I’ve ridden much of the stretch from Waltham to Boston, and also segments around West Boylston, but headed west to North Adams rather than south to Rhode Island.

Which is the “real bad” crossing?

The Paul D. White bikeway can be crowded at times from Harvard University to the Esplanade.

One note of caution that few people think about is public events can lead to checkpoints along the river. The big one is obvious (4th of July), but smaller events too. I’ve been stopped and had to dump water (inconvenient, but there are public bublers where you can refill just past the checkpoint), and had my small messenger bag (size of a large purse) inspected. Backpacks and other large packs can be a problem, particularly for people touring, they may ask you to go around rather than through. There’s always the other bank though.

Charity walks do use the bikeway, sometimes both banks at the same time, your alternatives are taking to roads or walking with the crowd.

-mr. bill

There is no expectation that the Greenway was going to be a paved bike path from Florida to Maine. Who’s going to fund that ?. While the route may at times be questionable it’s still a work progress, thus needs support from all potential users.

You likely have some valid points about local conditions, but that means we need to keep after the local highway departments that maintain the roads, to keep them clean, etc... And I’m not sure why your beef with country roads with no shoulders, which with ECG were chosen based on traffic volume for the most part. I’ve ridden similar roads in many places in the US and Canada with no problems. They are not unsafe if you are a smart rider and have motorists who are respective of cyclists. Your comment sounds like somebody frightened to share roads with cars, which is unfortunate.