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Straight to Provincetown
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Saturday morning started with my alarm going off at 4:45am. I parked in the office garage again,
layered on some sun screen, grabbed my backpack, and cycled the short stretch to the start at 490 Tremont Street
(photo; full cue sheet and route map
here).
The registration table was open a bit earlier than the promised 6:00am.
Volunteers took my name, markered my number-for-life (2285) on my left calf, and wished me good luck.
I was wheels rolling at about 6:10am and headed out with temperatures in the mid 60s under a beautiful morning sun. I connected up with John from Philadelphia, with whom I'd end up riding for the first 40 miles or so. We made our way south out of the city in light traffic, stopping at the 11 mile mark so that I could fix a front wheel flat. At the McDonalds a mile or two before the first rest stop in Halifax, we came across a seated rider being tended to by a small group of cyclists and staff in the middle of the entrance drive. A visibily upset teenager in restaurant uniform stood nearby next to a stopped Ford Explorer. We didn't get any details--our best guess was that the young driver clipped the rider on his way in to work. The rider was shaken but apparently okay, and in any event was in better care than we could have provided, so we continued on. 
We reached the Halifax rest stop (30.1 miles) at about 8:30am (photo). The food truck hadn't yet arrived, so we dug into our personal stashes,
accepted water from a private support car, and headed back out just as the food pulled in.
We made our way to Plymouth, where the ride picked up the Plymouth to Provincetown (P2P) route that I'd just ridden with Jennifer the Wednesday before.
The ride out of Plymouth quickly turned from busy strip mall industrial to tree-lined rural.
I pulled ahead of John and eventually connected up with Steve from Cleveland a few miles north of the Sagamore Bridge.
At one point on this stretch, the driver of a Dodge Durango approaching from behind saw fit to lean on his horn unnecessarily.
An angry yell from one of the two of us triggered the slamming on of brakes before the driver thought better of it
(there were two of us, after all). He floored it to get away, clearly not wanting to end up on the lesser end of an altercation.
We walked our bikes across the bridge (as required by law) at around 10:30am, 59.2 miles now behind us (photo). Welcome to Cape Cod!
We reached rest stop 2 (60.9 miles) shortly thereafter, took a breather, fueled up with bananas and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,
and topped off our water bottles (photo).
I rode the first part of the next stretch with Patrick and Jim from the Philadelphia area.
We wound our way through the western part of the Cape to the Route 6 service road,
whose roller coaster contours we followed before connecting up with Route 6a.
The ride along 6A on the P2P ride a few days earlier had been earlier in the day and midweek, with far fewer cars as a result. Traffic was heavier, but the scenic road nonetheless offered a nice mix of small towns and green countryside. In my second of two car "encounters" on the ride, the occupants of one vehicle slowed in order to advise, "Get a car!" The power of the first encounter still fresh in mind, I cheerfully replied, "Get a bike!" No angry slamming on of brakes this time, just an agreeable thumbs up from the passenger. 
I reached the third rest stop (81.4 miles) at 12:30p (photo), replenished fluids, sandwiches, and sunscreen, and headed out, the Cape Code Rail Trail
(and it's lack of motorized obstacles) a short 13 miles ahead.
The rail trail offered the chance to ride no hands for a bit, allowing me to stretch my arms and back. The trail also offered a respite
from climbing, but as an experienced Outer Cape cyclist, I knew what was ahead.
The north end of the rail trail (photo) marked the 104.0 mile mark ... and the 4th rest stop (photo). My time on my bike computer read 2:15p, with 20 miles to go.
After heading east for a short stretch on Lecount Hollow Road, the route called for a turn north on Ocean View Drive.
Before making that turn and tackling that modest climb to one of the best views on the ride (sorry, no photo), though, I entered the
Cape Cod National Seashore parking lot for a look at the Atlantic Ocean (photo).
 After making the scenic run up Ocean View Drive, I followed the route west on Long Pond Road into the first headwind of the ride to Wellfleet Center (108.9 miles).
The next ten miles promised a number of climbs that never quite seemed to pay back with equal descents.
My legs were pretty heavy by that point, but the final rest stop and Provincetown beckoned a mere horizon's distance ahead
(that is, if the horizon hadn't been obscured by hills).
I crested the ride's hardest hill on Old County Road and a bit later, with half of the hills behind me, I pulled into rest stop 5 a bit after 3pm (photo; 115.1 miles).
Next up: a gradual climb on Castle Road, then a nice decent before the last difficult climb before the left turn onto Route 6.
Route 6 offered a long but manageable climb before turning right on South Highland Road to head past the Highland Lighthouse.
Highland Road brought us back west (that headwind again) and under Route 6 for the right turn at Dutra's Market.
I dodged the temptation of continuing on Pond Road to the house where I'd be staying later that night, made the turn,
and powered up the short but steep hill.
A few rollers later, I dropped down 6A, passed the several sets of small cottages along the bay, and reached the "Entering Provincetown" sign (photo; 124.2 miles).
From the sign, it was a mere 2+ miles to the finish, but a mile or so of that saw the return of the headwind.
The official route called for Bradford Street, but I chose Commercial Street for its occasional views of Provincetown Harbor.
At the Town Hall, I took the right and pulled into the finish (cowbell-assisted!) at about 4:15p (photo; 126.5 miles; 15.2 mph average, max 35.1 mph).
My longest ride ever behind me, I headed over to my favorite Provincetown waterfront spot for food and drinks,
Pepe's Seafood (photo), to reflect a bit on the ride (well, okay, to have a margarita or two)
before heading back to Truro.
My previous long ride was the
Triple Bypass
in Colorado last summer. At 118 miles, it was 6 shorter than Boston-Provincetown, but with 10,000
feet of climbing and descending, it was an entirely different beast.
I spent 10 1/2 hours in the saddle for the TBP, more than 2 hours more than Boston-Provincetown.
I wasn't any fitter this year, so let's just say that we've put to bed the false notion that fast descents make up for slow climbs.
That said, my level of exhaustion was about the same.
Reflection (and consumption) complete, I saddled up only to realize my biggest tactical error of the day.
Namely, it wasn't all that comfortable saddling up. Adding a heavy pack didn't help. Nor did the headwind back past the cottages on 6A.
In fact, it was better standing than sitting, but my legs didn't have enough in them for that.
If I do this ride again, I'll figure out the bus route from Provincetown to Truro.
Unpleasant as it was, I reached 19A Pond Road (photo) and parked my bike for the night.
Host and friend Laura English and her brothers Chris and Greg provided the perfect post-ride treatment:
an excellent bottle of wine, expertly cooked swordfish, a quiet place to sleep, a TV to catch the Slovakia-Paraguay match,
a hot breakfast of eggs, toast, and fruit, and perhaps most importantly,
ride service to the ferry dock in Provincetown Sunday morning (photo; yeah, the getting back in the saddle thing wasn't going to happen).
My write-up wouldn't be complete with out a huge "Thank you!" to the Outriders. Fantastic weekend overall, great ride organization, and a friendly reception everywhere I turned. Well done! |
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