Doughboy6

Has anyone ridden on the Cape? I'm trying to figure out roads for a century that goes from Buzzards Bay out to Provincetown and back. I see that there are some good bike trails but havent been able to figure a way to link them. Hopefully someone has some familiarity. Thanks in advance!

mprelaw

From Buzzards Bay, ride the Canal bike path to the parking lot just east of the Sagamore Bridge. Go up the hill to the Park N Ride lot between Friendly's and the Shell gas station, and at the end closest to the bridge you'll find the bridge's sidewalk. I'd strongly suggest that you dismount and walk the bike over the bridge. On the other side, cut through the Christmas Tree Shop parking lot to Adams Street, go left, and at the end, turn right onto Route 6A. You can ride 6A all the way to the Orleans rotary, and then ride on Route 6 all the way to Provincetown. 6A is occasionally busy, but in my opinion it's relatively safe. I've ridden the whole length, and I ride segments of it regularly. You won't be the only cyclist on it. Route 6 between Orleans and P-town has a wide shoulder, but you have to be careful and watch for cars going into, and coming out of, various businesses. You can ride Route 6 all the way, or you can take some side trips, such as turning right onto LeCounts Hollow Rd in Wellfleet, following that to Ocean View, and turning left at the end of Ocean View to rejoin Rte. 6. One other suggestion would be to carefully cross over and bear left onto another segment of 6A in Truro. This takes you along the bay shoreline and directly into P-town proper. Wellfleet and Truro are surprisingly hilly. Also, if you do it round trip from Buzzards Bay, you're going to be doing more than a double metric. It's close to 150 miles round trip.

Doughboy6

Thank you so much for this, it is exactly what I was looking for! Would it be better to just drive across the bridge and leave from the Park N Ride or some other lot?

mprelaw

That is certainly an option. You could drive across the bridge, take the first exit, and turn right at the light. As you go from Bourne into Sandwich, turn left onto Tupper Road. You could park in the Stop and Shop shopping plaza, or turn left at the sign pointing to Canal access, and park in one of the Canal lots. Tupper Road rejoins 6A just a little outside Sandwich center. This will shorten the ride to just about a double metric. There are several places to buy snacks on 6A between Sandwich and Orleans.

There are a couple of charity rides that use alternate routes and bypass much of 6A, but I feel that people who aren't familiar with the Cape can get confused by complex directions. Those rides have route arrows or signs directing riders. You won't. After Labor Day, the roads get a lot less crowded.

mr_bill

There is no 100 miles between Buzzards Bay and P-town and back. And while none of the hills are large, it rolls and rolls and rolls and rolls.

Seriously take a look at the Bike MS and PMC routes. Well published, easy to follow. Since you won't be riding with a few thousand other riders, you can err on the side of riding the rail trail farther (pretty much between East Harwich to Welfleet.) Past Truro you will be riding either 6 or 6A, but otherwise there are far more pleasant roads to ride even if they add a couple of miles. (There's one stretch east of the Welfleet fire station I swear must be paved with sea washed stones.)

Finally, don't underestimate the wind. It's the cape, it always seems to shift so that it's always in your face. (The cycling gods are being kind to you if you are riding a cross wind, and you've been completely blessed if you catch a tail wind.)

-mr. bill