Route Planning

Question
Howard:

Thanks for making yourself available. My wife & are going to be riding our tandem (self-supported; inn to inn) on the Greeen Mtn loop (Burlington to Burlington, clockwise) in VT in June. We then need to ride to Uxbridge, MA to visit her sister, so I'm seeking some general route advice. Should we drop south through the Berkshires and cross Mass in the southern part of the state? Should we use the BMB route from Middlebury and drop down to Uxbridge from the Boston area? General guidance and/or specific roads to ride woyudl be most helpful. WE're comfortable in the 60 - 80 mile a day range, and aren't afraid of hills.

Answer
The nicest route that's reasonably direct would be to head from Burlington southeast to the Connecticut River. I'm not too familiar with Vermont, so I don't know the best specific route for this. Then take Route 5 south along the river to Brattleboro. This is a good cycling road because most of the traffic is on I-91. You can also go along the New Hampshire side of the river and end up on Route 63 south to Hinsdale).

From Brattleboro take 119 southeast to Hinsdale, NH and 78 south to Orange, MA. Then go southeast on 122 to Petersham (detour east about a mile to see the center of this lovely village), and south on 32A and 32 to Route 9 near Ware. Go southeast on 9 to Brookfield and continue southeast on unnumbered roads to Charlton. From Charlton go east on unnumbered roads to beyond Oxford, and then southeast on unnumbered roads to Route 16 in Douglas. Go east on 16 to Uxbridge.

To navigate the unnumbered roads, you'll absolutely need the Rubel Bicycle Map of Central Mass. (see www.bikemaps.com). This is a superb map that shows every back road and rates them for suitability for cycling.

I suggested this route for pleasantness and to avoid Worcester, but I don't know where specific overnight accomodations are. (The Rubel map lists one in Petersham). You may have to get off the route to find a suitable spot, but at least you have a general corridor.

By the way, my wife and I ride a tandem and do most of the rides with the Narragansett Bay Wheelmen in RI and nearby Mass., if you're ever in the area. We also go to most of the Eastern Tandem Rallies and occasionally a Santana rally.
We haven't done self-contained touring, though.

Have a wonderful tour, and let me know if you have further questions.

Howard Stone, East Providence, RI