Around Ipswich

Summer is officially here. Around Boston, this means three things: hot weather, humid air and frequent thunderstorms. Fortunately, this wasn't the case last weekend. While it was very warm, the sticky, humid air mass hasn't arrived yet and we could really enjoy the time spent outside.

On Sunday morning I decided to visit (and revisit) some places at the shore. I usually take my bike somewhere into the forest, as this is a place where I can easily find some unpaved roads and trails. But this time my route took me all around the town of Ipswich, to the beach and back.

I left early, around 6:30am and at that time air was still cool and pleasant. While it may not be easy to wake up at dawn, it's sometimes the only way to ride in the summer and stay cool. Once we get the usual July humidity here, already around 9am is too hot to ride.

I parked in Topsfield and took Topsfield Linear Common - a rail trail, south. The trail isn't particularly exciting - just an unpaved path with forest on both sides. But soon I reached the northern end of Grand Wenham Canal and that turned out to be a really nice place to explore. There is a small bridge that you can take to the other side but that soon turned out to be a mistake. The path along the eastern side of the canal is flooded in places. Only the western side is passable.

 The canal was a home of geese and ducks - including some inflatable ones:

Once I reached the end of the canal, I entered Wenham and continued along Route 1A towards the shore. At this point I realized how different this route is from what I'm typically used to. Usually, I end up on some rough and rocky trails, often riding through several steep hills. These things definitely slow me down a lot. This time however, I was flying with an average speed of over 15mph (25km/h), despite riding on a (relatively) heavy bike. All thanks to flat (see the elevation profile) and well-paved road. I guess I forgot what a dramatic difference this makes.

All this means that by 8am I was already at the shore. Here is when I realized that access to Crane Beach isn't free, it costs $30 per car. I decided to ignore that and the gate to my right and try an unmarked gravel road going southeast.

This was one the maintenance road I think, but it ended at a small pier where I had a chance to pause for a minute.

Next, I went back to the Castle Hill Estate. I visited this place earlier with my family so I didn't spend much time at the castle. Instead, I rode my bike to the beach. Fatbike mode on!

Well, alright. That didn't exactly work well. My bike isn't suitable to ride on a deep, loose sand so I didn't really ride on the beach. But the place was still nice - quiet, peaceful, with morning sun illuminating Ipswich Bay.

Since it was still early in the morning, I figured I could ride all the way to Little Neck - a small village on the other side of Ipswich River. To do that, I had to ride back to Ipswich first. I really hated taking the main road (Argilla Rd) so I opted for a smaller one that looked good on the map. Unfortunately, that road (Labor In Vain Rd) turned out to be private (and a part of a gated community). If you ride your bike there do it at your own risk and consider yourself warned.

The ride to Great Neck and Little Neck was simple enough - just follow the main road and stay close to the shore. Both places are your typical New England coastline villages. I think people live there mainly to be on the beach the whole time. At the same time, since both places rise above the sea level quite a bit, there are some nice views from the road overlooking Ipswich Bay.

I got back to Ipswich, which was by now in a full-swing Sunday breakfast more, with many of it's citizens and visitors crowding the downtown. I didn't stop though, but continued north. There, at the intersection of Rt133 and Mile Ln is Clam Box of Ipswich - probably the best seafood place on the North Shore. But since it was way too early for lunch, I was soon on my way.

Next, I entered Willowdale State Forest, which has a nice network of unpaved trails - pretty fun to ride as they aren't too rough so you can pick up some speed. That is - if you don't run into people horseback, as I did.

My plan was to slowly make my way back but cut across the trails in Ipswich River Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately - for the sake of wildlife), I found out that this entire area is closed to bicycles, so I had no choice but to go around and take Perkins Row Rd instead.

After 4.5hrs on the road, I was back at my car in Topsfield. Now I wonder what other places nearby at the shore are here that I haven't visited yet.

Oh, and I'm currently testing my new handlebar bag - Teardrop by BXB (Bags By Bird). It doesn't need a rack or basket support, fits my whole camera gear and is made in USA. But more on that later.