Needle Looking for a Haystack (#5467) Ride Report
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Jake Kassen
Apr 20, 2025, 10:11:35 PMApr 20
to NERds
Today I rode the new 112km perm to the MIT Haystack observatory -- "Needle Looking for a Haystack". There was previously a great perm route to the observatory from Ride Studio Cafe in Lexington but the cafe and perm are long gone. This new route starts in Arlington and adds as many unpaved roads and trails as possible without adding too much extra distance. Here is my report!
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/50100463
TL;DR Version: Very fun perm, lots of dirt, lots of wind. Not a fast route but if you enjoy rocky dirt roads and a bit of wayfinding, it's a good day on the bike.
The route is designed to use the dirt paths in Minuteman National Park adjacent to 2A. But given all the festivities around the 250th anniversary of the start of the revolutionary war, I expected the park to be packed with reenactors and spectators and impassable. Therefore, I decided to ire-route to instead stay on the Minuteman path all the way to Concord. As fate would have it, the bike path was being used for a marathon by active duty military. So in an effort to avoid 18th century soldiers, I got stymied by their 21st century counterparts.
The first control is at the Old North Bridge in Concord. Not only wasn't it crowded, it had even fewer people out and about than a normal Sunday morning. Guess I should have just stuck with the route as designed.
From the control, the route takes the Estabrook dirt road/trail. This is one of the more "technical" sections of dirt on the route. The trail has been the subject of a multiyear battle between wealthy landowners who want to block all usage and the town which holds that it's public, open road (trail) even if it hasn't been maintained in a century. The landowners have lost all their challenges but it hasn't stopped them from posting threatening (if not incoherent) signs at the start. Least any riders be concerned, know that it is 100% legal and acceptable to ride. That said, a number of riders have crashed on the rocky and leaf-covered path so take it slow. I had to dismount a few times to get past particularly rocky sections but otherwise had no problems.
Shortly into the path I met an e-bike rider heading the opposite way. He warned me the Concord fire department was looking for a wildfire and I should let someone know if I find one. An odd request but thankfully, I found nothing on fire.
I really like the section from Concord to Haystack. All the roads are quiet and interesting. The dirt roads & trails in the Stonybrook Conservation area past a summer camp are great. I even got to see a dark Milksnake in the section. But be warned that following the route can be difficult even with a GPS. The trails branch out with few indications which fork is the correct one. There are a few sections of hoist-a-bike over fallen trees or big rocks.
The climb to Haystack is short and not too steep. There's an imposing gate which is closed on weekends but was a sign noting that people are always allowed up during daytime hours if they are not in a car. As a rider, it's nice to know you have the whole road to yourself as you ride past the huge radar arrays. (And think how much of a tragic loss it would be should federal funding for the space research be eliminated.)
By this point I was getting pretty hungry and regretting not bringing bike food. The few stores the route passes were closed on Sunday and the April headwinds were fierce. I had a big meal (or rather, lots of snacks) at the Westford Dunkins control.
From there to Bedford the route is paved and still quiet although not isolated as the outbound leg. After crossing the Concord river the route takes a "shortcut" on Rainbow Rd. This is basically a sandpit and I had to walk. (It's short.) I might just stick with the slightly longer paved alternative in the future. Speaking of sand, the start of the narrow gauge tail is always sandy but it quickly turns into a nice graded path.
After the Narrow Gauge path one could take it easy and just hop on the Minuteman path back to Arlington. But if you did this, you'd miss a number of trails in Lexington. That town has an awesome network of trails but they can be steep, rocky, and difficult to follow. It's worth the effort if you aren't in a hurry. I did have to walk the bike in a few sections but in return I spotted a few Garter snakes.
Finally, I was almost back in Arlington. I knew something was up when eight police officers rode the other way on the Minuteman followed by hundreds of people walking. I'm entirely sure what was happening in Arlington center but they closed Mass Ave with fences and had police vehicles from local and distant towns. (Who knew Sterling needs a tactical response vehicle?) After a bit of navigating, I was back home in Medford.
All in all, a great spring day on the bike! The route is highly recommended for those who want an adventure.
Jake
Route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/50100463
TL;DR Version: Very fun perm, lots of dirt, lots of wind. Not a fast route but if you enjoy rocky dirt roads and a bit of wayfinding, it's a good day on the bike.
The route is designed to use the dirt paths in Minuteman National Park adjacent to 2A. But given all the festivities around the 250th anniversary of the start of the revolutionary war, I expected the park to be packed with reenactors and spectators and impassable. Therefore, I decided to ire-route to instead stay on the Minuteman path all the way to Concord. As fate would have it, the bike path was being used for a marathon by active duty military. So in an effort to avoid 18th century soldiers, I got stymied by their 21st century counterparts.
The first control is at the Old North Bridge in Concord. Not only wasn't it crowded, it had even fewer people out and about than a normal Sunday morning. Guess I should have just stuck with the route as designed.
From the control, the route takes the Estabrook dirt road/trail. This is one of the more "technical" sections of dirt on the route. The trail has been the subject of a multiyear battle between wealthy landowners who want to block all usage and the town which holds that it's public, open road (trail) even if it hasn't been maintained in a century. The landowners have lost all their challenges but it hasn't stopped them from posting threatening (if not incoherent) signs at the start. Least any riders be concerned, know that it is 100% legal and acceptable to ride. That said, a number of riders have crashed on the rocky and leaf-covered path so take it slow. I had to dismount a few times to get past particularly rocky sections but otherwise had no problems.
Shortly into the path I met an e-bike rider heading the opposite way. He warned me the Concord fire department was looking for a wildfire and I should let someone know if I find one. An odd request but thankfully, I found nothing on fire.
I really like the section from Concord to Haystack. All the roads are quiet and interesting. The dirt roads & trails in the Stonybrook Conservation area past a summer camp are great. I even got to see a dark Milksnake in the section. But be warned that following the route can be difficult even with a GPS. The trails branch out with few indications which fork is the correct one. There are a few sections of hoist-a-bike over fallen trees or big rocks.
The climb to Haystack is short and not too steep. There's an imposing gate which is closed on weekends but was a sign noting that people are always allowed up during daytime hours if they are not in a car. As a rider, it's nice to know you have the whole road to yourself as you ride past the huge radar arrays. (And think how much of a tragic loss it would be should federal funding for the space research be eliminated.)
By this point I was getting pretty hungry and regretting not bringing bike food. The few stores the route passes were closed on Sunday and the April headwinds were fierce. I had a big meal (or rather, lots of snacks) at the Westford Dunkins control.
From there to Bedford the route is paved and still quiet although not isolated as the outbound leg. After crossing the Concord river the route takes a "shortcut" on Rainbow Rd. This is basically a sandpit and I had to walk. (It's short.) I might just stick with the slightly longer paved alternative in the future. Speaking of sand, the start of the narrow gauge tail is always sandy but it quickly turns into a nice graded path.
After the Narrow Gauge path one could take it easy and just hop on the Minuteman path back to Arlington. But if you did this, you'd miss a number of trails in Lexington. That town has an awesome network of trails but they can be steep, rocky, and difficult to follow. It's worth the effort if you aren't in a hurry. I did have to walk the bike in a few sections but in return I spotted a few Garter snakes.
Finally, I was almost back in Arlington. I knew something was up when eight police officers rode the other way on the Minuteman followed by hundreds of people walking. I'm entirely sure what was happening in Arlington center but they closed Mass Ave with fences and had police vehicles from local and distant towns. (Who knew Sterling needs a tactical response vehicle?) After a bit of navigating, I was back home in Medford.
All in all, a great spring day on the bike! The route is highly recommended for those who want an adventure.
Jake
Jeff Mangieri
Apr 21, 2025, 4:00:31 PMApr 21
to li...@jkassen.org, NERds
Thanks for the ride report and announcement of the perm. I'll definitely put it on my list to ride this year.
The crowd you saw in Arlington on the way back were the spectators headed to their cars/home after The Battle of Menotomy reenactment down Mass Ave.
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Aoife Troxel
Apr 28, 2025, 12:21:22 PMApr 28
to New England Randonneurs
I rode this perm yesterday and also thought it was wonderful! Really nice mix of quiet roads and doable gravel. Having previously ridden Estabrook in much wetter conditions, I appreciated not having any stream-fording this time around. Other than that section, I would say that all of the gravel on this route is quite well-drained.
Though it was slightly rainy, it was still a nice enough day that I was surprised at how quiet the trails were throughout. Saw a few other riders and less pedestrians than expected (though of course the Minuteman on the way home was a bit of a zoo).
Had a delicious ice cream break at Great Brook (which opened for the season just last week), and considered stopping earlier at Country Creamery but instead took a pit-stop at a friend's house nearby.
Emily O'Brien
Apr 28, 2025, 7:36:31 PMApr 28
to aoife...@gmail.com, New England Randonneurs
This route is clearly trending, because I played hooky and rode it today. As promised, it’s a really nice route with nice, quiet trails. I rode on a weekday, so there was more traffic in a few places, but it’s mostly a really quiet route so you don’t see much of the traffic. The Minuteman can be a zoo in nice weather even on a weekday, but all the other trails were great.
A few places are definitely more singletrack than dirt road, but it’s great if you like that sort of thing. :) The trail at Stonybrook is worth stopping for some photos. I didn’t see a big water snake like Jake did, but I did see a garter snake that let me get some pretty close-up photos before slithering on its way.
10/10, would ride again.
Emily “Snake sightings are a ride metric” O'Brien
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