21.6 miles!

One of the traditions we enjoy on our annual camping trip with the R-K family is bike riding.  For the first few years of our trip, the boys rode on trailer bikes that the grown-ups pulled along behind our bikes.  In this fashion, we could take some longer rides with the children quite literally in tow.  As the boys got older, they rode their own bikes around camp and on the bunny trail near our camp.  

For the past two years, we've planned a day to make the trip from a beach forest out to Herring Cove on paved bike trails.  Some of the trail covers fairly steep hilly dunes and the ride (and the trip back) is a tad over 6 miles.  With popsicles at the mid-point, the ride always felt like an accomplishment.

But the logistics of getting the bikes to and from the trailhead are a challenge and all of us are capable of riding more than 6 miles.  So when TR proposed that we ride  our bikes to the Cove and back we enthusiastically agreed.  We planned breaks along the way.  Then we packed up swimsuits and water bottles and TR led us out on a bike ride adventure that helped avoid steep hills and busy highways.  

We set off from our campsite to a bakery in North Truro for breakfast.  

Then we rode 6 miles on a highway along the beach, with a break or two for water.  The scenery on this road is familiar and riding by on bikes gave us that much more time to appreciate the view. 

The road took us by our favorite bay beach, just on the southern end of Provincetown. 

From there, we rode through town, and along the shore to Herring Cove for our traditional popsicle break with a view of the Atlantic thrown in for free. 

That brought us to a familiar path and we took the trail across the dunes to the shady pine forest.  Coming down the hill into the shade was one of the highlights of the ride.  It's one of my favorite views and the feel of the wind and smell of the air just make it that much sweeter.  We took a nice rest in the shade and then set off back to town for lunch at a deli on the east end. 

Once through town, we stopped at our favorite bay beach, hid behind towels to put on our swimsuits, and then enjoyed the water. 

The ride back to camp was another 5 miles, part of it on a trail we ride all the time.  Years ago, S named it Bunny O'Clock because we often see bunnies in the hedge along the path.  We did see one bunny that day but she was gone before I could make her picture.  In total, the day's bike ride was a journey of 21.6 miles and well-worth the quarter showers we all enjoyed at the end of the ride.  Now that's happy.