Completed the Ride on August 5, 2026

I completed the excursion yesterday with a friend, Mike. It was a very satisfying and enlightening ride. 

We were true to the plan from the start in Gloucester until the point in Randolph when we stayed on Canton Street after crossing Rt 24 rather than making a left on to Reed Street. We skirted south of the Great Pond rather than rounding the north side. This meant we missed the "Old Route 128" spur off West Street (which I was looking forward to exploring). We rejoined the plan at Hollingsworth Pond (Plain Street).

We deviated from the plan again in East Weymouth at High and Commercial Street (taking High Street) and rode the fire roads and rail trails through Wompatuck State Park until we joined the plan on Rt 228 North at East Street and Hull Street. Wompatuck turned out to be an excellent pivot ... nice trail conditions and a water station at the visitors center. Then we were on plan to Nantasket Beach, where we enjoyed a refreshing swim. The temperature during the afternoon was in the 90's (deg F).

View how we differed from the plan in the map below (our track is in red, blue was the plan).

Our GPX file for the day is available at this link. Be advised that it will navigate you away from Waltham Center while we were looking for an alternative breakfast spot (Wilson's Diner was closed for vacation, and we ended up at Leo's Diner across from City Hall for an excellent breakfast anyway). Also, I turned off GPS tracking after Nantasket Beach, so the GPX does not indicate the last 3.5 miles to the Hull Ferry dock. 

Our return to Gloucester was flawless ... the MBTA Hull to Long Wharf Ferry left right on time at 6:15 PM. We landed at Long Wharf at about 6:40, and cycled to North Station on the excellent protected bikeway along Commercial Street in the North End (about a mile and a half). We then took the 7:15 PM commuter rail to Gloucester, and arrived at our starting point at 8:30 PM. 

Instead of posting photos here, I am making my Google Photos album available to all at this link. I have annotated each photo and image. Each photo has a GPS location. 

A Reflection

I have given more thought on the stretch from Paul's Bridge (which crosses the Neponset River between Readville and Milton along the Neponset Valley Parkway) to Hull. [By the way, had I known that Paul's Bridge has historic significance, I would have stopped, taken a photo, and reflected on the history of this spot.]

Through the Blue Hills Reservation, it was once possible to transit the Old Route 128 from Blue Hill River Road to West Street (at GPS position 42.209605072890156, -71.0389969461409  Google Maps link) . That stretch of Old Route 128 now has a transit discontinuity --- I-93 slices right through it.  We therefore took an alternative modern path between the Blue Hill River Road intersection with Rt 138. We continued south along Rt 138 to Randolph Street (the interchange with I-93 is possible but not pleasant for bicycling) and then eastward towards South Weymouth, as indicated in our GPX track. 

After our ride and studying Google Maps, I now realize we could have taken Reed Road  at the fork with Canton Street in Randolph, and cycled to the Old Route 128 trailhead along West Street (at  Google Maps link ). Then, we could have continued to South Weymouth to Rt 228 to Hull Street to Nantasket Beach.  Overall, this would have reflected a more accurate trace of the original route.

I have summarized this update in this Google Maps Link .  Next time (will there be a next time?), I'll use this alternative. 

How Old Route 128 is cutoff by I-93

A more faithful alternative from Paul's Bridge to Hull