Cycling Cape Cod, MA -Sagamore Bridge -a word of warning
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Cycling Cape Cod, MA -Sagamore Bridge -a word of warning
I cycled from the Boston area to Provincetown this weekend. Everything was fine except when I got to the Sagamore bridge; the sidewalk is closed (for how long, I don't know). I actually did a search on the web about Sagamore and cyclists, and nothing came up. Since cycling over the bridge is not recommended (I don't know if it's illegal, but I certainly wouldn't want to do it even if it was!), this leaves only the Bourne bridge, at least 7 miles away. If you're on a tight schedule and you need to be at the northern side of the Cape, this means an extra 14 miles to your journey. No problem if you've got enough light, less so if you're pushed for time.
Anyway, lovely little from the back doorstep mini-tour for me this weekend, with beautiful weather. Bike and gear were perfect -am really starting to love the Kelly Take Offs, they are really nice!
Anyway, lovely little from the back doorstep mini-tour for me this weekend, with beautiful weather. Bike and gear were perfect -am really starting to love the Kelly Take Offs, they are really nice!
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I'm somewhat familiar with Cape Cod as my mother in law lives there, and I plan to end my cross country bike tour in 2 yrs in Orleans, from Arizona. Biked the old railbed converted to bike path near Brewster. Lovely ride. Also enjoy P-town and it's colorful people. I planned, however, to arrive on Cape Cod via the ferry from Boston to P-town and then ride 6A down to Orleans. What are your thoughts on this approach to Cape Cod?
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Yes, I too enjoy P-town, it's colourful to say the least! Interesting people watching.....
I'd suggest keeping off 6A as much as possible though -it really isn't an attractive road. I did cycle it northwards into P-town, but I happened to have cycled to P-town last year and took as many of the back roads as possible (we took Old County Road then, and it's much nicer, besides, taking the back roads gives you an excuse to go to Cahoon beach, one of the nicest on the Cape IMHO). Another reason to take the backroads in this area is that I think you see more of the lesser but equally beautiful parts of the Cape. Of course, at the end of a cross country, you might just be at the point where you just want to take the direct route, thanks very much!
One nice thing about 6A is that there is a nice shoulder to cycle on, but what you gain in a shoulder you lose in views -and really, cycling parts of 6A you could be on almost any plain road. If you have the time, I'd definitely recommend taking the zig-zag approach on the back roads. Also, if you haven't been on the Cape Cod Rail Trail it's been nicely extended to Wellfleet and Lecount Hollow road (see https://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/southeast/ccrt.htm). It's certainly very pleasant to cycle on, so don't overshoot it!
The only other thing I'd make a note about is that unless you enjoy pain and frustration, try to cycle on a non-windy day...
p.s. I wrong in my original post; the distance between the 2 bridges is much less than 7 miles -I was thinking of the length of the canal. Probably more like 4 miles between bridges. They *should* have finished the work on the bridges by then. I hope.
I'd suggest keeping off 6A as much as possible though -it really isn't an attractive road. I did cycle it northwards into P-town, but I happened to have cycled to P-town last year and took as many of the back roads as possible (we took Old County Road then, and it's much nicer, besides, taking the back roads gives you an excuse to go to Cahoon beach, one of the nicest on the Cape IMHO). Another reason to take the backroads in this area is that I think you see more of the lesser but equally beautiful parts of the Cape. Of course, at the end of a cross country, you might just be at the point where you just want to take the direct route, thanks very much!
One nice thing about 6A is that there is a nice shoulder to cycle on, but what you gain in a shoulder you lose in views -and really, cycling parts of 6A you could be on almost any plain road. If you have the time, I'd definitely recommend taking the zig-zag approach on the back roads. Also, if you haven't been on the Cape Cod Rail Trail it's been nicely extended to Wellfleet and Lecount Hollow road (see https://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/southeast/ccrt.htm). It's certainly very pleasant to cycle on, so don't overshoot it!
The only other thing I'd make a note about is that unless you enjoy pain and frustration, try to cycle on a non-windy day...
p.s. I wrong in my original post; the distance between the 2 bridges is much less than 7 miles -I was thinking of the length of the canal. Probably more like 4 miles between bridges. They *should* have finished the work on the bridges by then. I hope.
I'm somewhat familiar with Cape Cod as my mother in law lives there, and I plan to end my cross country bike tour in 2 yrs in Orleans, from Arizona. Biked the old railbed converted to bike path near Brewster. Lovely ride. Also enjoy P-town and it's colorful people. I planned, however, to arrive on Cape Cod via the ferry from Boston to P-town and then ride 6A down to Orleans. What are your thoughts on this approach to Cape Cod?