South End to Salem

This really isn't a very pleasant ride, at least not at the start. There is just no way to cross the Mystic River going northeast. If I go that way again, it would be much better to grab the Blue Line and start from Revere. Everything between Charlestown and Lynn is teh suxors, especially Everett.

The McGrath-O'Brien Highway goes from Leverett Circle to Cambridge and Medford where it becomes Route 28. It's the road you have to get onto once the Charles River Esplanade ends at the MDC police station by the drawbridge. I passed the Museum of Science and the intersection where you turn right onto the bridge that goes under the Green Line then to Bunker Hill Community College in Charlestown was blocked to traffic. The state police were turning cars around, which meant they'd have to use the one of the other bridges, bridges that are off limits to bicycles and would mean I'd have to go several miles out of the way to find a way around. I took an earlier turn by those big Beacon Properties buildings, but it turned out to be just a drive way to BSC and some truck turnaround place. There was no way onto the bridge. There were four or five girls sitting in the middle of the intersection and a couple of cars were parked at jaunty angles with their emergency lights flashing. There were also a couple of people with at tape measure measuring something, so I figured it was a largish accident (with them measuring skid marks or something). That intersection is very congested, but has a lot of accidents judging by the debris in the road. Seeing a couple of joggers go by (it was about 8:30 am on a Sunday), I asked the cop if I could go onto the bridge. He looked at me funny and said, "sure." So I did.

At the other end of the bridge was quite a large crowd and there were orange traffic cones set up everywhere. They all started cheering as I approached. So I went over to one girl and asked what was going on. Apparently, I'd stumbled into the middle of the Monster.com Challenge Triathlon. The traffic cones all pointed to the right, but I needed to go left to get onto Route 99 to Everett. This caused some panic among the, what would they be? guides? They were all shouting "No! No! This way!" I suppose I might have looked the part. I had on my spiffy new shorts (which, by the way are awesome) and vest, so I was looking my-T-fine. But I passed up the chance to do a Rosie Ruiz and turned left to Everett.

What a nasty, ugly road. It's the one that goes by the power plant. And going through Everett isn't much better. In fact, the whole way to Lynn is really not very nice. The roads are not well kept, there's not enough shoulder for bikes and the drivers are some of the worst and most aggressive I've encountered (except for that one Boston cab at the end of the ride who tried to kill me).

Every house, business, and road in Saugus has a banner wishing luck or congratulating the Saugus Little League Team. I've been to the Saugus Iron Works before and it's quite worth the visit, but it was still pretty early in the ride, and I didn't feel like a rest. I just wanted to get somewhere where the ride would be a little nicer. Nicer started in Lynn.

Lynn is one of those boom and bust towns, and they've got a lot of problems. Problems that towns much larger than they are aren't very good at dealing with. But they've done some beautiful things with the waterfront. Starting at about the North Shore Community College and extending through Swampscott, is a really nice beach and concrete boardwalk all along the waterfront. Very, very nice. Dogs are welcome on the Lynn part. They're not welcome anywhere in Swampscott. So I guess the Lynn part is meant to be used and enjoyed and Swampscott is look but don't touch.

Marblehead is quaint, but just a little too precious. Immense houses on the outskirts, but then these 17th century clapboard houses right downtown with a Benz or a Lexus in every driveway is just so.

There's a quite nice packed, crushed stone bike path that goes from Marblehead to Salem and once in Salem is paved for a few miles. Unfortunately, it ends on a very heavily traveled truck route, so it should either end earlier or later, or have a sign saying "for a nice ride, turn here."

I've always liked Salem. If I didn't live in Boston, I'd probably live there. Lots of history, the people are nice, the wharf area is very well kept and the Essex Museum is one of the best. Don't get all caught up in the Laurie Cabot witch claptrap. There's so much more to Salem than that. The maritime history alone is a microcosm of all of early American shipping. Ships from Salem were the first to reach the Orient and generated immense wealth. The Custom House, where Nathaniel Hawthorne worked is still there, as is the enormous ½ mile long Derby Wharf. And right down the street is the House of Seven Gables that he made famous.

I saw a sign for Salem Willows Amusement Park, but I'd never heard of it, so I went to see what it was. It wasn't at all what I expected. I was expecting roller coasters and rides and things, but it was a really spectacular grassy park and beach at the end of the peninsula. There was a small row of cheap eateries and penny arcades like small Salisbury Beach, but mostly it's a picnic ground and fishing pier. I spent two hours there having lunch and just wandering around.

I had planned to set out for Rockport, but Salem Willows ate up my time and it was time to return. The ride back was fairly uneventful. No spectacular views or anything. I passed through Middlesex Fells which is always nice, then back into town where Independent Cab Co. medallion 1728 tried to run me down. We got into a bit of a shouting match in the middle of Exeter St., but he'll be hearing from the Hackney board come Tuesday.

All in all, an OK ride. But there really needs to be a better way to get there. Commuter Rail runs right to Salem Center, so maybe it would be good make Salem the starting point and maybe head for Maine or something. That whole Lynn to Everett thing is just not worth the effort.

Nothing of real consequence. The right brake lever hood came loose (I was expecting that). I was able to get it shoved back into place so that it didn't affect the braking, but it's going to have be reposition and the handlebars rewrapped. Hopefully it will last the season before I have to do that. Harris Cyclery has a set of my brake hoods for sale, but it's $60 for the pair! Just for the hoods! I guess that's what comes with having an "antique." I could get a whole new set of brakes for that.

• Distance: 60.85 mi
• Ride time: 5:04:00
• Avg speed: 12.24
• Max speed: 29.4

I didn't accidentally reset the computer this time!