# Cape Cod



## moneyman (Jan 30, 2004)

So I bought a weeks vacation on the Cape in September at a charity auction. Should I bring my bike? I've never been there before and I'm coming from Wyoming. Any advice? Thanks.


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## mrcrabbiepattie (Nov 28, 2005)

whats the location you are staying at


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## hawkhero (Mar 28, 2006)

Road or mountain? We have both.


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## SethG (May 2, 2006)

This is my first post on this forum. Glad to be here.

I too will be in the Cape (Wellfleet) for a couple weeks this summer. I'll be bringing my road bike (Cannondale R700). I've been once before without a bike, so I know a little bit about the area, and I'm expecting to be able to ride on the main road to P'town, and around the federal shore area. I'd appreciate any good backroad routes for road bikes or any other ideas people may have.


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## CC09 (Mar 11, 2006)

i live and work in wellfleet most of the summer (late june-late august). id love to ride with anyone who wants (road), just pm me (sooner than later, my interweb service is iffy at best up there). Having never rode there before but been there a ton, It is mostly flat, but there are a few hills, maybe 100 ft of elevation or so (outer cape). But there is wind.....lots of wind at times. I plan on riding a bit of the rails to trails, but mostly some back roads on the bay side out towards truro and p-town and in the nat'l seashore area. also, anyoone know of any racing anywhere on the cape? would it be that hard for their to be a crit or something...?


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## moneyman (Jan 30, 2004)

*West Harwich*



mrcrabbiepattie said:


> whats the location you are staying at


And I'm referring specifically to a road bike. Thanks.


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## longhorn31 (Jan 6, 2005)

*Check out Bike Zone in Hyannis*

I live in Sandwich, and can't give you any good advice on West Harwich. BUT, call or stop by the Bike Zone (LBS) in Hyannis and they will be able to give you some guidance - esp Dusty (he works Thursdays and Fridays).

Also, the guys there lead a Sunday morning ride that I've heard good things about. 

323 Barnstable Rd
Hyannis, MA 02601
508-775-3299 

Previous comments about no hills and plenty of wind are correct. I'd add that you need to watch out for some of the other vacationers - they tend to get a little distracted. I take extra precautions to stay off of 6A and 28 during the summer. 

Lastly, I'm not affiliated with the Bike Zone.


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## nicepace (Jun 1, 2006)

I live on Cape Cod, although in Bourne, which is very far from the part of the Cape you guys are discussing. To my knowledge there are no bike races on the Cape. (There used to be one years ago at the Mass. Military Reservation, but I don't think it's held anymore.)

For where you are staying (the "Lower Cape") you can get a lot of good rides in on roads that are on the Cape Cod Bay side, west of Route 6. There are some rolling hills in Truro and Provincetown, the last two towns. We have no mountains, of course, but none of the Cape is dead flat -- we were formed by the glacier which left a lot of scrappy terrain. The Butterworth Company puts out a series of very good maps of each of Cape Cod's 15 towns -- if you can send away for them ahead of time it wouldn't be too hard to plan some routes.

We do have a rail trail from Dennis to Wellfleet which is about 22 miles long, and it is currently being repaved, which means it will have a nice riding surface. It's not the best place to ride during the height of the summer (before Labor Day) or on weekends during September, simply because of the numbers of dangerous tourists and kids on bikes (same goes for the lovely 6.5 mile access path along the Cape Cod Canal near where I live), but on a weekday in the fall it would be a nice ride, and there are numerous parking lots.

Joanne (from Cape Cod)


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## CC09 (Mar 11, 2006)

ill be in wellfleet from tmrw (july 28th) untill mid august. if anyone wants to ride or has routes or needs parts or anything, send me a pm and ill be sure to get back to ya in a few days (i only have internet when i bring my comp to work, 3 or so times a week)


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## eyebob (Feb 3, 2004)

*$$*

If you're going to the Cape after Labor Day, most of the Barney's are gone home so you'll have the place mostly to yourself. It's a great time to go there because most of the Seasonal shops are still open (clam shacks, art galleries, ice-cream shops, etc) but you don't have all of the congestion. A beach cruser would be great, but honestly, you'd probably get most use out of a good road bike. Expect a mix of weather, but mostly the Fall on the Cape is pristene. Lower winds, milder days, cooler nights.

Enjoy. Spend lots of money please. Oh and, attend a gay wedding while you're there too.

BT


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## SethG (May 2, 2006)

I recently returned from two beautiful weeks in the Lower Cape. I did a ton of riding, mostly from Wellfleet to P'town and back on the bay side (about 31 miles round trip) and also some riding around the pond roads and Ocean View Drive.

I can offer a few tips to the future visitor:

My route from Wellfleet to P'town essentially followed the posted "Bike Route 1" (also known as the Claire Saltonstall Bikeway) from our house near Coles Neck Road all the way to P'town.

See: 

http://www.massbike.org/bikeways/ccbw/map11.htm

This route features pretty country roads (paved), particularly on Old County Road, and then on Castle Road. There are also some good rolling hills, and three or four rather steep climbs, although if you time them right you can get a good distance up the hills before you have to really work. Once the route drops you on 6 and then leads you onto 6A (the Shore Road), you have a couple miles of less serious rolling hills before you land on the flat bayside shore for the remaining five or so miles into P'town. This flat stretch of riding is where you really hit the wind, especially after the road turns left and you head into P'town. The wind often comes straight off the bay into your face during this last part of the ride. 

I found a really good resting/refueling/turning around point to be the Far Land general store, which is located almost at the center of town at 150 Bradford Street (Rte 6A turns into Bradford Street when you enter town). The store has a porch out front with rockers, so you can take a break. I found that if you continue further than Far Land, the road gets pretty congested with traffic.

Also, if you want to diverge from Bike Route 1, both Pamet Point Road and Prince Valley Road in North Wellfleet/South Truro are beautiful, tree-lined roads you can easily add to the route, by going down Pamet Point to Rte 6 and returning to the route on Prince Valley, or by just going down either road and turning around at Rte. 6 and coming right back to Old County Road. 

I also contructed a route past two pretty ponds and almost all the Wellfleet ocean beaches that worked well for me, again beginning from Coles Neck. The route follows Gull Pond Road past Gull Pond, then merges into Gross Hill Road and climbs to Ocean View Drive. Take Ocean View Drive all the way until it turns into Lecounts Hollow Road, and then take Lecounts Hollow to Rte. 6. Turning right on 6, you can make another right after just a few hundred yards on Old County Road/Kings Highway, which is another pretty rural road with rolling hills, and take it all the way to Cahoon Hollow Road. Take a right on Cahoon hollow and you'll pass Great Pond on your way uphill to Cahoon Hollow beach. At this beach there's a building that sells drinks, so you can rest, get some water, and look at the ocean for a few minutes. Then you come back and reverse it, going from Cahoon Hollow to L on Old County/Kings Hwy; L on Rte 6; quick left on Lecounts Hollow; follow curve to the left for Ocean View Drive; L on Gross Hill; bear R onto Gull Pond Road back to Rte 6. this route is a little over 20 miles, and I would increase it to over 30 by going down Coles Neck and around the other Old County Road to Prince Valley and back to 6 at the start and the finish. 

I hope that makes sense. Look at a map or Google Maps and it all will become clear.


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