The route starts in Lowell, heading south on MA 110 to MA 4, and following that road to Bedford, MA. It’s a steady, gentle climb from the start to the Billerica line, then after a slight dip, a steep uphill slog for a mile and a half to Rangeway Road. “Steep” here is not more than a 2% grade, but around here that’s practically vertical. From here on to Bedford it’s basically flat. In terms of scenery, this section progresses rapidly from urban to suburban to rural, past marshes and meadows and forest, with beautiful crossings over Russel Mill Pond (mi. 6.5) and the Concord River (mi. 9.5). From Lowell to Bedford is completely exposed to the sun, so bring sunglasses and sunscreen.

Halfway through Billerica I realized that I had forgotten my helmet in Lowell. Oops. That’s important. But given that the highway riding was nearly done, I decided it would be safer to press on than to retrace it all.

At Bedford, there’s a Whole Foods just off the road, and I decided that Sushi would make the perfect mid-trail snack. I was right.

Across the street from the Bedford Whole Foods, a brief jaunt down Webber Ave to Loomis St puts you at the northern terminus of the Minuteman Commuter Bikeway. The trailhead is a little tricky to find–it’s behind the old Boston and Maine railroad car. On a nice day, follow the bright yellow spandex.

The bikeway is an 11-mile green tunnel, under almost 100% forest cover. Sunglasses went in the panniers here. The trail passes through the towns of Bedford, Lexington, Arlington and Cambridge before ending at Alewife Station. Frequent road crossings are marked by stop signs on the trail, and local motorists are very good about yielding to walkers and cyclists. The busier crossings have traffic lights with trigger buttons for the trail users. In Lexington, the trail passes by a town park where there was some kind of concert going on that the entire town seemed to have turned up for. Just past the park, across from the Seasons Four nursery is a huge patch of wild raspberry bushes, which made for a convenient water and berry-picking stop.

At the Lexington Arlington line, the trail crosses south of Arlington’s Great Meadows, a 180-acre virgin wet meadow with hiking trials around its uplands. At Arlington Center, the bikeway breaks and requires you to ride for a block along Mass Ave, but the signage is good and again, there are always other cyclists to follow.

At Alewife, follow the signs to Davis Square via Linear Park, which is a multi-use trail paved on top of the red line subway connection between Davis and Alewife. Again, there is a slightly awkward crossing over Mass Ave. This part of the trail is narrower and has more pedestrians and dog walkers, so use caution. On yesterday’s ride I nearly had to stop to avoid a small, curious dog whose human was so lost in her iPod that she had no idea it was running straight for my bike!

At Davis Square, the trail is done. Ice cream, beer, and BBQ are good options here. Map of the route below