Lucky07
07-07-08, 04:47 PM
I spent the last week riding in Cape Cod. Beautiful weather, great riding. Did a couple of trips up and down the Cape from Eastham to Race Point in Provincetown. I've done that ride previous summers taking the main highway (6/6A), so I decided to mix it up a bit. I looked for every secondary road I could find & took it.
It made for a slower/meandering route, but it was far prettier with a lot less traffic. Race Point & Head of the Meadow beaches were very quiet and still. At least early in the a.m.
The Rail Trail between Chatham & Wellfleet is very nice and well maintained for the most part, but it's insanely crowded by late morning, early afternoon. I tried to ride there as early as possible to avoid the dog walkers, runners, families, etc...
Quite by coincidence, the Boston to Provincetown MS 150 Ride route went by the house we were renting in Eastham. Sunday a.m. as I was rolling out of the driveway a pack of riders came by and someone yelled "hop on!'. So I did. That group kept a nice paceline going for 10-15 miles. I took some turns at the front, but kept going when the paceline turned into a rest stop. Didn't want to bandit a charity ride. :D
On our way back to NYC from our Cape vacation, we stopped in Worcester, Mass. to see my parents. We were staying overnight, so I made a plan to ride Mt. Wachusett Sunday a.m. I didn't know the Longsjo Classic was underway on Saturday, otherwise I would've gone up to see the race.
I asked my father about the route from his house to the Mountain. "Oh, it's about 10 miles or so... and mostly flat..." Great.
It wasn't 10 miles. Or flat.
The ride from Worcester to Princeton, Mass. was beautiful. Rolling hills, pretty countryside, colonial houses, low traffic... Great riding.
But it was not flat. Out of Worcester the rolling hills began, and just kept coming. My actual milage to the mountain was just under 20. I don't know what the collective elevation gain was, but it felt pretty significant. Mt Wachusett itself is over 2000 ft. at it's peak.
After grinding up the winding mountain road, I made it up to the Summit. It was a cloudy, hazy day, so the views weren't limitless, but still very pretty. I called my father to tell him about the ride and he replied "I TOLD you it was HILLY!" O.k. Dad. Thanks.
Anyway, a really fun week of riding. Next year I'll try to catch the Longsjo Classic & maybe even enter the Cat 5 crit. (If I can get in...)
On the way back to the parents, I stopped in downtown Worcester to take a look at the newly erected Major Taylor monument. It's beautiful. Incredibly well done.
One side features a relief of Taylor in action at a meet, the other side features a life size statue of Taylor with his bike in the backgroud. The statue is an eye level & is very impressive. It's worth the trip if you're in New England.
It made for a slower/meandering route, but it was far prettier with a lot less traffic. Race Point & Head of the Meadow beaches were very quiet and still. At least early in the a.m.
The Rail Trail between Chatham & Wellfleet is very nice and well maintained for the most part, but it's insanely crowded by late morning, early afternoon. I tried to ride there as early as possible to avoid the dog walkers, runners, families, etc...
Quite by coincidence, the Boston to Provincetown MS 150 Ride route went by the house we were renting in Eastham. Sunday a.m. as I was rolling out of the driveway a pack of riders came by and someone yelled "hop on!'. So I did. That group kept a nice paceline going for 10-15 miles. I took some turns at the front, but kept going when the paceline turned into a rest stop. Didn't want to bandit a charity ride. :D
On our way back to NYC from our Cape vacation, we stopped in Worcester, Mass. to see my parents. We were staying overnight, so I made a plan to ride Mt. Wachusett Sunday a.m. I didn't know the Longsjo Classic was underway on Saturday, otherwise I would've gone up to see the race.
I asked my father about the route from his house to the Mountain. "Oh, it's about 10 miles or so... and mostly flat..." Great.
It wasn't 10 miles. Or flat.
The ride from Worcester to Princeton, Mass. was beautiful. Rolling hills, pretty countryside, colonial houses, low traffic... Great riding.
But it was not flat. Out of Worcester the rolling hills began, and just kept coming. My actual milage to the mountain was just under 20. I don't know what the collective elevation gain was, but it felt pretty significant. Mt Wachusett itself is over 2000 ft. at it's peak.
After grinding up the winding mountain road, I made it up to the Summit. It was a cloudy, hazy day, so the views weren't limitless, but still very pretty. I called my father to tell him about the ride and he replied "I TOLD you it was HILLY!" O.k. Dad. Thanks.
Anyway, a really fun week of riding. Next year I'll try to catch the Longsjo Classic & maybe even enter the Cat 5 crit. (If I can get in...)
On the way back to the parents, I stopped in downtown Worcester to take a look at the newly erected Major Taylor monument. It's beautiful. Incredibly well done.
One side features a relief of Taylor in action at a meet, the other side features a life size statue of Taylor with his bike in the backgroud. The statue is an eye level & is very impressive. It's worth the trip if you're in New England.