Bicycle Tour: Spacious Skies Minute Man

I started touring for 2024 on May 19-20, 2024, with a two-day one-night short tour from my home in Somerville, Massachusetts to the Spacious Skies Minute Man Campground near Littleton, Massachusetts.

I left at 2:15 pm on Sunday, May 19, 2024. I rode out the Somerville Community Path, Linear Trail, and Minuteman Bikeway to Bedford. Since it had rained the day before, I decided not to ride the unpaved bike bath to Concord, which I was afraid would be slick and muddy. I took Route 62 through Concord and West Concord; this is a pretty busy road, but it has adequate shoulders, and drivers are used to bicyclists on that road. I rode the Bruce Freeman Trail and Concord Rd to Acton, where I used Apple’s iOS Maps app for route planning. But I missed a turn and ended up on Routes 27 and 110 between Acton and West Acton; both of these roads have heavy traffic, narrow shoulders, and potholes. I found a series of back roads that took me smoothly to the campground.

Spacious Skies Minute Man is a private RV park with some pretty good sites for tent camping. The park was about a third full when I arrived on Sunday evening at 6:00 pm. I had a site as nice as any I have occupied in Massachusetts state parks.

My loaded Surly Disc Trucker with its Click-Stand

My spacious campsite at Spacious Skies Minute Man Campground

The streets in the campground have an astronomical theme

A view of the nicely wooded campground

The campground has about 100 sites with a central restroom with showers and a dishwashing station. Nearby are the office, a laundry room, a swimming pool, and a clubhouse. The campground is located near a railroad and a road with a lot of early morning truck traffic. I was awakened a few times during the night (Sunday/Monday) by train horns or noisy trucks, but earplugs (which I carry) would have solved this problem.

I woke to birdsong at 5:30 am Monday morning. Nearby campers were still sleeping. I explored the park thoroughly, after which I ate breakfast, packed up, and departed at 9:15 am.

I made an unfortunately wrong turn early, wasting about five miles of effort. And like the trip out, I missed a turn and ended up on Routes 111 and 27 between West Acton and Acton once again. I managed to reroute myself onto some decent back roads until I reached the Bruce Freeman Rail Trail. I rode to West Concord and took Route 62 to the head of the Minute Man Bikeway, where I paused thirty minutes for lunch. I cruised down the bike trails into Somerville and home, arriving at 1:30 pm.

I was very, very tired after this two-day trip, for which my total mileage was 71.0 miles in 24 hours. I had been training by riding my Trek Valencia 25 miles three times a week, with my longest ride reaching 35 miles, but I have a ways to go to get into shape for longer touring. But the weather was good with not a drop of rain or dew. This was a very good first tour for 2024.