Dover has a reputation for money, and a first look at its roads confirms it: long stone walls, tall oak trees and big, discreet houses set well back from the road. It is one of the more rural towns in the Boston area, with no real town centre, no streetlights to speak of and a strong tradition of preserving open land. It is also one of the best places to ride a motorcycle within half an hour of the city, because it has the kind of roads that developers have not yet got around to improving.
The Charles River winds along its southern edge. It is a quiet, slow river here, one of those that seems to be running without much intention, with marshes, meadows and old maples on the banks, and by the time it reaches Boston, some eighty miles after its start in Hopkinton, it will have been dammed, channelled and landscaped. In Dover it is still more or less wild, and canoeists and herons share it. Noanet Woodlands, a large area of conserved forest on the edge of town, has trails through the woods past old mill ponds and the ruins of a nineteenth-century mill complex.
The roads, with names like Farm Street and Dedham Street, wander through the woods and fields in the tight, enjoyable way of roads that follow property lines and old cart paths. They are narrow, with bends and blind crests, and stone walls close on both sides, so there is little room for error. Locals walk and ride horses along them, so go gently and keep your eyes open. The surface is generally good, though it can be rough after the winter. In autumn, the leaves fall thick on the corners, and in spring, frost heave can break the edges.
Dover has little in the way of commercial life, so you will not find fuel in the town itself, and that is the reason to prepare. Wellesley and Needham, six kilometres away, are both substantial suburbs with a full range of services, cafes and restaurants. Fill up there, take a coffee and a pastry, and then go back into the lanes. The best time is a weekday morning in May or October, when the light is soft and the roads are quiet.