Bow Lake (Strafford, NH) - 49 Mile Route with Fast Descents and Gravel Adventure

I did this ride on July 4, 2018.

Any time a ride has multiple 50+MPH descents, it's a truly special ride to savor. I did one of my favorite routes today up in Strafford, NH beginning and ending at Bow Lake. This is my favorite type of ride combining steep climbs for endorphins and steep descents for adrenaline.

I established a new high speed for the Berry descent of 50 and also touched that on the Parker Mountain descent on route 126. The route also contains about 8 miles of gravel and most of it was in pristine condition. I was actually surprised at how good it was given the generally dry conditions. Much of it was packed beautifully and rode similar to pavement. I did almost no braking on the gravel sections including the descents.

It was hot but it didn't seem quite as humid today. There was very little traffic on the roads - the least I've ever encountered on this route. I don't think more than 10 cars passed me on the whole 49 miles.

I've been craving a mountainous ride and this fit the bill at over 80 feet per mile.

The route:
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14860584

The captions tell more of the story.

Halfway up the Parker Mountain ascent on route 126. It's steeper than it looks. 50MPH is reached on this section when descending. You do need to pedal all out at the beginning to achieve this speed and then get in a low tuck.

This is just before a fantastic descent on Wingate. High 40s can be reached with two nice turns.

The beginning of the first gravel section coming up.

Beautiful views that kind of reminded me of Little House on the Prairie.

The other top descent on Berry Road is in the distance. You can already see the drop coming with a ridge in the distance.

Getting closer to the plummet.

Just before it really drops. The grade tops out at 10.1%.  It's almost a perfectly straight road with excellent sight-lines. I beat my previous high speed of 49 today topping out at 50. I think I had a slight tailwind.

This is the same hill on the way back and I'm about to do the ascent. You can see how straight and steep it is though the picture doesn't do it justice.

Another gravel section. Most was really smooth.

The turn just before the Parker Mountain descent. After that corner, it plummets.

And what better way to end a ride than to take a dip in Bow Lake!

58 Mile Ride to Conomo Point & Wingaersheek Beach & Back

I actually did this ride on 5/23/2018.

It was just a picture perfect day today, low humidity, light winds, and a very pleasant temperature. I took advantage and journeyed from Danvers to Conomo Point and then on to Wingaersheek Beach coming back through Topsfield Those areas have post-card views everywhere you look. From there I passed a llama farm and more quiet roads.

The route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/27590098

I added some hills at the end to get the elevation gain to about 50 feet per mile which isn’t bad considering roads near the ocean tend to be flat.

Atlantic Street going to Wingaersheek is a fun road to ride on so long as the traffic is minimal as it was today. It was a lot of twists and one down-hill slalom section.

More details can be found in the captions to the photos.

About 8 miles into the ride, I never tire of this view on Gardner Street.

Clammers' Beach on Conomo Point.

Idyllic conditions and surroundings...

There were plenty of benches and even a picnic table. It was hard to leave this area!

Low tide.

More Conomo Point. It's a different direction but has more beautiful views.

On Robbins Island road..

A llama farm on Concord Street.

The entrance to the beach.

The boardwalk to the beach.

A few people were on the beach.

It's hard to tell in the photo but in the distance is a hill with sharp twists that make it kind of a slalom run with nicely banked turns and it can be ridden at 35+MPH.

This is the corner before the slalom section. It's a sharp left and then it plunges with pretty sharp turns.

54 Mile Danvers/Topsfield/Magnolia Loop with a Touch of Gravel

I did this ride on May 9, 2018 but am only loading the photos today.

The route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/27459414

I headed to Magnolia and its scenic coastline. There was a large temperature variant between Topsfield and the coast. I wore a long sleeved shirt and was glad I did.

I did two gravel roads, Winthrop and Chebacco, which is fairly unusual for the North Shore. The gravel was decent and those roads were totally devoid of cars.

Ocean St is now accessible to do the loop. The last time I was there I couldn't because of what storms had deposited on the road. It's a very beautiful area even with it being low tide.

The captions on the photos provide more details.

The gravel starts on Winthrop after the bridge.

Most of the gravel was pretty smooth.

I like this view on Highland St after popping out of Winthrop.

At the end of Apple St, you emerge to this beautiful view on Southern.

Trees in bloom along route 127 with the ocean seen through the trees.

On Ocean St.

The view a little further on Ocean.

There are some flat rocks to sit on here and take in the view.

This is Pine St and how it ends in gravel when it becomes Chebacco.

The other end of the gravel section. Most of this gravel riding was similar to that on Winthrop.

55 Mile Ride to Plum Island and Back

Tuesday’s weather was quite good.  Just warm enough to wear shorts and a short-sleeved shirt.  The wind was strong and I knew that I’d feel it especially because Plum Island was my destination.  It was a side-wind as I approached the beach and I had to really watch myself not to be blown into the street.  I pretty much battled it head-on coming home but that’s a minor complaint for what was a very nice ride experience.  I always love going onto the freely accessible beach and gazing out on the ocean while enjoying my endorphin buzz.

The route I chose allowed me to almost ride entirely different roads coming and going.  1A is not my favorite but I rode a good stretch of it before taking Cross Street to get to quieter roads.  I prefer hilly riding and was able to squeeze in a couple decent ones on each end of the ride but, unsurprisingly, riding near the ocean is mainly flat.

I’ll let the photo captions tell the rest of the story of my ride.

The route: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/27321299

The Jennie Lagoulis Reservation is a nice place to stop on Boston Road.

There's a nice path through the woods.

The public and free access point to Plum Island beach.

Enjoying the warm sun and sand.

The sky was getting a little milky but it was still mainly a deep blue.

I found a nice little place to sit in the rocks out of the wind.

This is at the end of the peninsula that Northern Blvd takes you to.

The bridge leading to Plum Island.  It was low tide.

There is much farmland along 1A. This is Tendercrop Farm.

Crossing over the Parker River.

Almost home - the twisty ascent of Hill Street is ahead.