Scituate 17-Aug-03

South End to Scituate

Route map
Key: Yellow = ridden; Orange = subway copout
I got off the road and on the red line at Quincy Center which cut off the last 8 miles or so. I was soaking wet and starting to get pretty cold. Got off at Broadway in Southie and rode the last 1½-2 miles home.
Bike: 1972 Peugeot PX-10
Direction: Counterclockwise
Miles: 74
Cities, Towns & Neighborhoods: Boston South End, Roxbury, Brookline, Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury, Roslindale, Hyde Park, Readville, Milton, Braintree, Hingham, Weymouth Landing, Weymouth, East Weymouth, Cohasset, Scituate, North Scituate, North Weymouth, Quincy, South Boston
Weather: Fine until Scituate (~50 mi), then rain for the rest of the way (~25 mi); Coolish, humid, sunny at the start. Turned into a cold rain in Scituate, staying heavy for at least 20 miles.
Sites: Stony Brook Reservation, Blue Hills Reservation, Audubon Trailside Museum, Wompatuck State Park, Scituate Harbor, Cedar Point Lighthouse, Hingham Harbor
Notes:
  1. The maps I have are quite inadequate at describing how to navigate Jamaica Plain and how to get out of Scituate. It might be better to stick with topo maps.
  2. I need to find a different place to mount my tire pump. Water from the front tire splashes off the pump and is funneled directly into my shoes.
  3. Rte 3A through Weymouth should be avoided at all cost, as should most of the rest of that road.
  4. My bike computer has a design flaw: it is far too easy to hit the "reset" button.
  5. Stony Brook Reservation bike path is not maintained and is in terrible shape. It's best to avoid it entirely.
  6. I would have liked to take the shore road around Cohasset and maybe a side trip to Hull, but it was pouring rain and getting late.
  7. Wompatuck is definitely worth visiting again with lots of mountain biking trails, &c. Blue Hills are nice for hiking, but really have nothing for biking except the one main road.
Computer stats:
  • Distance: 74¹ mi
  • Ride time: 6:20:29
  • Avg speed: 12.5¹
  • Max Speed: 35.9¹

¹ estimate, computer was accidentally reset at 20.25 mile mark. Max speed is probably correct because in includes the Blue Hills; Avg speed may be a bit slow since it does not include JP or Stony Brook which were both pretty quick roads.
Back to the features page