Summer time in the fall - Upper Charles River Trail and Milford/Hopkinton area

What is your favorite month of the year and why is it October?

Living in Boston, I quickly learned to appreciate the two months in the year when it's absolutely mandatory to spend as much time outdoors as possible. In fact, I even question why would anyone take time off in July, when it's clearly better to stay in the climate-controlled office. It's not July but September and October that are the ones to enjoy.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with weather in Boston (or on East Coast in general), it typically looks like this:

• January, February - freezing down to -2F (-20C) or lower, lots of snow
• March - freezing at night/morning, melting in the day = ice everywhere
• April, May - warmer but tons of pollen in the air
• June, July - hot and very humid, frequent heavy thunderstorms
• August - still too hot and humid
• September, October - warm, dry, little rain, just perfect
• November, December - chilly and rainy, gets dark quickly

To use this rare, good weather, I managed to sneak out last Sunday on a ride around Milton/Hopkinton area. I started in Ashland and quickly merged with the Upper Charles River Rail Trail in Holliston, which I have never visited before. The trail is nice but it's so perfectly graded that it could be easily crossed on a road bike with skinny tires. At least it's unpaved, so it has that "close-to-nature" feeling.

 

The trail ended in Milford where I soon entered town forest, which turned out to be the test ground for local MTB riders. I did a wide loop around this area and soon crossed I-495 to find my way to the Peppercorn Hill Conservation Area.

The next section was running under a high-voltage power line. These places are typically pretty rough to ride. Sometimes you may find a truck load of chunky gravel or a very overgrown footpath. The trail I found was clearly used by ATVs and had deep tire tracks cut into the mud. These tracks were well covered with tall grass so I often had no idea where my front wheel was going. I had to proceed slowly, not wanting to fly over the bars.

On top of that I discovered multiple warning signs to watch for bees, wasps or hornets...

... and moments later I discovered a large hive, size of a watermelon.

Soon enough, I reached Upton State Forest and then Whitehall Reservoir. There is narrow path around the reservoir, which I thought would be a good unpaved trail to ride. Unfortunately, it turned out to be full of roots and generally inaccessible for bicycles.

From there I had to make my way to Hopkinton State Park and Ashland State Park. Both are nice, but more appropriate for beachgoers or Sunday grill parties than bike riding.

That's about it. How was your Sunday?