Cape in a Day or Two

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CAPE IN A DAY (OR TWO) CLASSIC

The Best Bike Rides in New England

Paul Thomas – Edited by Paul Angiolillo

Boston – Milton – Brockton – Plymouth – Bourne – Yarmouth – Wellfleet – Provincetown

Many cyclists in New England dream about riding from Boston to Cape Cod – it’s a fantasy trip, one they plan to do someday. For others, though, this tour is an annual event – thanks largely to the American Youth Hostels (AYH), which sponsors an annual 125-mile ride from Boston to Provincetown in late June. For all but the most experienced cyclists, pedaling from Boston to Cape Cod is a challenge best done in a group. Nowadays there’s also a fund-raising ride from Stockbridge in western Massachusetts to Provincetown, as well as a shorter, 85-mile ride from Plymouth to Provincetown, the latter sponsored by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AYH).

To make any Boston to Cape Cod bike tour a little easier, in 1978 the Commonwealth of Massachusetts designated certain roads from the Charles River in Boston to Provincetown on the Cape as the official Boston-Cape Cod Bikeway route. Cyclists should, however, be aware that this “bikeway” uses active roads and is only partly marked with signs.

The AYH Cape in a Day (or Two) ride leaves from Boston College promptly at 6:00 a.m., after riders have sampled fruit, juice, bagels, and other munchies. The group splits up to spend Saturday night at two hostels on the outer Cape, in Eastham, 95 miles from Boston, and in North Truro, at 115 miles. “The hostels hold a total of ninety-four people, but other cyclists come along just for a day, know friends on the Cape, make hotel reservations, or have their family follow them down,” says Seth Davis, longtime leader of the AYH ride. The next day is reserved for exploring the National Seashore, with its dune-covered beaches; taking a leisurely ride into Provincetown for sightseeing and shopping; and catching the 4:30 p.m. ferry back to Boston. (Bring a sweater, since the ferry ride can be cool.)

The AYH ride includes a support van (“sag wagon”) to assist with repairs and other breakdowns, meals, lodging at a hostel, and the ferry back to downtown Boston ($14.00 plus $2.00 for a bike). All for $70.00. No wonder it fills up in early May. Ride leaders recommend that anyone who wants to ride from Boston to Cape Cod have done at least a 60-mile ride, as well as regular shorter rides. To register for the AYH ride, contact Seth Davis at 186 Palmer Street, Arlington, MA 02174, or call the AYH office in Boston at (617) 731-5430.

Whatever group you join, pedaling from Boston to Provincetown will leave you with memories of an early morning passage through Boston’s southern suburbs; a pit stop for food and juice or coffee in Plymouth; the first sight of the arching Sagamore Bridge, at 65 miles, marking the beginning of Cape Cod; the midday stretch through Sandwich, Barnstable, and Yarmouth; and turning up the Cape’s hook for the final leg—and your legs’ final push.

Once you’re on the Cape, you can also explore the Cape Cod Rail Trail, a separate, 25-mile trail. It begins on Route 134 in Dennis (a half mile from exit 9 off Route 6). The rail trail winds through Dennis, Harwich, Orleans, and Eastham and into Wellfleet (its latest extension), ending at Lecounts Hollow Road near Route 6. There is access to the trail at many intersecting roads. The rail trail also passes Nickerson State Park in Orleans, where there’s camping (508-896-3491), as well as unpaved trails for hiking and off-road cycling. (In addition, there’s a more modest trail, the 3.6-mile Falmouth Shining Sea Trail, from Route 28 in Falmouth to Woods Hole.)

The Basics

Start: The AYH ride begins at Boston College in Newton (near Cleveland Circle). But, of course, you can begin anywhere that’s convenient. A useful map for maneuvering in and around Boston is Boston’s Bikemap, which highlights the best cycling routes out to about Route 128. Most “escape routes” from the Boston area to Cape Cod follow the Emerald Necklace, a linear park with some bike paths that winds through Boston, Brookline, and Jamaica Plain and past the Arnold Arboretum. The Boston-Cape Cod Bikeway then passes through West Roxbury, before entering Milton, an attractive town just south of Boston. The AYH ride and the bikeway map follow different routes at several points along the way.

Length: From 115 to 135 miles, depending on where you begin in Boston and which route (the AYH or Boston-Cape Cod Bikeway) you take to Provincetown.

Terrain: Rolling, with some hills along the way. Both the AYH and the Boston-Cape Cod Bikeway routes follow low-volume roads once they’re past Boston’s more congested streets. But there’s also some traffic on Cape Cod.

Food: Many convenience stores and eateries in towns along the way. The AYH ride stops for breakfast before Plymouth (20 to 30 miles) and for lunch at the Cape Cod Canal (65 miles).

Traffic / Safety: The Boston-Cape Cod Bikeway is not a separate bike path but connected, active roads, with some bikeway signs on them. The bikeway is meant for experienced cyclists who want to travel as safely as possible to and from Boston and Cape Cod. Traffic is always heavier from Boston to Provincetown in the summer and especially on weekends. This ride will regularly test your riding skills in a semiurban environment. It’s for well-equipped cyclists in good shape.

Miles and Directions:

Neither a map nor detailed directions are included for this ride. The AYH ride and the Boston-Cape Cod Bikeway route differ in at least a half dozen places throughout the 125-mile ride. The Boston-Cape Cod Bikeway map can be obtained from the AYH office at 1020 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215 (617-731-5430). Send a self-addressed stamped envelope and $3.00, or drop in and buy one. This twelve-panel map highlights the roads for one possible route from the Charles River in Boston to Provincetown (with a spur to Woods Hole). The AYH might also send you a one-page cue sheet of its Cape in a Day (or Two) ride.

A useful map for cycling on Cape Cod is the Cape Ann and North Shore / Cape Cod and the Islands Bicycle Map, found in many bike shops and bookstores or available from Rubel Bikemaps, P.O. Box 1035, Cambridge, MA 02140.

Here are a few highly approximate mileages and some suggested variations along the route:

0.0	Beacon Street in Newton.
4.0	Cross Route 1 in West Roxbury.
12.5	Cross I-95 on Route 138. The bikeway and AYH rides diverge at York Street off Randolph Street, just before entering Canton.
20.0	The bikeway and AYH rides diverge on N. Quincy Street, just before entering Brockton, taking different routes through Brockton. (Basically, the AYH ride uses Route 58, while the bikeway route takes other streets.)
45.0	Reach Plymouth.
62.0	The Sagamore Bridge in Bourne—the gateway to Cape Cod. (At this point you can take a spur route south toward Woods Hole in Falmouth, instead of toward Provincetown. To do so, turn right after crossing the bridge and pick up the bike path along the canal, then turn south on County Road.)
	For the rest of the ride to Provincetown, you’ll often have two (or even three) options. For instance, through Sandwich Route 6A is a scenic but busier road, while Service Road is less traveled but also less scenic.
80.0	At 80 miles, in Dennis, you can take the Cape Cod Rail Trail, Route 6A, or Setucket Road.
	From Eastham to Wellfleet the best choice is the extension of the Cape Cod Rail Trail.
	In Truro fork left off Route 6 onto Route 6A to reach Provincetown.

TAKEN FROM

The Best Bike Rides in New England, written by Paul Thomas

Published by

The Globe Pequot Press
P.O. Box 833
Old Saybrook, Connecticut 06475

This company has published a number of other biking books. Check out your local bookstore or contact them for availability.