Biking the Bay Circuit Trail - Concord to Ashland (Day 6)

The rainy spring and summer put a damper on my Bay Circuit Trail adventure, but after a two-month absence, I was back for ride number six. Nancy, Tony and Bill joined me for a mostly paved road segment from Concord Center to Rt. 126 in Ashland. There was some confusion over the designated start time which delayed our departure from downtown Concord. We later encountered a confusing section of trail in Ashland Town Forest but otherwise, the ride was smooth sailing.

Overview of route - Red indicates paved, blue is unpaved.

Soon after leaving Concord center, we entered Hapgood Wright Town Forest. The BCT follows the same footpath walked by Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson in the 1800s. The low-lying trail through Clintonia Swamp leading to Fairyland Pond was muddy and rocky which required dismounting from the bike. A mixed pattern of riding and walking followed for one mile before we were back on pavement.

The Emerson-Thoreau Amble - riding in the footstep of literary greats. 

The next six or seven miles were on paved roads through upscale neighborhoods interrupted briefly by a well-maintained gravel road in Lincoln. This one-mile stretch of gravel was my favorite section on the entire ride. Another mile on the Mass Central Rail Trail brought us to Wayland where we crossed the Sudbury River and rode along the boundary of Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. More road miles ensued before we stopped to refill our water bottles at the Christa McAuliffe Branch Library in Framingham. Yes, that Christa McAuliffe!

Crunchy gravel road

The Sudbury River was running high due to ample rainfall this year.

There’s an extensive aqueduct system in eastern Massachusetts supplying water to the surrounding communities. Some of these aqueducts allow public access while others do not. Approximately 1.5 miles of the official BCT bike route is on the Hultman Aqueduct in Framingham. Evidently, the vetting process for this new route was incomplete as I learned through my own research that the Hultman Aqueduct does not allow public use. I decided to avoid this area and create a re-route to Callahan State Park.

No Trespassing sign at Hultman Aqueduct.

There was a short, technical section of single track in Callahan State Park that required a hike-a-bike. This was followed by 5 miles of road riding with one significant, half-mile climb at 9% grade up Oak Hill in Framingham. South of the Massachusetts Turnpike, we entered Ashland State Forest. After riding a short distance on rocky, single-track, we approach a confusing trail junction. My GPS route showed us going left, but a BCT marker indicated we should take the trail to the right. After some deliberation, we continued to the right which brought us on some of the nicest single-track of the adventure. 

When we reached the Mill Pond area, I was expecting to navigate through narrow, overgrown single-track along the Sudbury River. At least that is what I remembered from my BCT hike several years ago. I was pleasantly surprised to find the trail had been widened and upgraded to smooth gravel for approximately one-half mile. I enjoyed seeing the cascading water at Mill Falls as much as I did the first time. After a brief stop to admire the falls, it was time to move on.

Cascades at Mill Pond

Three more miles of road riding brought us to the abandoned pumping station in Ashland. This conclued our 30 mile section ride of the BCT by we were far from finished. We still had several miles to go before our day was done. More on this in my next post.

Ride Summary:

Day 6 - 29.9 miles, 113.8 cumulative.
Paved - 22.5 miles, 65.2 cumulative.

Unpaved - 7.4 miles, 48.6 cumulative.

Elevation gain - 1,622 feet, 7,298 cumulative.

Max grade - 17.0%

High point - Oak Hill, Framingham, 519 feet

Towns traversed - Concord, Lincoln, Sudbury, Wayland, Framingham, Southborough, Ashland

Green spaces visited - Hapgood Wright Town Forest, Ashland Town Forest, Sudbury Riverwalk