| Cindy,
You can't get there from there. Seriously, I took a look at my topo
maps and the Mass Bicycle map, and it ain't pretty. The Mass bicycle
map just says 2A is the recommended route from Westminster to Ayer.
I don't particularly agree with a lot of their recommended routes all
the time... for example, Rt13 north out of Townsend is also recommended,
and it's really narrow and busy. Anyhow, the topo maps reveal a little
more and perhaps justify their choice. First of all, you have three
obstacles: The Lancaster State forest, the Fitchburg "dome of hills",
and Ft Devens. The State forest next to Rt31 means you can't go south
of Rt2 without adding major mileage. Ft Devens means the furthest
"south" you can go is the Ayer rotary (but not really too far off a
direct line route anyhow). The Fitchburg "dome of hills" is what
I call the triangular area bounded by Rt2 on the bottom, Rt 2A along
the left, and Rt 12 along the right (or substitute the Nashua River for
Rt2A/12). A direct beeline would cut thru this dome, but Coggshal Park
and the layout of the streets just makes an east-west route inconvenient.
What routes there are (Franklin to Electric for example) aren't real
direct and involve some hills.
But, if you want the safest way and want to avoid Rt2A into Fitchburg,
this is it:
2A from Phillipston
Right on Depot Rd in Gardner (just before RR tracks and the Fitchburg line)
Left on Turnpike Rd, cross over 31
Left on Franklin (climb)
Go Straight on Electric
Right on South, which turns into Merriam at the Leominster line)
Left on Lindell
Left on 13, under the RR bridge, right on Prospect (perhaps the most
difficult encounter with traffic here)
From here on it's a beeline to the Ayer rotary (turns into Shirley Rd
at the Lunenburg line, turns into Leomister Rd at the Shirley line,
turns into Main St at the Ayer line (the final part into the Ayer
won't be much fun with traffic either, but again, Ft Devens is the
problem here)
From the Ayer rotary, I'll assume you can get to LJO/LTN/LKG on your
favorite route.
I'm pretty sure at one time or another I've ridden on all these roads,
so you shouldn't have any surprises.
-kratz
|
| For lack of a better ride last Saturday, I rode the route in .1 from
31 to the Ayer rotary. To be honest, it sucked: too much traffic,
narrow sections, grates. It was pretty fast and kept off of Rt 2A, but
I wouldn't want to do this during a morning rush hour. Incidentally,
the 1st step (Westminster's (not Gardner) Depot Rd to Turnpike Rd)
is closed... you would have to stay on 2A and go to Fitchburg's Depot Rd
to cross the river and get up to Franklin St.
-kb
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