Eagle Scout Complete Historic Beverly Bike Trail

When Kevin Reynolds of Beverly had to choose a service project to complete the requirements for Eagle Scout, the process proved a lot tougher than he thought.

“I wanted something that would be fun, put the skills I have learned in Scouts to use, and would serve the community well for a long time. I also have to be realistic with time commitments as a rising senior at St. John’s Prep, playing sports, and holding part time jobs. I really had trouble settling on something”. On a ride up skiing with his Dad, they started talking about a bike ride they did with Beverly’s Bike Committee and the Mayor, Mike Cahill. “Getting out for a bike ride with other members of the community and riding through Beverly’s rich history was a lot of fun. It got us thinking” said Reynolds. By the time they got to their destination an hour later, the concept of creating a Historic Bike Trail on the behalf of Historic Beverly (Beverly’s historic society) was well formed. “I reached out to Historic Beverly that night, and Program Manager Sarah Corshia responded enthusiastically right away”. The purpose of an Eagle Scout service project is for the Scout to provide leadership completing a task for the benefit of the community or a non-profit that is part of it. It is a capstone test of the skills and experiences that a Scout acquires on the trail to Eagle, especially leadership skills. In this regard, the idea is for the Scout to recruit and manage the help of others in reaching his end goal.

Reynolds’ idea was to create a 5 mile bike loop that intorduced nine of Beverly’s points of historic interest to the rider. He wanted it to be a manageable ride that a young family could confidently undertake together. Two of the stops he chose, the Cabot House and Hale Farm, are Historic Beverly owned showcase properties. “I never knew about Historic Beverly and what they did until I started piecing together this project. My hope is that this bike tour will help introduce younger people and families to this great organization long before they otherwise would have”. Starting at the Cabot House (Historic Beverly’s home office on Cabot Street) the trail takes riders through the downtown area, out to Hospital Point on the coast, through Lynch Park, and back along the coast to the Cabot House. Using a brochure that Reynolds prepared, riders learn a little bit about of these sites and their stories. To keep younger riders engaged, he created a separate brochure that asks questions that can be filled in by the rider as they inspect each site. “It is a scavenger hunt of sorts. Parents can turn it into a game. The kids end up getting a history lesson while burning off energy, not realizing they are getting a history lesson. Parents might even offer some small reward like an ice cream if they complete the task.”

Reynolds also engaged the Beverly Bike Committee to review safety issues. “When it comes down to riding a bicycle in a downtown area, there are definitely risks that you have to take into consideration. And while you cannot eliminate risk altogether, you can take some common sense steps to greatly reducing them. Mrs. And Mr. Salt and the Beverly Bike Committee were very helpful in outlining those steps in the brochures.” From start to submission of the brochures to Historic Beverly, Reynolds estimates roughly a dozen other contributors spent 150 hours building the tour.

“My goal in closing this out is to make sure the tour is known about and used. I also hope it prompts more people to engage with Historic Beverly”. Brochures will be made available through Historic Beverly, which plans to distribute to new Beverly residents through welcome packages that local businesses and organizations send to new home owners. To launch the tour, Reynolds will lead an inaugural ride on Saturday October 19 at 10am. Riders will gather on the side lot behind the Cabot House and complete the ride that should last about an hour and a half.