good bike routes in/around Boston area?

Have you tried searching for route ideas on this site at http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/routes/ or other sites like http://www.mapmyride.com/search 

Good luck!

good training routes in the city where you don't have to stop frequently, etc will probably be hard to come by (i would think).  You're also going to have to get away from the path-type stuff like the charles river loop and ride on roads.  Are you comfortable doing this?  If so, couple ideas - look to ride out of the city towards one of the suburbs (belmont, lincoln, lexington, waltham, newton, etc).  Hop on Comm Ave or Mt Auburn or something like that and shoot out of the city.  The roads will free up as you get farther away from downtown.  Come join us for weekend rides.  You will have to drive but we tend to ride actual courses for the races in the area so 1) you get experience on the actual course in case you're doing the tri 2) the roads will be safer/less traveled (for the most part) because they have been scoped out by RDs 3) you get to ride with a bunch of cool BTers and riding in a group as always more fun/safer/better workout

Glad to see you on the MA forum, don't be a stranger! Good luck.

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Yeah, it's definitely a tough area to get up speed with the traffic and such.  Your leisure route along the Charles would be a decent shorter workout in the morning-- I used to do Central Sq Camb to Watertown Square on the path as my daily commute (5mi each way) and it's a peaceful and open ride at 6:30 or 7am... and not so terrible in the evening.

Minuteman riding on the path is about as or more packed as the Charles on a good day.  The benefit is that there are longer stretches between intersections and the path is wider and less rooty, but mostly that's sort of a warm up for rides at the end of the path.  There is a good set of Pocket Rides that starts from the end of the Minuteman in Bedford where you have long stretches, rolling hills and can build some speed through Carlisle, Chelmsford, Concord, etc.  You should be able to pick up a set at any LBS.  I also have a set of Pocket Rides I haven't biked before that start from the BU bridge and was hoping to try one toward the Arboretum sometime soon.

Sounds like we've got at least a few folks in Cambridge or thereabouts.  If anyone's interested, I've got a potential ~15mi/5k bike run brick for Saturday (weather permitting) and would be up for some company then or on future long weekend rides.  I'd also be interested if anyone is up for a bike to Sandy Beach in Winchester for a dip next month. It's about 6.5 mile road ride each way from Camb/So'ville.

Speaking of local routes, anyone ever do the Tuesday Night Tavern ride from Landry's?  Looks like they start up again next Tuesday the 5th.

Sophie,

If you decide to get out of the city but don't want to worry about figuring out a route or finding folks to ride with, come check out my team - Dreamfar Triathlon Team.  We are based in Watertown and have organized, coached practices every Saturday all season.  We are very beginner friendly, all of our practices are open to the public and we have specific training plans for all distances from Sprint to Ironman.

On our website there is a calendar with all of our workouts and team events, so come check us out!  And feel free to PM me if you have any questions or would like more information.

I usually take a 56 mile ride on Saturdays. I start at 5:30 AM at Davis Square and ride the MinuteMan trail till the end (11 miles) then I take the back roads to  Walden Pond (7 miles), after arriving to Walden Pond I continue along Concord Road then head to Manyard (10 miles). Then I turn back. I am back to Davis around 9 AM.  The route is clear for the most part. The only way to avoid people and transit is starting early in the morning.

Good luck,
Raul

thanks for all the great suggestions!
i'll keep an eye out for group rides in the area once my schedule gets a bit less hectic. in the meantime i'll just have to get up early to avoid the crowds