9/17/18 Nickerson State Park, MA to Provincetown, MA

The Cape is every bit as scenic and quaint as we remember it and the rail trail allowed us to see it from a whole new perspective...

When we got to the northern end of the trail in Wellfleet, we asked a roadie who was stopped at the trailhead about more roads to explore. Of course, he immediately pointed us toward the coast and told us that Cahoon Hollow Beach and the Beachcomber Bar mustn't be missed and that only a little hill climbing was involved. He was right about the terrain, but the Beachcomber was already closed for the season.

When touring the Cape by car, once you're past Wellfleet it seems like Provincetown is right around the corner. So, we looked at Google Maps and discovered we were still 16 miles away, and we were already 18 miles into our ride. Leslie was undeterred by the prospect of a 70 mile day, and so off we went with our trusty Google Maps guiding the way. On the outbound leg our friendly "navigal" did a nice job of routing, keeping us off the main highway as much as possible.

Once into P-Town, we took advantage of Commercial Street's "bike friendly" two way traffic, although it turns out to be not so friendly in the spots where it's only really wide enough for a motor vehicle but is supporting pedestrians and two way bike traffic. It felt a bit like a game of chicken at times. Window-shopping and people watching were abundant.

We did run into a husband and wife pair on well-loved Tour Easy recumbents who were training for an Adventure Cycling Tour. She was keenly interested in learning more about our e-assist.

After coffee, Qwirkle and more conversation with folks about the trike and the Qwirkle game, we climbed on board and started back. This time, Google Maps routing wasn't as much to our liking, as it involved multiple left turns across busy Route 6. With a little work, we had her rerouting us. Unfortunately, we haven't yet found any indicators in Google Maps as to whether a road is paved or unpaved, and if unpaved, how passable. We had an interesting cross country ramble on a sandy, rutted one lane dirt road. With the e-assist max'd out, we were able to power through most of the bad spots but it sure burned through a lot of battery life.

Since we couldn't help thinking that we needed our batteries to last for 70 miles and knowing that that the last mile back to our campsite was pretty darned hilly, the amount of battery usage was a bit concerning. It was not however, as concerning as the plumber's truck that nearly collided head-on with Leslie around a blind corner. Fortunately, the driver was able/willing to stop his truck and wait for her to drag the trike off the side of the road so he could get by us.

Eventually, we worked our way back to pavement and roads we recognized including the lovely coastal stretch back into Wellfleet. After that, it's trail all the way back to Nickerson State Park. Paula started turning off her assist completely in the last few miles so that she could be sure of having some power left to get back up the steep hill to our campsite.

What an amazing day!