Planning the bicycling route

An update:

  • Our actual GPX track (via Strava) is available at this link 

  • Upon post ride reflection, I would consider this change from Readville to Hull to better reflect the original old route 128.

    See my Reflection at: https://biking-old-128.blogspot.com/2026/08/completed-ride-on-august-5-2026.html 

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Here are links to two GPX files I created using Google Maps and https://mapstogpx.com/ . You are free to access and download these files. 

Gloucester to Waltham Center

and

Waltham Center to Hull 

(after the trip, I'll also make available the actual GPX file from the ride itself)

I used the GPX file to create Komoot routes. When I ride with Komoot, I download the save routes to my smartphone and use a Bluetooth ear bud for audio navigation (I keep the phone in my jacket pocket or pannier). 

The saved routes in Komoot are:

Gloucester to Waltham Center

and

Waltham Center to Hull


Komoot indicates (elevation profile, milage) that the first half, Gloucester to Waltham Center is:



and Waltham Center to Hull is:


with this summary:



At a very modest average 10 or 11 MPH, the entire saddle time should be about 8.5 hours. One needs to budget for rest, water, and food stops, and the possibility of a mechanical issue such as a flat tire. 

I plan to ride with a few other cyclists. 

The plan is to leave Gloucester at 6 AM at the intersection of today's Routes 127 and 133 on Western Avenue (the original terminus of the Old Route 128). The goal is to get to the Hull MBTA Ferry Terminal by 6:15 PM , when the last ferry for Boston's Long Wharf departs. After the 1/2 hour ferry ride, we should be able to cycle to North Station, and take the 7:15PM commuter rail train back to Gloucester for an 8:15 (or so arrival). If we miss the Hull ferry, there are later ferries from Hingham.  We'll have a 3.5 hour out-of-saddle buffer for downtime during the trip. One short excursion I'd like to explore is to take a peak at the old, abandoned Rt 128 road surface in Blue Hills Reservation. It isn't much of a detour, since we should be passing it along the way.


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