Cycling Cape Cod, Nantucket, and Martha's Vineyard - Sept 2010

Bike and the Like has been organizing cycling trips on Cape Cod and the New England area for more than 17 years. They advocate a “stop and smell the roses” type of touring and we have enjoyed their tours immensely. We began our trip in Hyannis, MA, and cycled the nooks and crannies of Cape Cod, including visits to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Cape Cod is known for its miles of glorious coastlines, quaint villages, scenic byways, the Cape Cod Rail Trail, and more.

We arrived early in order to get fitted to our rental bikes and took a spin around the Hyannis area, passing the JFK Memorial and nearby Hyannisport, home of the Kennedy Compound. Our first night’s dinner is where we met and greeted the other cyclists on this trip; a total of 39 of us plus 3 tour leaders. And, of course, most of us had lobster for dinner.

The first day of riding with the group took us on a ferry to Nantucket where we cycled the island and walked the cobblestoned streets of historic downtown. Nantucket is located 30 miles off the south coast of Cape Cod and is 14 miles in length and 3 ½ miles wide. With its conservation land, beaches, lighthouses, bike trails, and history, this was a nice day of cycling.

The next couple days were spent on Martha’s Vineyard. We pedaled along the Cape Cod Canal following the Manamet River, stopped at the Aptucxet Trading Post museum, then along the Shore Rd to the Shining Sea Bikeway to Woods Hole where we caught the Steamship Authority Ferry. The ferry brought us to the town of Oak Bluffs where we stayed at the Madison Inn for two nights. Oak Bluffs flourished as a revivalist-movement camp meeting site. Over the years, the tents were replaced by small cottages in the distinctive "campground gothic" style, which makes you feel like you're walking through a neighborhood of pastel gingerbread houses. We explored the town that evening and met the group for dinner.

The next day we cycled on the bike trail to Edgartown and the lighthouse (pictured below left) on the north shore. The Edgartown Light made a brief appearance in the movie Jaws. We continued on the bike path around the airport, stopped by an Alpaca farm, lunched in Vineyard Haven, cycled the West Chop loop and lighthouse, around the harbor, on to the East Chop loop and lighthouse, then back to the hotel. As an example of history, the East Chop lighthouse was built in 1802 on Telegraph Hill. The lighthouse is on the site of the signal station that received semaphore messages from Woods Hole to indicate the arrival of homebound whaling ships. The current lighthouse was built in 1877. We took a very relaxing pace today and explored the history of the island.

We took the hi-speed ferry back to Hyannis the following morning and headed to the village of Orleans. Once on our bikes, we cycled the beach roads, stopped and toured the Judah Baker Windmill, jumped on the Cape Cod Rail Trail, passed through Nickerson State Park, took a short side trip to Nauset Beach, and finally rested at the Old Tavern Inn in Orleans for the night. Like much of the Cape, Orleans revolved around fishing, whaling, and agriculture in its early history.

Our next stop was Provincetown. We cycled up the elbow of the Cape via the national seashore. We stopped after about 5 miles at the Salt Pond Visitor Center and watched a film on how the Cape was formed through the ice age….very interesting and well worth the stop. The museum had an old bike on display that had wood spokes. Imagine riding that bike.

Back on our bikes, we cycled the Cape Cod Rail Trail, passing the Nauset Lighthouse and Marconi Station. Guglielmo Marconi had a dream to send a wireless signal across the ocean and, in 1900, he built a high-powered transmitting station to do just this. Storms blew down the aeriel towers in 1901. We stopped in Wellfleet for a short lunch and then continued on around the harbor, along the beach, more lighthouses and windmills, and finally into Provincetown.

Once in Provincetown, we had the evening on our own. We walked through town, climbed the Pilgrim Monument, stopped for a couple drinks and dinner, and made it an early evening. A couple of cyclists who made it in early enough were able to take a whale watching tour. They said they saw at least 30 whales and got some great pics.

It was now time to head back. We left Provincetown cycling through the sand dunes known as the Provincelands, along the beaches, and back on the Cape Cod Rail Trail. Most everyone stopped at the Chocolate Sparrow in Orleans for lunch. Here, we had a turkey pannini and an ice cream cone while others chose to have some “to-die-for” chocolate desserts.

Our last day brought us back to Hyannis where we said our ‘good-byes’ to all our new friends, caught the bus back to Boston Logan airport and flew home.

The only way to really experience Cape Cod is to cycle the “nooks and crannies”. Cape Cod’s terrain is very cycle friendly and mostly gently rolling. There are so many sights to see and places to visit that the only way to do it is on bicycle. We averaged about 45 miles a day and took our time to be sure not to miss anything. If you like mixing sightseeing with your cycling, you’ll love this trip.

To view more photos from this trip, click on "Cape Cod Cycling" under "Links to cycling pics" on the right side of this page.