Playing In Traffic: Midnight Marathon Ride Tips ‘n Tricks

The Midnight Marathon Ride takes place the day before The Boston Marathon. OK, you nitpickers, it takes place the morning of the Boston Marathon.

While the runners are asleep, thousands of cyclists ride the marathon route from Hopkinton to Boston.

At the finish line in 2016, the first time I did this event

11:40 PM a group forming up in Hopkinton to head to Boston

Listen you nitpickers, you got that wrong too. For hundreds of cyclists it does start the day before the marathon!

A majority of the people who do this ride find a lift to Hopkinton, the start line of the marathon. They drive, take the train, etc. Around midnight they depart for Boston in a very large group. I have never done this. Instead I join a somewhat smaller group of cyclists who bicycle to the start (what I refer to as “The Out & Back” and others call “The Salmon Ride”).

Many other cyclists don’t like starting a ride at midnight, so they are out on the course earlier in the evening or even during the day.

As an ad hoc ride, it’s all good, so stop being such a nitpicker and try to have a bit of fun! The roads are not closed, but they are cleaned and patched nicely for the marathon. There is very little traffic on the roads on Sunday night/Monday morning.

You can find groups forming on the road as well as ahead of time via the ride's Facebook group.

It doesn't have to start at midnight! Here I am in Hopkinton at 8 PM in 2021 (the October ride).
I met up with a good group & rode with them.

While I tend to ride year round, I view the Midnight Marathon Ride as the kick off for my cycling season. I do The Out & Back. Riding 52 miles does require some training to get used to longer distances than my 30 mile round trip bike commute. This sets me up nicely for continuing to stretch out my long rides over the spring, so I’m ready for 100 miles plus by late May.

I’ve been doing this ride annually for a while now. It can be a lot of fun. But as with any longish ride, how fun it is depends a great deal on how ready you are.

Will you ride a dolphin bike that makes dolphin squeaks? It's up to you!

· Equipment:

o Your bike should be in good working order. Tires pumped up and in good shape. Brakes working well. A well maintained bike is your most important piece of safety equipment. You should be able to stop and turn.

o You should have a rear red light and a front facing white light. Some of the roads out west don’t have streetlights, so a powerful light can be good.

§ I use a Magicshine MJ-900 and a PlanetBike 300 SLX as a secondary light.

§ Nite Rider Sentinel rear light.

o Two full water bottles (or a hydration system if you’re into that kind of thing).

o Snacks.

o Cold weather cycling gear. This should not be the first time you ride with it though. Ashland at 12:30 AM is a bad place to discover the new bit of kit doesn’t work well & hurts. It usually a bit chilly, so long finger gloves are nice. Wool, fleece, and silk insulate when damp. Cotton does not. Don’t wear cotton. I also bring a space blanket just in case.

For the coldest rides, I've got insulated cycling tights, a winter cycling jacket, a fleece beanie, arm warmers, booties, lobster mittens, and a fleece gaiter. I've also thrown Grabbar hand warmers in my shoes & gloves.

o Helmet

o Spare tube, tire irons, pump/CO2 inflator, tools. Worth learning how to change a bike tire.

Some years there are volunteer snack stops. But only some years!

· Cycling tips:

o Communicate with other riders on the road.

§ Call out obstacles, sand, potholes, what have you. They clean & patch the road for the marathon, so that should not be much of an issue. Letting someone know you’re passing them on the left is courteous and good group riding etiquette.

§ If you need to stop, pull over and get off the road. It’s late. Some people are not paying attention. Someone could bike right into you.

o The later it gets, you should make an effort to pay more attention. Our natural level of attention ebbs around 2AM. Communicate with the people around you and ride conservatively.

o Cross the T tracks at a right angle or close to it. Don’t parallel the tracks. See https://www.bicycling.com/rides/a20031649/watch-how-to-safely-ride-across-railroad-tracks/

§ It’s tempting to parallel the tracks because we come down Chestnut Hill Ave & our direction of travel is parallel to them. This is an easy way to take a spill.

§ Ride to the right of the tracks, swing out to cross almost perpendicular to get onto Beacon Street.

§ The train tracks in Framingham are at an angle to our direction of travel.

o A mile or two into the ride there’s an intersection in Ashland. Bear left to stay on 135/Union Street. Do not go right up the hill onto East Union Street.

o Don’t just run red lights and stop signs assuming there’s no car traffic. Just don’t.

o If you do the Out & Back, it’s a long climb up to Hopkinton. If you take the commuter rail, it’s a long climb up to Hopkinton. Have some miles in your legs before the ride either way. Is 26 miles a lot of cycling for you? 52? If so, get out the month before the ride and get some miles in. It’s also a good opportunity to judge if your cold weather gear is comfortable on the bike.