Map
This is a ride and a walk. It starts with a ride down Perkins Row - my favorite biking section.
The walk starts at one end of the Beverly-Salem Canal which pulls water out of the Ipswich River and down to Wenham Lake which is a reservoir for the Beverly-Salem Water District (I'd love to know how that arrangement got made.)
My friend Martha introduced this to me. She and her dog, Beatrice, showed me the walk today for the first time. It's about 4 miles roundtrip although Beatrice probably did 8 miles with her numerous side trips into the canal.
Side trips on this ride-walk could turn it into a ride-walk-canoe. Stop at the Audubon Sanctuary and rent a canoe to wander through the sanctuary via the river.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Sunday, August 26, 2007
To the Great Marsh and the Sea
Map
Today was the ride to the sea. I was really excited the first time I made this ride - I can bike to the sea! On this ride, I made up my mind that my biking family just had to come out and see this.
The Ipswich River is one of several rivers that flow through the Great Marsh into the sea. In the summer it's full of motor boats but they are always dwarfed by the largeness of the Marsh.
They start out from the public dock in Ipswich.
The road is lightly traveled but for along time you see clumps of trees and gatherings of old small summer homes.
Suddenly you pedal around a bend and through the limbs of an old crabapple tree is your first glimpse.
The road straightens and the Marsh spreads out to the horizon. It's wild, almost untouched, green in summer and brown in winter. It's a living ecosystem and you are aware that the trees and houses don't really belong there at all.
The road twists and turns, first showing you the sea then hiding it. But the Marsh is always on your right, sometimes on its own, sometimes revealing the river that winds its way through it to the sea.
Great Neck is the larger of the two knobs at the end of the pennisula. Residents on one side live on the Marsh, the other side are seacoast dwellers. They have brought their own whimsy to the place.
The river comes close to the shore as you ride around Great Neck and the boats reappear.
Little Neck is the smaller knob - it is private and controlled through an centuries old arrangement. Today the residents were having an island party.
On the tiny strip that connects the two knobs is a little beach - I've never seen anyone swimming there - it seems to be a place to sit and think.
I took a panoramic video - starting with my back to the sea, sweeping from Great Neck across the Marsh to Little Neck across the sea and back to Great Neck.
Today was the ride to the sea. I was really excited the first time I made this ride - I can bike to the sea! On this ride, I made up my mind that my biking family just had to come out and see this.
The Ipswich River is one of several rivers that flow through the Great Marsh into the sea. In the summer it's full of motor boats but they are always dwarfed by the largeness of the Marsh.
They start out from the public dock in Ipswich.
The road is lightly traveled but for along time you see clumps of trees and gatherings of old small summer homes.Suddenly you pedal around a bend and through the limbs of an old crabapple tree is your first glimpse.
The road straightens and the Marsh spreads out to the horizon. It's wild, almost untouched, green in summer and brown in winter. It's a living ecosystem and you are aware that the trees and houses don't really belong there at all.
The road twists and turns, first showing you the sea then hiding it. But the Marsh is always on your right, sometimes on its own, sometimes revealing the river that winds its way through it to the sea.Great Neck is the larger of the two knobs at the end of the pennisula. Residents on one side live on the Marsh, the other side are seacoast dwellers. They have brought their own whimsy to the place.
The river comes close to the shore as you ride around Great Neck and the boats reappear.
Little Neck is the smaller knob - it is private and controlled through an centuries old arrangement. Today the residents were having an island party.
On the tiny strip that connects the two knobs is a little beach - I've never seen anyone swimming there - it seems to be a place to sit and think.I took a panoramic video - starting with my back to the sea, sweeping from Great Neck across the Marsh to Little Neck across the sea and back to Great Neck.
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Estates Ride
Map
This ride goes through one former estate - Bradley Palmer Park - now a state park.
This is the entrance off of Asbury Road.
This is the path inside the park. It's a leisurely ride since the path is shared by everyone - rollerbladers, runners, kids with training wheels, dogs, skateboarders, couples out for stroll and moms with baby strollers.
At the end of the park, it's a left turn on Highland Road, now almost traffic-free since the bridge over the Ipswich River has been shut down. This is the left side (going north) past Winthrop Road (yes, THAT Winthrop). I love this tree standing alone in the field. The right side is Appleton Farms, owned by the Trustees of Reservations and the second estate. The next couple of miles are going around this enormous (and wonderful) property.
This is Waldingford Road - horse country. Peaceful and always tree-shade cool. The north side of Appleton Farms.
The next section is Route 1A. This is the "just-do-it" part of the ride. There are lots of cars in both directions. For a while there is a wide shoulder but that narrows and disppears when you enter Hamilton proper. It's not scary - just noisy. The scenery is lovely. The map shows the Cutler Road extension - it cuts off the 1A section and sends you back to Highland Road. Very quiet, peaceful but the last quarter is gravel and dirt - not good when it's wet.
Staying on the basic route takes you to Asbury Road which takes a right and then a left. At the right is the entrance to this charming and still mysterious (to me anyway) Asbury Grove community. I'm leaving it to explore on a special day.
Continuing up Asbury Road - the reward. It's Green Meadows Farm - an organic, CSA with a farm stand. I can't help but stop so I try not to carry any money when I go past. This summer they have "guard llamas" to protect the sheep from the coyotes. You can see them from the side of the road and I got one of them to look at me so I could take her picture.
The Asbury Road bridge crossing over the Ipswich River is very close to home so I don't often stop to look but I should. In high water time, this bridge is crowded with teens and kids jumping off into the water. We've done it too (ok, not me.)
This ride goes through one former estate - Bradley Palmer Park - now a state park.
This is the entrance off of Asbury Road.
This is the path inside the park. It's a leisurely ride since the path is shared by everyone - rollerbladers, runners, kids with training wheels, dogs, skateboarders, couples out for stroll and moms with baby strollers.
At the end of the park, it's a left turn on Highland Road, now almost traffic-free since the bridge over the Ipswich River has been shut down. This is the left side (going north) past Winthrop Road (yes, THAT Winthrop). I love this tree standing alone in the field. The right side is Appleton Farms, owned by the Trustees of Reservations and the second estate. The next couple of miles are going around this enormous (and wonderful) property.
This is Waldingford Road - horse country. Peaceful and always tree-shade cool. The north side of Appleton Farms.The next section is Route 1A. This is the "just-do-it" part of the ride. There are lots of cars in both directions. For a while there is a wide shoulder but that narrows and disppears when you enter Hamilton proper. It's not scary - just noisy. The scenery is lovely. The map shows the Cutler Road extension - it cuts off the 1A section and sends you back to Highland Road. Very quiet, peaceful but the last quarter is gravel and dirt - not good when it's wet.
Staying on the basic route takes you to Asbury Road which takes a right and then a left. At the right is the entrance to this charming and still mysterious (to me anyway) Asbury Grove community. I'm leaving it to explore on a special day.
Continuing up Asbury Road - the reward. It's Green Meadows Farm - an organic, CSA with a farm stand. I can't help but stop so I try not to carry any money when I go past. This summer they have "guard llamas" to protect the sheep from the coyotes. You can see them from the side of the road and I got one of them to look at me so I could take her picture.
The Asbury Road bridge crossing over the Ipswich River is very close to home so I don't often stop to look but I should. In high water time, this bridge is crowded with teens and kids jumping off into the water. We've done it too (ok, not me.)
Friday, August 24, 2007
My First Ride
Map
It was my first "real ride." The one I planned out on a map because I had never even driven on some of the roads before. Since then, I've explored with it and extended it. Now, it's the "last hurrah" ride of the season, the first "yippee" ride of early spring. It's the ride I take when I only have time to squeeze in a short one, the ride I take when I'm tired but I need to get out. I usually include the extensions now, I take the short ride only when it's getting dark or starting to rain and I need to get home quickly. Invariably, no matter how low my spirits have been, no matter how anxious my thoughts, sometime during this ride laughter will start to bubble up, a grin spread across my face and my heart will start to sing: "Happy, happy, happy!"
It was my first "real ride." The one I planned out on a map because I had never even driven on some of the roads before. Since then, I've explored with it and extended it. Now, it's the "last hurrah" ride of the season, the first "yippee" ride of early spring. It's the ride I take when I only have time to squeeze in a short one, the ride I take when I'm tired but I need to get out. I usually include the extensions now, I take the short ride only when it's getting dark or starting to rain and I need to get home quickly. Invariably, no matter how low my spirits have been, no matter how anxious my thoughts, sometime during this ride laughter will start to bubble up, a grin spread across my face and my heart will start to sing: "Happy, happy, happy!"
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