What I Did Over My Summer Vacation

 What did I do over my summer vacation? Besides get to hang out with my whole family? A bunch of cycling on Cape Cod!

I took a day to recover from my 130 mile/209 km ride on Sunday.  Then, it was back in the saddle to enjoy the Cape.  I rode from Brewster out to Ocean View Drive in Wellfleet.  After stopping at the beach to admire the view, I doubled back to PB Boulangerie.

Does it look gorgeous? Well, it is.

I'm in a bread line. Did we lose a war?

There was a long line at the Boulangerie.  I thought about coming back another time, but my kids deserved some pain au chocolat!  Also, I wanted a coffee and an almond croissant.  It took about 30 minutes but I got my pasteries plus some baguette, cheese, and Orangina.  Riding back to my place with a baguette sticking out of my pannier was most definitely a humblebrag.  Oh, you passed me?  Well I have a pannier full of food.  I passed you?  You got passed by a greybearded guy with a pannier full of food.  No matter what the scenario, I was protected from mockery.  Plus I had baguette.

They couldn't sponsor the TdF if it wasn't really good for you, right? (file photo from France)

Later in the week I got to do a short ride with my oldest daughter and then a longish ride out to Truro through the Pamet Marsh/Estuary.  I confirmed that Gelato Joy is still open for business in Wellfleet center.  And that their water bottle filling station works.  And that their iced coffee is better than I remembered.  

Stopping to look out over the Namskaket Marsh on the Cape Cod Rail Trail. 

Ocean View Drive in Wellfleet

A selfie from Ocean View Drive, there's a couple cyclists behind me.

A large iced coffee in Wellfleet at Gelato Joy.  They also have a bathroom & a water fountain/bottle filling station.  The pastry didn't last long enough to be photographed.

Pamet Marsh in Truro. They're letting the salt water back in.  The trees took it on the chin, but more naturally occurring wetland is coming back.   

The rest of the week featured more rides, but I never got back up to above 40 miles for a given day.  My legs were just achy all week -- I never let them really recover.  For the seven days following the Big Ride Out, I got to about 260 miles/418 km.  That is a lot for me these days.  Unquestionably the biggest mileage week since I had Covid last year.

The rail trail by Marconi Beach. It was generally quiet until Labor Day weekend.

That's a well behaved dog on the back of the bike.  On a separate note, and how did I not get a photo of this guy, if you're going to wear a straw boater hat, you must ride an old English three speed, not a mid-90's mountain bike.  I don't make the rules.

Lots of sandals in Wellfleet at Newcomb Hollow.  I saw a hysterical (?) tiff between a married couple there.  The husband didn't want to leave his pricy Tevas there.  

For some reason I was unable to get rid of my helmet strap tanlines over vacation.

There's a big hill going up from Newcomb Hollow.  Really.

One of the things I love about late summer cycling is the occasional smell of Concord grapes in the air.  You get a bunch of this on the Cape in late August.  It's like GRAPES! You can smell them in various places along the Cape Cod Rail Trail.

                             

Why no pictures from a crowded rail trail? Because when it's crowded, I'm not going to take out my phone!  Sigh, overall people are courteous and careful on the bike path.  But there are exceptions. People riding well above their skill level on ebikes, people racing like it's a town line sprint, etc. People.  What are you going to do?  Well, besides trying to ride carefully yourself?