Local loop
Sun June 7, 2020
(~ 273 miles)
With another stellar-weather Sunday fast approaching, Char and I reached out a bit late to a few friends on Saturday, and got three takers to accompany us on the New England Riders Central MA Quabbin Loop ride the following day. After a very early morning hike with the dog, we suited up while awaiting the arrival of our friend Silas. After a brief long-time-no-see-thanks-pandemic reunion chat, we hit the interstates to our 10am meetup point at the Dunkin in West Boylston, MA.
Our friends Will and Kelley had already arrived and introduced themselves. After more introductions and socially distanced catch-up talk, Char and I, 2-up on the ST, led the way out of the lot to begin the day’s venture on the back roads of central MA, with Silas in sweep position. There was rain forecast for the MA coast, which is one reason I’d chosen to head inland today. With comfortable temps in the high 60s and blue sky poking through, we were happy to be out for some wind therapy after another week of general isolation at home.
This was my first time riding this exact route, created by Ed Conde of NER. No matter how many of his routes I ride, I’m often chuckling in amazement at how he finds and strings together *just* the right little back roads to guide riders though areas that are otherwise urbanized, developed, or otherwise rather plain and uninteresting. The vast amount of time and care he puts in clearly shows to anyone riding his routes. We enjoyed several heretofore unknown roads through Holden and Princeton, with some nice water views of small ponds.
The route includes a short side-trip up the Mount Wachusett auto road for a couple nice scenic views. Despite recent reports of the auto road being closed, it was in fact open for vehicle traffic today when we pulled in to the gatehouse area. The hiking trailheads that we had passed on Mountain Road had all been packed to overflowing with cars, indicating a likely crowded summit area. We’d all been up the mountain before and voted to forego the $5/vehicle fee, avoid the crowds, and continue on our ride. I’d generally recommend the auto road on less crowded days when there’s time.
Westminster turned out being an absolute pleasure to ride through. We passed through some farmland with horses and vast (for New England) fields, curvy woodsy roads and a nice scenic lake causeway. We kept a fairly upbeat pace and the group seemed to mesh well.
In Hubbardston, my Zumo GPS shortcut the route by cutting the corner on Evergreen Road by Brigham Pond, where we hit a Road Closed detour sign. We pulled the group over to gauge “how closed” we thought the road might be. After Friday’s violent storm cells, it was likely blocked by a fallen tree. After zooming out the map, it was clear the detour would be very short so rather than take a chance on u-turning four bikes on a tiny road, we kept to the “detour”.
We rolled into the quaint village of Petersham to pick up sandwiches to-go for a later lunch at the Quabbin Reservoir. I’d ridden through Petersham a couple times, but hadn’t stopped. The spacious town green was almost deserted, with only ourselves and a young couple playing with their new Weimaraner puppy (Kelley went over to make friends).
The Petersham Country Store (NER-listed) is located inside a historic very Greek-looking building (one of several) right on the square. Approaching, it feels like you are going in to pay your taxes or pick up a dog license. The interior, however, is classic general store: dimmed and comfortable, with small aisles and wall shelves packed with foodstuffs and other necessities for the local shoppers. Apparently the first floor has been used as a store since the building’s construction in 1842.
The store deli was only offering pre-made sandwiches and wraps to-go during the pandemic, to cut down on customer time inside the store. Luckily, the limited offerings were appetizing and even included a vegetarian option for Charlotte. We were in and out within several minutes and packed our lunches away for later.
Now begins our 60 mile “great loop” round the Quabbin Reservoir, as we proceeded northwest on the excellent pavement of MA 122. For those unfamiliar, the Quabbin is the largest inland body of water in Massachusetts and provides water to the greater Boston area, some dozens of miles away to the east. It was constructed in the 1930s and required the abandonment and flooding of four small towns.
We rounded the north end and headed south on US 202, pulling in at the New Salem Vista. I have somehow always missed this particular stop, and was pleasantly surprised by the great view. The short driveway is deteriorated asphalt, gravel and dirt with large humps and valleys, but we all negotiated it successfully and parked in the mostly deserted lot for a 10 minute break. 
We made it back over the dicey entrance-way and headed south, stuck in a long line of cars behind a Sunday driver lugging a kayak. US 202 along the Quabbin is in great condition, but offers gradual curves that should be enjoyed at rather higher speeds. We simply endured the slow train south to Belchertown while Char snapped another shot of the group. I may explore alternative roads to the west to avoid 202 on the next go-round.
The scheduled fuel stop on the route was a Mobil station in Belchertown that had been demolished, with only the sign remaining. No one needed gas, so we just kept moving and turned onto MA 9 in the center of town.
In a couple miles, the GPS directed us right on past Windsor Dam Road, which I knew was the name of our next turn into the state owned lands surrounding the reservoir. Thinking that must have been our turn, I turned the group around in a safe spot, and we headed back in to the park. I quickly realized I was mistaken – this was the opposite end of the dam road, at the Quabbin Visitors Center, but continued on anyway – just to explore, since I’d never actually turned in here before.
It was a fortunate error because it turns out there is a magnificent NER BONE scenic view of the Quabbin right there at water level, which was a nice surprise. Better yet, it wasn’t crowded at all and we pulled our bikes right up to the little brick turnaround to snap a couple pictures.
We continued back out to route 9 for another half mile or so to the correct entrance to Windsor Dam Road. Lots of cars parked in the pullouts and by the dam, echoing the common theme we are seeing everywhere during the pandemic where people are finding time to get out and enjoy the open public spaces. We turned on Administration Drive to skirt the spillway and wound our way up the hill to our lunch stop at Enfield Lookout.
There were a few cars and bikes at the lookout – not nearly as busy as I’d worried it might be. This was Will’s first visit to this end of the reservoir, so we chatted a bit about the history and about the whole “Snake Island” controversy from a couple years back. We snagged a picnic table and adjoining bench to properly distance while eating and enjoying the conversation and view.
Everyone enjoyed their Petersham sandwiches, and Char particularly liked the tempeh bacon veggie wrap (bleah!).
On the way out to route 9 again, we marveled at the multitudes of verdant ferns lining the roadway and covering the forest floor.
We veered off MA 9 in Ware to pickup MA 32A (BONE) north to complete our loop back near Petersham center. The southern portion of this stretch of 32A was a bit blah and not in the best of shape, but the road got a bit more interesting and smoother further north.
We hopped on MA 122 for a smooth run back down through Barre, to retrace our earlier tracks on MA 62 for a few miles. Then we hit a series of excellent curvy wooded back roads back up through Hubbardston, Westminster, Leominster State Forest, and back into Princeton.
When we hit MA 140 in Princeton, there was a huge detour sign stating “Resident Traffic Only” for southbound traffic. I knew our next turn was less than a mile down, so rather than ride around the entire mountain, we chanced it this time and were able to make our turn right at the roadblock manned by the Princeton PD. Will, who rides the area often, told us that he thought there might be a bridge out.
A few more excellent curvy roads through the fringes of Leominster and Sterling brought us to our group ride end at Rota Spring Farm. Finally, our much-delayed-and-anticipated first ice cream stop of the year! Our friends the Woodsoms, who couldn’t make the ride, were there to greet us and share some quality ice cream time together.
Los motociclistas enmascaradas!
The lot was pretty full, despite the signs everywhere asking people NOT to stay on premises to eat, but the lines weren’t too bad and folks were wearing masks and keeping respectful distance from others. We being on motorcycles, didn’t have much choice, and took our dished ice cream (no cones for you!) over to eat standing next to the stacked picnic tables. We watched a couple dark looking cloud banks loom at the edge of the sky, but they went away and our day stayed dry. The Woodsoms live closer to the coast and reported having ridden through some chilly rain to get here.
Click for more photos of today’s ride
Your report are like reading ones in Rider Magazine. Actually better because (me as the Reader) can relate what story you are telling. When you were in Petersham the church in the center, the steeple has a Paul Revere Bell. OSJ knows about this one, it was an object on one of his seasonal treasure hunts.