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2008 Fells Event Calendar
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Opening Day
Tuesday, 4/15
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Ack! Weather is broken
I'll try to get it back soon!
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 Did you know the Charles River Conservancy & the DCR are planning on building a huge skate park underneath the Rt 93 & Rt 1 connector? Please help support what will be the country's biggest skate park, and donate if you can.
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Welcome to FellsBiker.com. This is a web site for the many people that enjoy mountain biking, hiking, running, horse back riding, and more in the Middlesex Fells Reservation. The Woods are approximately 2,075 acres in size, located just a few miles North of Boston. The Woods take up space in five towns: Stoneham, Medford, Winchester, Melrose and just a little bit of Malden.
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January 15th, 2008
After years of delay, the Langwood Commons project (the redevelopment of the old New England Memorial Hospital site, and the school behind it) is moving forward again. The project has been scaled down by 10%. A total of 405 housing units and 225,000 square feet of commercial space.
The full article from the Stoneham Independent can be seen here. |
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September 26th, 2007
It is common knowledge that the reason bikes have such limited access in the Fells is due to the Friends of the Fells. They argue bikes should be banned from trails because they cause damage. They have no evidence that bikes cause more damage then a hiker, and in fact all the studies point to hikers and bikers causing the same amount of trail damage. Of course, the Friends of the Fells have never argued to close any of the popular marked trails to hikers. Just bikes. You'd almost think that they were more interested in getting rid of bikes, than actually protecting the trails (although honestly, I've thought this for years). Well now the cats out of the bag.
A newly formed Belmont land management group is deciding over, among other things, bike access to trails that have been open to bikes forever. What does this have to do with the Fells? Absolutely nothing. Yet the Friends of the Fells wrote a nice long letter to the Belmont group, telling them that the biggest problem in the Fells is bikers, ruining the trails. A survey they performed even said so. Wow big surprise, I wonder who they sent the survey to, I sure didn't get a copy.
So this letter makes it pretty clear that the Friends of the Fells absolutely hates bikes. Even when it has nothing to do with the Fells, they want to hurt biking. Whatever it takes. I think anyone out there that is a level-headed Friends of the Fells member, has to seriously reconsider their membership. The DCR maintains the park, not the Friends of the Fells. We see what the Friends of the Fells do.
Re: McLean Open Space Land Comprehensive Trail System Analysis and
Implementation Plan; Trail System Assessment Report
Draft September 2007
Dear friends,
I would like to congratulate Belmont for having initiated a process for evaluating and creating plans to restore and protect McLean open space land.
The Friends of the Fells has received an alert sent by the New England Mountain Bike Association which suggests that the Land Management Committee and Pressley Associates has unfairly targeted bike users on the property "because a small but vocal group of Belmont residents who have property abutting this public space have expressed a desire to ban bikes from the property." This does not seem likely.
The 2500 acre Fells reservation encounters all of the trail management problems highlighted in the McClean Draft Trail System Assessment Report, on an even larger scale. These include existence of countless redundant trails, drainage problems, excessive trail width, damage to tree roots, erosion, and encroachment on vernal pools.
In our experience we find that unrestricted mountainbike use greatly exacerbates these trail problems. The physics of bike operations means that these vehicles are able to travel far greater distances than a hiker in a given period of time. Moreover, compared to shoes or boots, knobby tires and grinding wheels tears up the ground which erodes soil, exposing tree roots. We also note that as trails become increasingly devoid of soil bikers seek more solid ground which means steering bikes onto the trail shoulders. This is clearly seen in the Fells where, for instance, mossy trail borders are eliminated. Besides creating destruction of plant life wider trails lead to loss of habitat for animal species.
The Friends has conducted two Fells visitor surveys in the last decade and in both the number one problem noted by respondents was the intrusion of mountain bikes on the ability of visitors to enjoy their experience in the Reservation.
I just wanted to take a minute to share these comments with you and wish you well as you create conditions to better manage open space within McClean open space.
Regards,
Mike
Mike Ryan
Executive Director
Friends of the Middlesex Fells Reservation
781.662.6889
www.fells.org
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June 5th, 2007
Join Jason Varitek, his teammates, and friends for an entertaining day of Celebrity Putt Putt at the DCR Flynn Rink in Medford, MA.
What's great about this Celebrity Event: you can watch or participate! On June 28th, play 18 fun and challenging putt-putt holes, or come out to watch your favorite Boston celebrities raise money for a good cause.
Click For More Info |
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May 22nd, 2007
Normally I keep the content of this site strictly focused on the Fells. However this time I'm making an exception. You may have noticed the little "D-Day" item on my calendar all year? Well it is turning out to be a huge event. There's going to be tons of bike companies there with demo bikes to ride. There will be live music, food, and even Jeff the unicycler giving lessons!
It's going to be quite a bash, I suggest everyone check it out!
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April 15th, 2007
Biking season is here, today is opening day in the Fells! Of course its going to rain & snow all day, and rain all week. As I post this update, there are 3 different weather advisories posted. The trails are probably going to be muddy at least until next weekend, so it's probably not a good idea to be in the woods until then. Fortunately for hikers, the rules do not apply to them.
This year's weather situation does a good job at illustrating how unfair the Fells' rules are toward mountain biking. Most bikers will be staying out of the Fells this week due to the weather. However if it was a dry winter and the trails were completely dry one month ago, would bikes have been allowed on the trails early? Nope, regardless of trail conditions, bikes are banned before April 15th. But despite the mud this week, hikers are allowed on all trails, as they are year-round.
Needless to say, the Brush Fire threat is gone. For now anyway.
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March 31st, 2007
 It just snowed the other day. And most of the ponds still have some small areas of ice on them. Yet, there has been a Brush Fire warning for days. It doesn't seem like it, but it's been very dry lately, and with all the wind and the strong spring sunlight, fires can spark up very easily.
Friday I was in the Fells and what did I see? What I think was the Winchester Fire department putting out a good sized brush fire by the Reservoirs.
As always, If you're going to be in the Fells, be careful. Its hard to see in this not so great photo, but the orange blob in the middle is some fairly large flames.
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