Trail at @poi[Danvers Square](1875894). This is where you will start on a crushed gravel rail trail.  You will find some nifty little side single-track @poi[jaunts](1875893) in Danvers before heading up to Georgetown. This is a @photo[straight line trail](1522010) that gets increasingly more difficult as  the ride progresses. These first 12 miles are just a warm up. You can go fast here, but you save your energy for the single-track trails.

A stop at the @photo[Salem Canal](1522007) at the @photo[Ipswich River](1522006) is always worth the view.

The entrance to the Willowdale single-track trails will be a little dirt path on your right, while on @poi[Rowley Road](1875899). Keep your eyes open.   The Georgetown Forest will be directly across the street.  While it is great for Mountain Biking, your cycle-cross bike will not do well there. See the Willow-George MTB Ride. These trails are hardly maintained.  But, easy to pick a line and ride it. Very ridable, and at a quick 10 – 14 mph pace, but expect snake-bite flats if you are not careful. Bring (2) Tubes.   This trail system is open to the public, and connects a lot of private farms and other woodland areas. Please respect the parks and trail systems.

After a few street crossings, you will approach the main trail system at @poi[Willowdale Reservation](1875900) in Topsfield/Ipswich. You will have to cross a very busy Rt 1. So be careful and wait for it to be clear. Once you are on the other side, watch for a small single-track on the left side of East Street.   I have picked just a few of the “Fun” trails in this park, staying away from the trails that require suspension. If you want to explore the trails in the North-East in this park, you will find a lot that are suitable for 38mm.  Or see my Willow-George Ride.

When you exit Willowdale,  you will cross Ipswich Road.  You will find yourself at a foot bridge across the Ipswich River.  Note: Just 2 miles down-stream from here is the Foote Brothers Kayak Rentals.  Once you cross the bridge, you are in@poi[ Bradley Palmer Forest.](1875901)  If you have a lot of leg strength, go straight after crossing the bridge, and you will climb-climb-climb-climb.  Up to @poi[Blueberry Hill](1875902).  The downhill is not worth the climb…(smiles)  If you stay on the path I picked, you will travel along the river to the main estate buildings.  You will see horse traffic, so be careful.  After the parking lot, you will hit some @poi[single-tracks ](1875903)that are flat and fast.  Place to rest your muscles…a lot more hard riding coming up.

Exiting from Bradley Palmer you are heading up Highland  Street just a short way, to enter what looks like a person’s driveway.  It actually connects to a hidden farm property way in the back.  Once up the hill, you will see the round and green Hamilton @poi[Heritage Trail Tags](1875903) on the left before the main house.  You will follow these for a small part of this trip. These are shared horse trails. Please stop when you see a horse. There are some twisty and fun single-track trails after you go past serval horse jumps, in the open fields. Keep a careful look for the Green Heritage Trail tags here.

These trails are tricky.  If you find yourself on Cutler Road, just take it to the end. If you are successful in following the route, you will cross the rail-road tracks, and hit some great single-track before getting on Cutler road.  At one point, you will be near a Private Farm. DO NOT ENTER, you missed the correct trail if you see this sign.

Once you passed Cutler Road, you have a few miles of rolling hills on the road before the next park. Another sneaky back entrance gets you into the forest at @poi[Gordon College](1875905).  If you want to do some extra exploring here, wait until you hit the first lake, about half way through the park.  The balance of the trails should be mostly negotiable with your skinny bike. If you stay on-course, there is another few miles of road to travel before hitting the trails at @poi[Greenwood Ave, ](1875906)Beverly.  Lots of great trails at this park, many require suspension.  Explore at your own risk.

One more park is just the finish to a long day on the trails.  4-6 hour ride time.  Still have 5 miles back to Salem. Or, if you took the train, the last park in the ride ends at the Monserrate Train Station. The ride along the @poi[Beverly Coast Line](1875907) is worth the extra miles and the views of the rocky coastline are great. Ocean swimming location at Dane Street Beach.

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Danvers Rail Adventure: Advanced Level Cyclo-Cross or MTB Ride

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