Day 1. North Falmouth, MA to Wareham (17 mi.)

("Cliff Notes" Version:  It was a very hot and humid start. We rode 17 miles in 4 hours this afternoon. It was like riding in a broiler much of the day. Highlights included touring my old home in North Falmouth and riding over the Bourne Bridge).


Friday, June 22 turned out to be only a few degrees cooler than the day before, qualifying this as the first bona-fide 'heatwave' of the summer. Nevertheless we set off from home in our minivan at 9:30 a.m. and headed to the Cape. As we crossed the Bourne Bridge, I took note of how we might return a few hours later on 2 wheels instead of our normal 4. As we drove slowly thru the little village of North Falmouth I pointed out to Ava some of the places I remembered from my time there in 1972/73: the corner store where I waited for the school bus, the (long ago closed) Post Office where I collected my mail from home, and what used to be known as the House of Pizza, where they would serve the best roast beef subs I ever tasted!

We turned onto Pequossett Avenue which serves a string of large homes on a tall bluff overlooking Megansett Harbor, and pulled into the same curved driveway that I first set foot on 40 years ago. Within the past week or so, I had contacted the present owners, and they graciously invited us to tour the property. This couple had bought it from the Hopfs (my host family) about 35 years ago and have made a number of very nice improvements, while maintaining the whaling-era historical character of this grand old sea-captain's home . The best change was to cut down just a couple of trees and several tall shrubs to really open up the view onto the harbor.

View from the wraparound-porch

After saying goodbye to our hosts, Elizabeth & I "suited up" in our cycling gear, and prepared our bikes in the hot, midday sun. The heat was intense. After Ava snapped the obligatory "beginning of trip" photos, we coasted down the driveway and, at about 1 p.m., we were finally pedaling on our way!

After months of talking about it....we're on our way!

For 45 minutes, we mostly followed Shore Road as it hugged the various inlets and harbors along the western flank of Cape Cod. In the open sunshine, and with the temperature in the low 90's, it felt like we were cycling in a broiler. We appreciated the frequent shade of trees overhanging the road. The scenery was classic Cape Cod...a gently rolling grassy landscape, dotted with small shingle-clad houses known as "Capes" (of course!). At the 7 mile mark, we stopped for a late (fish sandwich) lunch at The Lobster Pot in Monument Beach. It gave us a chance to cool off in the shade, and enjoy their own cold, bottled root beer!

We set off again and soon turned East to link up with one of only two bridges which separate the Cape from mainland Massachusetts. The Bourne Bridge arcs high over the Cape Cod Canal and is a notorious bottleneck for cars travelling on and off Cape (2 lanes in each direction).

View to the west from Bourne Bridge

Sidewalk on left side

 We obeyed the "Cyclists Dismount" sign on the sidewalk, and walked our way across the bridge. The view was spectacular, and at ~130 ft high, the breezes cooling!

Now "off-Cape", we negotiated our way thru intense-traffic situations at a couple of roundabouts and headed directly west thru the 'touristy' town of Buzzards Bay. The final hour or so of our ride was hot and increasingly humid as large cumulous clouds began building overhead. Following State Route 6 thru Onset and into Wareham, the scenery took a downward spike as we passed endless strip-malls. Things improved a little as we merged onto Route 28, known as the Cranberry Highway. We even passed by a number of Cranberry Bogs, where those berries are grown, though the bogs looked abandoned. No sooner had our thoughts turned to "packing it in" for the day, than Elizabeth sealed the decision with a flat tire. So we ended the first day of cycling at 5 p.m. having covered only 17 miles. But with the extreme heat of the day, we thought that just having survived it was a satisfactory end-result!

Ava retrieved us in the minivan and we drove north to Middleborough, Mass. where we had made a tentsite reservation at a KOA Kampground (their spelling, not mine!!). The predicted end-of-day thunderstorms loomed overhead as we scrambled to set up the tent. No sooner had we tightened the final tent-fly strap, than the heavens opened up. Thankfully, it was short-lived. After a hot shower & change of clothes, we ate dinner at a lovely local grill, & toasted the end of a successful first day.