Bicycle Tour: Otter River State Forest, Day Four

On Sunday, June 2, 2024, on the fourth day of my tour to Otter River State Forest, I began heading home by riding to Spacious Skies Minute Man Campground, where I had stayed on the first night of this tour. (For the third day of this tour, see Otter River State Forest, Day Three).

After breakfast, the AMC group packed up efficiently and headed out at 8:30 a.m. I left at 9:00 a.m. It was quickly proving to be a warm day. I stopped at the bike trail near Crystal Lake Park in Gardner to find a drinking fountain, but I was unsuccessful. I later stopped at Dunn State Park just east of Gardner to refill my water bottles by the main building.

Dunn Pond in Dunn State Park

I took a photo of the steep hill on Pearl Street. On the second day of this tour heading outbound, this condition of this road was so poor, the hill was so steep, and I was so tired that I had to push my loaded bicycle up this hill. I do not recommend this part of my route.

The steep hill on Pearl Street

After riding 21 miles, going through Fitchburg at 11:30 a.m. on Main Street was unpleasant because of reckless weekend drivers, but I survived. The next time I ride out this way, I need to find a route around Fitchburg.

I spotted a granite mile marker on Leominster Road east of Fitchburg.

Granite mile marker on Leominster Road

Shortly after, I rode down Goodrich Street, which was quiet and shaded by mature trees.

Quiet and shady Goodrich Street

On West Main Street in Devens, I encountered an egregious piece of “cars are more important than bicycles” road infrastructure, where a bicycle lane was interrupted by on street parallel parking that no one was using.

West Main Street bike lane ends in Devens

West Main Street parking in Devens

West Main Street bike lane resumes in Devens

In Ayer, I spotted the Little Bee Bookshop on an attractive downtown row of shops.

The Little Bee Bookshop in Ayer

Ayer is at the southern end of the Nashua River Rail Trail, which I want to ride to its northern terminus in New Hampshire. One way to do this would be to bring my bike on the commuter rail to Ayer in the morning, ride the trail, and return home on the commuter rail in the afternoon.

I arrived at Spacious Skies Minute Man Campground at 1:45 p.m. after riding 37.79 miles in four hours forty-five minutes. The weather was mostly sunny with a high of 83 °F, and I was overheated and thirsty. A stronger rider could have continued home, another 31 miles, but I was pretty tired. My riding effort today was 35% Zone 1, 36% Zone 2, 25% Zone 3, and 4% Zone 4. The heat probably contributed to a high heart rate.

I was assigned site #11 on the south side of the campground on the outside of the loop. I started charging a 10k power bank at 2:10 p.m. With my five-watt charger, it would take until about midnight to complete charging. If I had two 5-watt chargers, I could charge both power banks.

I relaxed and chatted with my neighbor in the next site. He was camping with his wife while working in construction on the weekdays.

By coincidence, another touring cyclist arrived at the park, and when he was done doing maintenance on his bike, he came over to chat. He was riding the Adventure Cycling Association Atlantic Coast Bicycle Route from Key West, Florida to Bar Harbor, Maine, with about seven days remaining. He was riding solo after his partner quit in one of the Carolinas. He had already ridden the ACA Southern Tier, TransAmerica, Northern Tier, and Pacific Coast bicycle routes. He lives in Seattle, ane he ships his bike using the bike shipping website.

I think I’m too old to ride all of these routes (at age 69, I don’t have many good bicycling years left in my legs), but I might like to do one of these routes in 2025.

I read my Kindle, ate dinner, and went to sleep shortly after sunset.

For the fifth and last day of this tour, see Otter River State Forest, Day Five.