Trail Tale

The roots of a popular bike route

By Alexandra Lapkin

t’s only been since 1981 that rail traffic has been discontinued on the old Lexington and West Cambridge and Middlesex Central railroads, but what’s replaced the rails has a long history that few of the two million people who travel along it annually know.

It’s the Minuteman Bikeway, the 11-mile paved path through Cambridge, Arlington, Lexington, and Bedford, and it has as much to offer history buffs and nature lovers as cycling enthusiasts.

Owned by the MBTA, the Minuteman Bikeway not only serves a recreational function, but also decreases traffic congestion by encouraging commuters to bike to public transportation. It also connects to the Fitchburg Cutoff Path and the Cambridge Linear Park at the Bedford and Cambridge ends.

Along the way, it passes several scenic sites. Be sure to stop by Spy Pond in Arlington, for instance. This now-quaint, picturesque spot was once bustling with activity, as it was used for ice harvesting in the 19th century. Frederick Tudor, also known as the “Ice King,” came up with the idea of exporting ice from New England as far as India. Tudor made a fortune by taking advantage of New England’s cold weather and the demand for ice in areas of the British Empire with hot climates.

The Miunteman Bikeway’s origins date back to the American Revolution and the route Paul Revere famously took in 1775 to warn the colonial militia of the approaching British troops before the battles of Concord and Lexington. Since then, the route had transformed into a thoroughfare so busy, that two connecting railroads were constructed by the middle of the nineteenth century, the Lexington and West Cambridge Railroad and the Middlesex Central Railroad.

When rail service was discontinued in 1981, a commuter bicycle path was proposed in its place. The conversion of old, abandoned railroads into park trails became widespread thanks to the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, a nonprofit organization. When the Minuteman was finally finished in 1993, it joined hundreds of other rail trails across the country, but it’s one of only five that has been inducted into the national Rail-Trail Hall of Fame.

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