Outside My Door: Backroad Biking In and Around the Monadnock Region

It's mid-summer, you've got your legs and you're looking for some longer rides. Time to get out and try something more expansive. Start this ride in the parking lot below Post and Beam Brewing, entrance at about 50 Grove St. in Peterborough. Cross the bridge right above where the Nubanusit Brook enters the Contoocook River. The story of the Nubanusit will unfold along this ride. Cruise through the Depot Square parking lot, take a left on School St., a right on Grove St. and a left uphill going out of town on Main St. To your left, mostly unseeable, the Nubanusit plunges downhill through a series of precipitous cascades. Upon cresting the hill, Main St. becomes Union St. Cruise along until you get to the village of West Peterborough. Stop at Nature's Green Grocers if you need to fuel up with coffee or a snack. Take a right on Wilder St., paralleling the Nubanusit, to climb to the Edward McDowell Dam. Take a spin across the top of the dam for a great view of the marshy reservoir that you will peddle along. This dam, and many others, was built after the overwhelming floods in March 1936. The flood was caused by heavy, warm rains on a deep snowpack from that winter. The rampaging Nubanusit devastated much of downtown Peterborough. After crossing over the dam and back, take a left to cruise downhill and around a gate onto the track alongside the reservoir. This next mile is particularly Edenic. Geese and ducks abound, muskrats may pass by, eagles soar. You'll want this to go on forever. The gravel track will become Richardson Rd. and soon you'll take a sharp right to climb to Windy Row with great views of the Wapack Range to the east. At about 7 3/4 miles you'll come to a one-lane bridge over a channel of water. Stop here to enjoy this remarkable engineered landscape. You'll see that Half Moon Pond is extended into a channel under the bridge that is dammed and continues east, bony and dry. Part of the construction of the MacDowell Dam included the creation of a release valve. In the event of a big flood, the water backs up in McDowell Reservoir and if the flood pond gets really high it backs up through five miles of marshes into Half Moon Pond. If it gets even higher, Half Moon Pond overflows the dam and water flows down that dry channel into the Contoocook River, a few miles below Peterborough, thus saving downtown Peterborough from being flooded again. After the bridge, you're on Vatcher Rd. Enjoy a three-stepped downhill to a left on Middle Road. Swoop down to a flat stretch to pass through an impressive flower farm and then an animal farm. Turn right on Rt. 137 for a steep climb into the classically beautiful village of Hancock. If you want to stop for lunch, you can't beat Fiddleheads Cafe. Pedal down Main St. and take a left onto Rt. 137/Bennington Rd. heading north and east. Eventually there's a gentle downhill along Moose Brook and then a quick uphill to a right turn on Elmwood Rd. Now the fun begins. Elmwood follows a gradually sloping, mostly meadowed ridge with more stunning views out towards Crotched Mountain and the Wapack Range. At the juncture with Rt. 202, hang a right and then a quick left onto South Elmwood Rd. which quickly bends to the right. Drift down and along the shores of Powder Mill Pond — it's quiet and soothing once again. Once you reach Forest Rd., take a right and after 0.4 miles keep your eyes peeled for what looks like a driveway on your left. This is the beginning of the rail trail. You'll know it's a rail trail by seeing a similar straight section of abandoned rail bed on the opposite side of the road. So, take the left on what is, yes, for a bit, someone's driveway, and in about a tenth of a mile, you'll bear slightly right onto the old rail bed. This next 1.3 miles is dreamy. You're along the twisty meanders of the Contoocook River passing marshes and meadows. There's a great stone culvert stop in the middle that can serve as a slightly spooky swim spot due to the tannin-stained water. The trail is a bit rooted, sort of narrow, but easily bikeable. At Cavender Rd., take a left and you'll come to a bike/pedestrian bridge across the Contoocook River. It's a nice place to lie on your back on the slats and become one with the surroundings. Back on your bike, head up Cavender Rd. for a steady climb of about a mile. Take a right on Old Bennington Rd. You'll pass a Church of Latter-day Saints and finally turn right into Greenfield Rd/Rt. 136 halfway between Peterborough and Greenfield. Take a right and tolerate the traffic for a couple of miles. But be prepared to take a left at the bottom of a long hill, across a little bridge onto Gulf Rd. and then a quick right onto Slab Rd. There's a short climb, but it gets you off Rt. 136 on a parallel stretch of pleasant rural roads. As you top out, merge onto Old Greenfield Rd. After about a mile and a half you re-merge with Rt.136. At the intersection with Rt. 202, take a right for about 100 yards and then a left on Kemp Rd. and another immediate left onto Hunt Rd. There's a pretty waterfall over a dam at the Rotary Wilder Park. This was the site of the Wilder Thermometer factory in the late 19th century on the banks of the Contoocook. Continue along Hunt Rd. When you get to the bike/rail trail heading south, take a left and follow it and Summer St. back into downtown Peterborough. Wend your way back to your car and then consider a trudge up the hill to the Post and Beam Brewery. Access a digital map of this ride at: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/48716338 At a Glance: Peterborough, Hancock and Happy Valley loop 0 miles &emsp;&emsp;Start in the lot below Post and Beam Brewery. Entrance located at &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;50 Grove St. in Peterborough. Cross the pedestrian/bike bridge &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp; over Nubanusit Brook into Depot Square. 0.1 miles &emsp;&emsp;Left on School St. and then right on Grove St. 0.2 miles &emsp;&emsp;Left and uphill on Main St. which quickly becomes Union St. 2.3 miles &emsp;&emsp;In West Peterborough, turn right on Wilder St. 3.1 miles Turn left to take a spin out across the dam and back, then turn left &emsp;&emsp; &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp; downhill towards reservoir. 3.3 miles &emsp;&emsp;Pass gate onto gravel track to cruise marshy shore. 4.4 miles &emsp;&emsp;Right on Spring Rd. 5.2 miles &emsp;&emsp;Left on Windy Row 7.8 miles &emsp;&emsp;Stop on bridge over Half Moon Pond channel. Continue onto what now &emsp;&emsp; &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;becomes Vatcher Rd. 8.5 miles &emsp;&emsp;Left on Middle Rd. 10.0 miles Right on Rt. 137 up steep hill. 10.4 miles Arrive in Hancock. Continue east along Main St. 10.6 miles Bear left on Bennington Rd/Rt. 137 13.0 miles Right on North Elmwood Rd. 13.8 miles Cross Rt. 202 and take left on South Elmwood Rd. 14.0 miles Bear right to continue south of South Elmwood. 15.2 miles Right on Forest Rd. 15.6 miles Left on Railroad Trail — a driveway for the first tenth of a mile. 16.9 miles Left on Cavender Rd. 17.1 miles Cross Contoocook River bridge. Bear right on continuation of &emsp;&emsp; &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp; &emsp;&emsp; Cavender Rd. 18.7 miles Turn right on Old Bennington Rd. 19.6 miles Turn right on Greenfield Rd./Rt. 136 20.9 miles Left onto Gulf Rd. then quick right onto Slab Rd. 21.3miles Merge onto Old Greenfield Rd. and continue right 22.7 miles Merge onto Greenfield Rd./Rt. 136 and continue left 22.9 miles Turn right on Rt. 202, then quick left on Kemp Rd. and quick left &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp; onto Hunt Rd. 23.7 miles Turn left on Peterborough Rail Trail. Continue on trail until it &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp;&emsp; &emsp;&emsp; ends and then continue on Summer St. south back into Peterborough. 25.4 miles Cross Main St. and find your way back across pedestrian bridge to parking lot. &emsp;&emsp; &emsp;&emsp;