Bike ride to the Cape

Race report for Bob Beal's Masters weekend

• Road Race - got dropped on the hill and finished 36 out of 46.
• TT - beat my goal of 9 minutes and finished dead last
• Crit - got dropped, lapped, quit, and still was listed ahead of 3 other riders
• Had a good time anyhow: camped in the rain in my hammock at Burlingame State Park; met a lot of nice people; and had a couple of good meals.
  

I analyzed my dismal performance at races this summer to figure out how to improve next year. Some of the mistakes I made include riding 350 miles two days before the Working Man's Stage Race, gaining 15 pounds in two weeks before the Blount Seafood Criterium, riding two-and-a-half hours of singletrack with no food or water and finishing just minutes before my MTB race was to start, camping in the rain before the Bob Beal's Masters weekend. Also my "training" consisted of commuting to work and doing long rides on the weekend. My conclusion is that to be competive next year I need a new bicycle.

In spite of being a lousy racer, I do get a lot of enjoyment riding my bike. Here is a description of yesterday's Cape-in-a-Day ride.

Yesterday, on the last day of summer, Jay and I biked 153 miles to Provincetown. We left Winchester at 5:30 AM and got into P-town 12 hours later. After dinner on the funky, artsy Commercial St (the food was only okay, but the people watching was excellent) we caught the fast ferry back to Boston and rode our bikes 11 miles back home. I was showered and in bed a bit after 10 PM and watched the Red Sox come from behind in the 9th inning to clinch a playoff spot.

Highlights

• The coastal detour off of Rte 3A through Hingham, Cohasset, and Scituate. The rock formations, the saltwater ponds, the tidal rivers running away from the ocean as the tide rose were awesome.
• Duxbury was interesting because 1) we had an excellent breakfast at the Wild Flower Cafe in Duxbury; 2) just as we were starting to flag a cyclist caught us and towed us 8 miles into town; 3) he was riding the same Neuvation wheels as Jay and I have on our bikes; 4) he recommended the cafe where we had eggs, fruit, and homemade bread (and coffee, of course); Yum! 4) cyclists in a triathlon were racing past the cafe while we ate; 5) we left rejuvenated, ready to ride another hundred miles.
• Crossing the Sagamore Bridge via this, until now, undocumented route: At the end of Rte 3A, go straight through the traffic light onto Canal Street. Just before Friendly's Restaurant, turn right onto the sidewalk and follow it up to the bridge. Ride across the bridge on the sidewalk, careful not to fall off into the rush of oncoming traffic. On the Cape side of the bridge, cut through the parking lot of the Christmas tree shop and turn left onto Rte 6A.
• Riding the Cape Cod Rail Trail, 22 miles from S. Dennis to Wellfleet. Although it has many at-grade road crossings, the traffic all stopped and allowed bikes to cross. Michael's friend Grant called Michael and told him, "Hey, I think I just saw your dad riding on the CCRT." Jay's eponymous friend Dave, met us on the CCRT and towed us to his house on Gull Pond; again we got some help just as we were tiring.
• On our way to Dave's house inside the Cape Cod National Seashore (a U.S. National Park), we stopped at a parking lot atop a sand dune overlooking the ocean. People were surfing and playing in the water some 80 feet below us. The sand dune was so steep you couldn't see the slope past the lip. Really awesome.
• Dave's house is on a kettle pond. You walk out of the sliding doors onto the deck and can hang your feet in the water. We took a refreshing dip in the water and washed away 136 miles of road grime.
• Dave's suggestion that we stay on Rte 6 and 6A the 17 miles to P-town was a good one. The scenic route I was planning was longer and hilly and we just wanted to finish our ride and hang out at a restaurant.
  
• The tiny cottages along Shore Drive just before P-town made me feel like I had time warped back to the '50s.
• Commercial Street in Provincetown deserves a few hours to explore the shops and sample the food. Unfortunately, we made so many stops along the way for map checks, cafes, and swimming that we only had time for dinner before we caught the ferry home.
  

Downers

• Missing street signs. In Hyannis the sign for Ocean Ave is missing at the intersection of Marston Ave / Hyannis Ave, so we wasted some time scratching our heads and looking at our maps. Fortunately, a guy on a utilitarian bike (lots of racks and blinking lights) gave us directions and recommended
  Caffe E Dolci in Hyannis for our lunch of paninis (and coffee, of course). Unfortunately, he advised taking Rte 28 to the Cape Cod Rail Trail instead of the maze of backroads that I had mapped out. The cafe was good, Rte 28 was bad.
• Misleading street signs. Our route to the Sagamore Bridge was basically "stay on Rte 3A" with some scenic detours. At the rotary leaving Plymouth the signs for Rte 3A point the wrong direction, taking you under Rte 3. As soon as we made the wrong turn, I realized our mistake but not before Jay hit a jagged rock and flatted. While he changed the inner tube, some yahoos in a pickup truck made disparaging comments about our spandex shorts. The tire was quickly reinflated, but it took a couple of miles of riding to pump fun back into the day.
  
• The last 15 miles to P-town Jay was suffering knee pain and couldn't ride as fast as he usually does. I was happy to ease off a bit since I was hurting too, but I didn't like to see Jay suffering. Fortunately, Advil and a nap on the ferry seemed to restore him, because I could barely keep up on the ride back home.
• The Provincetown Chamber of Commerce recommended Bubala's for barbecue, but they don't serve barbecue. The food was only average, but it was great to sit on something other than a bicycle saddle for an hour, drink a beer, and watch the parade of people on Commercial Street.
  
• My knee really stiffened up after the ride, so Saturday night and Sunday morning it hurt to bend the knee and I limped up and down the stairs. Fortunately, after half a day of loafing around, it feels much better.