Conference noted::bicycle

You could take Rte 140, but I think it has it's bad parts. Traffic, no shoulder,
etc.

Check note 2201.14 for a list of people that did the Pan-Mass Challenge.  You 
might find someone from you facility that did the ride & possibly still has a
route map.  The PMC starts in Sturbridge and goes to Bourne the first day,
almost entirely on backroads.

If you don't see someone close to you I could mail a copy to you myself.



				Tim

    140 *isn't* that bad... busy yes, but for every rotten section
    (Leominster, Princeton, downtown Grafton), there's some pretty nice
    stretches with full breakdown lanes.  The Mass Bike Map shows 140
    as a "bike route" or "alternate route" for most of it from Winchendon
    to near Taunton.  FWIW, I would take 140 south to Mansfield,
    backroads (or 106) east to Bridgewater, and then pick up 28 and
    the Boston/CapeCod bike trail.
    
    Two Saturdays ago I did roughly (27,3A,6A) the same route... as far
    as 6A, now that's busy and ALL narrow.  If you don't mind losing a bit
    of speed, a lot of 6A can be paralleled on the Cape Cod bike trail.
    And in fact, taking Setuckit (sp?) road to beeline between Yarmouth and
    Eastham, bypassing 6A into Dennis, saves about 5 miles.  -kb
    
    
    

    I am looking into riding with a friend from Northborough to Falmouth
    the second weekend in June.  
    From this note I gather I would not go too far wrong in using Rt 140
    for much of the trip. 
    
    I would appreciate any other suggestions for routes or route planning.
    
    Thanks,
    Rick

    Well, I at least looked at a state map.  At first glance I have begun
    thinking along the lines of:
    Rt 135 from Northborough to Hopkinton
    Backroads to Millis
    (Rt 115?) on to Norfolk
    and on to a junction with Rt 140
    Take Rt 140 to Rt 106
    Take Rt 106 to West Bridgewater
    Take Rt 28 to the Bourne Bridge
    
    I know the route as far as Millis and it is ok.
    
    Any feedback on the other sections?
    Is Rt 106 usable?  What about Rt 28?
    
    Are  there other suggested routes?
    
    Thanks
    Rick
    
    DTN 244-7407
    node: pcbuoa
    

    This past Saturday along with a friend and his son I rode from
    Northborough to Falmouth.  So, I thought I would include a brief update
    on the route we took in case others might be interested in proceeding
    along this way.
    
    First of all let me say that this was the first century ride for each
    of us.  We were not really training the long rides needed to complete
    this kind of ride quickly.  I have been riding 80-100 miles per week
    throughout the summer and they had taken a 50 mile ride last week in
    addition to their general riding.  Therefore, we took a lot of breaks
    and stopped for lunch along the way.  This strategy worked wonderfully
    for us, we had great weather and really enjoyed the ride with the
    exception of the last eight miles.  Our rolling average speed was 15.1
    MPH and we took about 10 hours altogether to get there.
    
    THE ROUTE.
    Rte 135 from Northboro to Church Street in Webo to Ruggles St. toward
    Upton which changes to North Street.  
       We left around 6:30 so 135 did not bother us.  The back roads to
       Upton were very nice although a bit rough in spots.  The part that
       concerned us the most was the bridge closed signs after climbing a
       hill.  It was closed but we were able to walk our bikes across.
    Rte 140 in Upton to Rte 106 in in Mansfield
       Parts of this route were fine with a wide breakdown lane to ride in
       and not too much traffic.  Parts were narrower and the traffic was
       troubling.  The worst spot was passing I95 where Rte 140 itself
       became a divided 4 lane highway with the traffic moving fast.  This 
       lasted for only a couple of miles, thankfully.  The other spot that
       was not too good was back in Franklin where there is a lot of 
       construction.
    Rte 106 and Stearns Ave, Rockland St, ?? St, Central, West, 106 to 28
       Rte 106 was narrow and heavily traveled.  We were greatly releaved
       to get off onto Stearns Ave.  The backroads here were fantastic!  
       There was hardly any traffic and the sheep farms were great to ride
       by.  Our only problem here was missing the turn onto the ?? St.
       All in all this turned out to be a very nice stretch.
    Rte 28 to Onset turnoff
       Rte 28 had some busy annoying parts but some of it was actually 
       very nice with all the cranberry farms.  There was even some
       shade here and the traffic was bearable.  The road was usually wide
       enough. 
    Onset turnoff to the Bourne bridge
       This was ok but had a good deal of traffic.  There was one part
       along the canal that was pretty nice.  The bridge itself was
       very windy.
    Backroads and 28a to Falmouth
       Some of this was beautiful, some was residential and some was busy.
       One of us had a flat along here (mile 98) and I think our fatigue
       was coming into play otherwise we might have enjoyed this section a
       bit more.
    
    Rick-whose-seat-is-a-little-sore-today-still