Hopkinton and the Westborough Lanes

The country west of the marathon start: reservoirs, orchards and lanes that were never straightened for commuters.

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Why this ride

44 km from Hopkinton to Southborough, about 51 min of riding. It goes by way of Westborough and Northborough. The line favours views over speed.

Roadbook

1. Hopkinton start

   Hopkinton is where the day begins.

2. Westborough scenic

   Eli Whitney was born in Westborough in 1765, on a farm that still has a roadside marker, and the boy who liked taking things apart grew up to patent the cotton gin. That is the town's grandest connection, and it is a fitting one, because Westborough has always been a place where people made things and then moved on to bigger stages. Today it is a tidy, prosperous town of about four thousand at the heart of the Route 9 corridor, with Chauncey Lake on the western side and the Assabet River slipping past to the north.

   The centre has a handsome common, a few old brick buildings, some good independent shops and a church that anchors the view. Nearby is the old Lyman School, the first state reform school for boys in the country, now a cluster of historic buildings, and the sprawling grounds of what used to be a state hospital, now partly redeveloped. The town sits where the Boston metropolitan area frays out into farmland and woodland, and you can feel the landscape changing as you ride west from Hopkinton toward Worcester.

   The lanes around Westborough are the sort that connect villages and orchards, rather than ones that go anywhere in particular. They rise over low hills, dip through wet woods, cross brooks on stone bridges and pass the occasional farm stand selling apples in the fall. The surface is mostly good but variable, with tar-snake repairs and the odd pothole, and the roads are narrow enough that you should slow for blind corners. Route 9 and the Mass Pike are busy and fast, and it is better to be off them and on the quiet backroads, particularly on a weekday morning.

   Westborough has everything a rider needs: fuel on the main roads, supermarkets, diners and a number of more serious restaurants, and a bakery or two on the common. Northborough, six kilometres to the north, is a similar town with a lovely old centre. The best time is autumn, when the apple orchards are busy and the leaves are turning, or late spring, when the dogwoods bloom and the roads are dry and empty.

3. Northborough scenic

   Northborough is the type of New England town that guidebooks tend to skip, and that is a perfectly good reason to like it. It sits close to the old Boston Post Road, that mail route that connected Boston to the towns of the interior, and its centre is a quiet green with a white church, a library and an old burial ground, with the Assabet River looping around the south. Orchards cover the hills to the west, and in September and October you can buy apples, cider and doughnuts at farm stands beside the road.

   The town has been through several lives. It was farmland first, then a place for small mills along the river and brooks, and then, in the twentieth century, a commuter town for Worcester and Boston, as Interstate 290 and Route 9 were built nearby. The new shopping and office parks tend to cluster near the highways, and the older villages are relatively untouched. The town has a modest population of about six thousand, and in the quieter parts it still feels like the farming community it once was.

   Riding here is about quality of lane rather than distance. The back roads that run between Northborough, Westborough and Berlin wander through woods, past ponds and between stone walls, with changing views and little traffic. There are blind crests and sharp corners, and a careful ear for oncoming cyclists is useful. After rain, mud and leaves collect in the bends. Some of the roads are bordered by horse farms, so slow down for riders and allow plenty of room.

   Fuel and food are no trouble, as the town has a handful of stations and a surprising number of cafes and restaurants for its size, and Shrewsbury, six kilometres away, is a large suburb with all the chains. The town centre is pleasant for a coffee, and the farm stands, when open, sell good bread and pies. If you are riding a loop through this district, this makes a sensible pause, and a good place to check the map. Late September and October are the best months, and many of the orchards offer a cup of warm cider.

4. Southborough finish

   Southborough closes the day.

Where this sits

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