Boston to Salem 70 Mile Advanced Level Cyclo-Cross Tarzan Adventure

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Boston, MA, US

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All Day Adventures

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

110 km

521 m

UPDATED for 2023: Added in the new Rail Trail connection in Middleton. Means 4 more trail miles, and 4 less road miles.
Tarzan Adventure Series: 6+ Hours Saddle Time. Advanced Level Cyclo-Cross. 75% Dirt trails or bike paths. Less than 18 Miles on the road. Includes Charles River Paths, Prospect Hill Park, Walden Woods, Harold Parker Forest

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(UPDATED for 2023) Added more Dirt... The **Boston to Salem 70 Mile Advanced Level Cycle-Cross** "Tarzan" Ride:  Part of the *Tarzan Ride Series*. Tarzan Rides are 6 to 10 Hour Extreme Endurance rides for advanced cyclists - not the same as road riding for this same distance.  Many of the dirt portions of these rides are very slow going, and are very resistive trails that will drain your energy.  Expect 5000 – 8000 usage calories for these rides.

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

**Riding Equipment:**     Cycle-Cross bike with 38 mm X-Cross tires is best. Do not use a road bike, you will wreck it.  Fully Rigid MTB with x-country trail slicks is a good alternative. Too many miles for any other bikes. Bringing food is mandatory. Also pack 100 oz of water and you will need to stop for more.  A camera is a good idea, as you will pass through many photo worthy sites.

**About the Ride:** This ride is for advanced level cycle-cross riders because of the distance and amount of dirt riding involved.  Along with some road cycling, this ride is a great mix or back-roads, fire-roads, dirt paths, rail trails, and the Harold Parker Forest.

This ride takes advantage of the MBTA Commuter Rail system for the start or end of this ride.  I have designed this ride to keep you off of the main roads and on quiet back roads as much as possible.

**Towns on the Route:** Boston to Salem, over 70 miles long including many parks and trails. This ride will pass through the towns of: (In order) Boston, Cambridge, Watertown, Waltham, Lincoln, Concord, Bedford, Billerica, Tewksbury, Wilmington, Andover, Middletown, Peabody, and Salem.

**Parks on the Route:**  @poi[Esplanade](2032969) on the Charles River, @poi[Charles River Bike-way](2033916), @poi[Prospect Hill Park](2033917) in Waltham, @poi[Lincoln Woods](574ddbdfbca5920c87000043), @poi[Walden Pond](2032977) Woods, @poi[Minute Man National Historic](2032978) site in Lexington, @poi[Bedford Bike Path](2033918), @poi[Billerica Bike Path](2033922), @poi[Harold Parker Forest](2033919), and the @poi[Peabody Bike Paths](2032985).

**Riding the Route:** Starting at North Station MBTA in Boston, we quickly leave the city streets to get you on the @photo[Charles River Bike Path](1666350).  You will be on this bike path for the next 15 miles.  This first part of the ride is mostly flat, as you will be following the Charles River on your trek to Waltham.

There are a dozen street crossings at river bridges. About 1 per mile.  There are many river side parks along the way. The most famous is the Esplanade where the Boston Pops plays on the 4rth of July.

@photo[Watertown Square](1666355) has a dam where many folks stop for a few moments. Continue on to Waltham, where you will come across the @photo[Moody Street dam](1766238).  Continue up the river through the @photo[cemetery](1666353) along the river, exit out the back door and you will be at Brandis University.

Once past the college campus at @poi[**Mile 16**](2032973) and crossing over Main Street Waltham, you will find a short trail that goes straight up a hill for about 100 feet.  You will not be able to ride up this.  Once at the top, you will be on a road.  About 100 yards on this road, you will find a small poorly marked trail entrance.  Enter here and you are now in @photo[Prospect Hill Park](1766241).   We circumvent this steep part of the hill, but feel free to go across the top if you want.

The back way out of this park will bring you to the @poi[Cambridge Reservoir](2032975). Once past the industrial park, the roads will quiet down a lot, as you enter the back roads and trails of Lincoln.  The @point[Decordova Sculpture Park](d,37986.82) is Free to cyclist, take a look around while you pedal through.  At @poi[**Mile 26**](2032977) the trail system will bring you to the very famous @poi[Walden Pond](2032977).  While you are not allowed to ride your bike at @photo[Walden Pond](1766253), you can view from the beach if you walk you bike down there.

At @poi[**Mile 29**](2032978), you will be at the @photo[Minute Man National Historic](1766264) site, at the Old North Bridge.   You should stop here for your first lunch. **Mile 30** is the start of a flat Rail Trail that will take you along the Great Meadows and into Bedford.

Near @poi[**Mile 34**](2032980) is the trail head for the @photo[Minute Man Bike Path](1766265).  There is a Ice-cream shop, tourist info, a bike shop, and many cyclist at this location. This will take you in a straight line back to Boston if you choose to bail out.  Do not get confused, the Minute Man is a 15 mile bail out. You want the Narrow Gauge Railroad trail around the corner and down the street a bit to continue the original route.

The @poi[Narrow Gauge Rail Trail](2033922) will take you a good part of the way to Billerica on a flat non paved trail.

Starting at **Mile 37**, you will be on the road with rolling hills for the next 13 miles. After a couple of crowded roads at the Route 3A intersection, the rest of this road should be sparsely traveled.

A great place to stop is for your lunch is “The Mill” at Ballardvale Center near @poi[**Mile 47**](2032981).  You should be 4 to 5 hours into your ride at this point.

Continue on and the next stop is @photo[Harold Parker Forest](1766276).  There are only a few fire-roads that are acceptable for a cycle-cross bike. All other trails will require full suspension and are the hardest single-tracks to ride in the area. Explore other trails at tour own risk. This is strongly discouraged.

@poi[**Mile 53**](2032983) is near the Jenkins Parking lot.  You will see many mountain bikers getting ready to ride at this location.  After a few more miles of Harold Parker forest, you are on the road again heading to @photo[Salem Pond](1766266) in Middleton.

The back way out of Middleton Pond gets you to @poi[**Mile 61**](2032985) and the start of the Peabody Rail Trail.  A flat and paved rail-trail heading straight to Salem.    The rail trail breaks for 1 mile, and rejoins again after a stressful Highway crossing at Rt 1.   For the Rt 1 interchange, I strongly recommend riding on the sidewalk on the opposite side of the road the entire 1 mile section of Lowell Street.

A few more miles of rail trail and back roads gets you to Downtown Salem, where a full meal is probably a good idea. Visit the @poi[Pickering Warf](2033920) area, lots of places to lock up your bike and sit outside to eat.

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Boston to Salem 70 Mile Advanced Level Cyclo-Cross Tarzan Adventure

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