Emily and I take on the Cape Cod Rail Trail

Ever since we bought the cottage, I've been slightly obsessed with biking the Rail Trail.  I don't really have a good explanation as to why, but it's been on my wish list of activities.  We did bike part of it last year as a family and, while fun, it was slow going.  Emily enjoys biking while Allie is afraid someone is going to run into her.  This fear applies to pathways, not open areas.  Anna, in theory, likes biking but it is physically demanding for her, especially as she still uses training wheels.  Not only would she need to be strong and have good balance to bike without training wheels, she would need awareness of her surroundings.  But that's a different subject.

A couple of weeks ago, on our way home from Provincetown, we stopped at Arnold's in Eastham for ice cream.  From our car's position in the back of the parking lot, I could see part of the Rail Trail.  Bike racks are available if bikers wish to stop for a break, food or otherwise.  We had just discussed visiting beaches along the National Seashore in that area so I devised a plan whereby Emily and I would bike the Rail Trail from the beginning in Dennis to Eastham.  The Arnold's parking lot provided the perfect location for Rich to pick us up.  I consulted a map and determined that we would have to cover a distance of about 17 miles.

Emily told me she could do it.

We are lucky to have several paved bike paths here on the Cape.  The Cape Cod Rail Trail is the longest, stretching 22 miles from Dennis to Wellfleet.  This bike path is considered "easy" and moderately flat.  We'll let Emily be the judge.

Mid-morning last Sunday, Rich and the A Team dropped us off at the beginning of the Rail Trail.  Last year, a bridge was built connecting the Rail Trail to a shorter (about 4 miles in length) bike path from Dennis into Yarmouth, but I'm considering the beginning to be the original "trailhead" in Dennis, where there's a large parking lot.  We had packed water and snacks and I brought my camera, of course.  I used this camera backpack, which is super comfortable.  I've talked about it before.  It's great for carrying your camera when you're walking, biking, hiking, etc. but not so good if you're going to be taking your camera in and out.  I have problems with my back and neck and I didn't really even notice that I was wearing this during our ride.  

The first 3 miles of the bike path are flat.  After that, there's a slight incline that lasts for about a mile.  Then there are several places with inclines which continue for at least half a mile.  The path does attract stereotypical bicyclists (male, + or - 50 years of age, sporting biking clothes) who bike at a faster pace and don't announce that they're passing you even though it's common courtesy and technically one of the rules of the path.  Because of this, Emily and I biked single file with her in the lead so she could set our pace.



We stopped for a longer break at Nickerson State Park and after that, the path did flatten out for awhile.  Thank goodness, because Emily needed a break.



The bike path does pass through some interesting areas.  I had thought I would take photos of everything but I didn't want to add extra time on to our ride.  In the photo below, we stopped at a pond, complete with a swimmable beach, right on the path.  


So, yes, we did about 17 miles.  The last marker I saw was 16.8 miles.  I'm super proud of Emily.  You never know what you can do unless you try it.  I didn't see any other kids her age biking that far and several adults called out word of encouragement to her.

Here we are in the parking lot of Arnold's getting picked up. Yay, we did it!!

Next challenge - I'd like to bike the Rail Trail from Dennis to either the end in Wellfleet or to Marconi Beach, which is at 21 miles.




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