Cape Cod rail trail

I was looking for something interesting to do on the Monday holiday and decided that I would red-line (ride the entire trail) the Cape Cod rail trail.  I plotted out a 70+ mile course that would take me through Hyannis, Barnstable, Yarmouth, Dennis, Harwich, Chatham, Orleans, Eastham, Wellfleet, and Brewster.  I’d get all of the CCRT and add in the Old Colony rail trail, the Nauset bike path, and about 10 miles on roads to connect everything.

Conditions were pretty much ideal as I pedaled out of my hotel room at 4:45 am.  It was in the upper 50’s and would only get into the 60’s during the ride.  It was cloudy and calm.  I had a bit of an issue with navigation right away as the gps wanted me to cut through the parking lot but I sorted it out and got rolling.  My turn onto the end of the rail trail was not obvious (I found on my way back that it was a construction site and that was why I missed it), I turned onto what looked like the path and it was close enough that gps thought I was on it.  It was actually a powerline next to the trail and I did a slow ½ mile of riding in loose sand before getting on the trail.  It was a nice section passing right through a golf course.  It was so early that I only saw two people in my first hour of riding.

 I broke the ride down into manageable (I hoped) parts.  The first was getting from the hotel to the trail and then it was getting to the split where the CCRT went north and the Old Colony continued east.  I got there in less than an hour (12 miles) and thought “I won’t be back here for another 45 miles”.  The trail intersection was unusual, it was a rotary which was not associated with any roads (it was well out in the woods).  I got to the end of the trail in Chatham at about 18 miles in and it was only a little after 6 am.  Good planning as I’d now be on the road heading north and west for the next 8 miles. I had a little navigation issue as the gps said I’d be doing a “U-turn in 2.3 miles” that got me nervous that it was going to send me out and back on the same road.  I confirmed I was going the right way and when I got to the “U-turn” it was really just a very sharp right hand turn.  At 26 miles I was back on the rail trail, mentally checking off another section done.  Now I was aiming for the cut-off to the Nauset bike path.

 The section in Orleans and Eastham was nice, I could smell the ocean although I’d yet to see it.  At exactly 30 miles I left the rail trail on a well signed turn for the bike path.  I entered the Cape Cod National Seashore and the hilly and twisty Nauset bike path.  It was fun and a change of speed from just pedaling along on a mostly flat rail trail.  I also got some warnings (first time I’d seen them) on my gps telling me about blind turns and steep up/downs.  At 32 miles I saw the ocean while riding on a boardwalk along Salt Pond Bay.  I popped out onto Ocean view drive (aptly named) and saw a bunch of surfers as they were headed into the water.  I also caught site of the Nauset light and the “three sisters” lighthouses before angling back to the west (inland) to catch back onto the rail trail.

 At 35 miles I was back on the CCRT and headed north for the final section.  The last mile was a freshly paved extension of the trail (about 1 mile) pushing the end a little bit further.  I had a gel at 40 miles as I turned and started the return trip.  I’d be covering some familiar ground but even the out/back section looked different going in the other direction.  I was still feeling pretty good when I reached Orleans (49 miles) and was looking forward to the next 10 miles of “new” trail.  I think I had ridden on parts of this from Nickerson state park back in the 90s but hadn’t been on it since then.  After a very brief road detour (the trail has a break here) I spotted a couple of riders not too far ahead.  I caught (and spooked) the first one soon after and got the other at a road crossing when we both stopped for traffic.  I picked up the pace a bit and he settled in behind me.  We never spoke but he sat behind me for the next 10 miles.  That was some of my quickest riding over 16 mph for that 10.  I was still feeling pretty good as he dropped off at the Dennis parking lot.

The last 11 miles were sort of just a countdown to finishing and picturing the Dunkin’s coffee I’d have after I finished.  I discovered the end of the trail that I’d missed and had to go around it due to the huge pit being dug and heavy machinery.  I kept my head on a swivel for the last 3 miles on the road as traffic was now in full force and there wasn’t much in the way of shoulder.  I managed it with no issue and even caught a couple of traffic lights just as they turned green, which is always nice at the end of nearly 4.5 hours on the road.  I rolled back into the hotel parking lot at 9:15 am with my day done before many had even gotten up.  Totals for the ride 71.0 miles in 4:28:39 for an average of 15.9 mph, about 2,100’ of up/down.  Although I brought 16 ounces of water I was never thirsty and didn’t drink any, I did have the one gel at 40 miles and a “chomp” at 55.