Danvers to Andover (Phillips Academy/Bald Hill) and Back

Here's my fourth ride report with photos included. What a day with 70+ degrees in February! My 57 mile route took me from Danvers into Andover passing by Phillips Academy and then coming to my destination of Bald Hill. I then went home by mostly different roads. The captions on the photos tell the story.

The route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/26906159
The climbing is approximately 53.5 feet per mile.

This was about 10 miles into the ride passing through Harold Parker. The road has been beautifully repaved and it now is a joy to take.

Next to Phillips Academy. Sometimes I ride through the campus but not today. This is Phillips street with its very nice hill right in front of me.

The intersection of Reservation and Cutler. I love Reservation for its non-stop twists.

This is on Haggetts Pond road after getting off route 133.  The stretch of 133 isn't too bad with usually a decent shoulder but this road is much nicer and quieter.

This is on Holmes Road doing the Bald Hill ascent. Around that turn is its steepest section.

At the top of Bald Hill. I often have the place to myself like I did today. Sometimes I see runners doing hill repeats. This was 20 miles into the ride and a nice place to stop for a bit.

The lookout tower on Bald Hill.

The huge antenna up there.

Getting ready to do the descent. Caution is required as the road has many heaves and it's easy to start bouncing. It's not a fun descent for this and the fact that it ends in a T junction. The hill itself is still a nice training tool.

This is on High Plain which is a fantastic street to ride for its entirety. You can see in the distance that it's about to go down. With some pedaling, it's not hard to max out near 40 with some nice twists thrown in.

This is also Reservation but a section that wasn't taken on the way. Notice that nice turn ahead. It's hard to tell but this actually a decent hill allowing plenty of speed for that turn.

More Reservation. I love signs like that! 

This is on Rattlesnake. It's hard to see with the lighting back there's a fantastic S turn in the distance which is great fun from both directions. Soon after I got going again, 3 deer ran right in front of me!

This was an experimental 'fly-by' photo that I took while riding and approaching Lockwood. The photo came out pretty good.

As with most of my rides, I took Howlett and then Wenham roads to finish up the loop.  These add significant vertical to the route, at least by North Shore standards.

Ride Report for Danvers/Topsfield/West Newbury Loop

Today's ride took me from Danvers through Topsfield then over to West Newbury before looping back by Governor's Academy.  It was 29 degrees when I left and 32 when I got back which was colder than the forecast.  This was probably due to very limited sun whereas they had said there'd be more during the afternoon.  Much of the route was flat but I threw in some hills near the end.

The route:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/26829183

It covers 47 miles with 2310 feet of elevation gain which is just short of 50 feet per mile.

Just a few miles into the ride, this was taken at the top of Hill Street.  It's a nice descent with a few twists though not as fun as the Howlett descent.

Here's Mehaffey Farm on Newbury Road.

This is the Moulton reservoir.  Straight ahead in the photo is Illsley Hill which I did on today's ride.  It's well worth doing despite being a dead end.

Further along on Moulton is this place that is ideal to stop.  In the nice weather I enjoy sitting on that concrete wall while looking over the water.  This whole area is very picturesque.

Here is Great Meadow on Orchard Street.

This is on Middle Road approaching Governor's Academy.

I enjoy riding through this wide open marsh area.  The bridge crosses the Parker River.

I sometimes stop on North Street by this dirt path for some solitude.  Very few cars access this road at least on this section.