Ride 2
The "Massachusetts River" Ride
This ride departs from the Sears parking lot at the corner of Pond St. (i.e. Route 126) and Eliot St. in Ashland. If you’re coming by car, please park as far away from the stores as possible.
One of the very best rides on our ride calendar, this route takes us along some of our favorite roads through the northern section of Sherborn including Brush Hill Road, Hunting Lane and Lake Street. As we move into South Natick, we’ll carefully pick our way over the bumpy but beautiful road that runs through Audubon’s Broadmoor Sanctuary. Then, we’re off to the Natick Dam in South Natick. After we climb above the dam area up a fairly challenging hill, we’ll be treated to some really easy riding on the truly spectacular Claybrook Rd which winds its way along numerous small tributaries of the Charles River. Claybrook, which is just shy of two miles long, offers some of the best cycling in Metrowest. It should rank very high among those of you who hate hills. But, nothing good lasts forever. After Claybrook, we start a long stretch on the uphill-downhill rollercoaster. First, we go to Dover Center for lunch and then over to the Taffy Café to chat with Ruth and Sarah and sample their frozen yogurt. Then, to burn off those calories, we tackle some fairly tough hills, a bunch of them, as we pass by the Farm Pond area of Sherborn on our way back to Ashland. The scenery on this trip is among the very best that Metrowest offers. Don’t miss this ride!
Total distance: 24.1 miles; Total elevation gain: 1364 feet; Avg gain per mile: 57 feet; Maximum grade: 5.9 %.
Here’s a link to a map of the route: http://ridewithgps.com/routes/5135479.