Pratt Farm (Middleboro, MA)

Seriously, when has biking ever been this great in October? Yet again, I took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather and rode at Pratt Farm in Middleboro. Most of the trails seemed okay after Hurricane Irene. While Pratt Farm isn't as nice as Duxbury, it's still a great place to build skills and spin the legs. There are many points at Pratt where you might need to get off the bike because of blowdown, but the few trees down weren't a huge problem. I was actually surprised at how many I could just hop over on the bike. I also need to correct some directions from my earlier post on Pratt. It's the RED trail that circumnavigates the forest, not the Blue trail. Despite the weather, there were few people there.

After doing two laps of Pratt, I took an ATV trail towards the rear of the park. This path spilled out into a sand depot. It offers an opportunity to spin the legs a bit after the more technical trails. It then leads out to a street, which I crossed and then jumped onto another ATV trail. This trail then leads to the top of a big hill with a lookout tower. It's a good climb and is sure to get your heart pounding. From there, I took the ATV trail back down. Be careful though. As it winds down the hill (behind the middle school), many large roots, trees, and rocks, scatter the path. It's easy to lose control.

Once I got back to the street, I pedaled behind the YMCA where there are a few more trails (off Rte. 28). While the trail there is very well maintained (it's shared with Middleboro High School), it doesn't lead anywhere. It's a fun out and back type of ride, perfect for a Monday holiday! The ride consisted of about 9 miles of trails and 3 miles of road.