Biking the Battle Road

So I decided that it would be a good idea to combine a play date with some exercise, so I took Bug and one of her friends for a mountain biking ride on the Battle Road in Minute Man National Park. The Battle Road is a wide, smooth trail with sloping hills. It is nothing that a rider in moderate shape on a halfway decent mountain bike cannot handle.
All three of us have better than decent rides; our rides can eat the Battle Road for a light snack. The girls are both in great shape; I can manage to walk up a flight of stairs without being winded.... This should have been a good work out for me and a fun outing for the girls.
The girls did have fun, but I didn't get much exercise. Our pace was not what I had hoped. The girls wanted to stop at every sign along the way or take water breaks. It was nice to stop and see the sights and have a relaxed afternoon, but I was really hoping for some speed.
At one stop, we saw a family with three young boys peddle past us on 16" bikes. One was on two wheels and was moving; the other two were trying to keep up on training wheels. It was super cute. They peddled back a few minutes later.
We saw a lot of dogs and families out walking, which also slowed us down a bit. I was very impressed with the girl's bicycle etiquette. They remembered to ring their bells to give pedestrians plenty of warning and then also told them on which side they were passing. They were better than some of the adult riders on the trail.
On the way back to the car, we did manage to keep a decent pace. The girls thought they saw a bee and peddled like bandits to keep away from it. I wasn't about to tell them that it was just a fly and that a bee would have given up minutes into the chase.
I definitely recommend the Battle Road for a fun afternoon of riding. Just don't get your hopes up for a workout. During the summer, some of the houses and other stops have staff to give tours and stage mock battles. It is cool to see, but also slows things down.