The sky is a pure blue, with bare hints of cirrus and streaks of white written by jet fuel as if viewed upon a global spectroscope. I sit at a picnic table by my hotel, beneath a canopy of twisted pine limbs and an overspread of maple and oak trees above. Across the way, I see glimpses of bicycle riders as they roll silently by. It's a Cape Cod morning and it's already been a fine day.
My wife and I are staying for a long weekend at a hotel located strategically by the Cape Cod Rail Trail. We had a relaxing start to the day, taking in the continental breakfast offered by the hotel. Once fortified by coffee, juice and light food items such as muffins and fresh bananas, we were ready for the next step.
I took my time and had a nice chat with a neighbor from a nearby room; like me, he has a background in the telecom world, so we briefly compared notes about the transition from that work into some form of semi-retirement. Both of us were getting ready for a bike ride, but at a leisurely pace.
I listened to the last minutes of the Saturday edition of CBS This Morning, hearing an energetic song of gospel inflected blues rock performed by Mavis Staples and her band, and pulled together my supplies for the bike ride. Some fifteen minutes later, I was ready. By this time, the reader may wonder, is there a point to this post or will it simply meander. To which I'd say, that's one of the joys of a visit to Cape Cod; there's no schedule, no need to rush out or, for example, to roll up 50 miles on one's bike. But yes, let's begin the tale of the bike ride.
I got onto my bike and rode a short way on a path through the woods. Moments later, my tires hit the pavement of the path. I turned right and headed south in the direction of Orleans. I haven't been riding a lot this spring, but as I rode down the path, my leg muscles felt limber. I enjoyed picking up speed and feeling mild breezes brush against my face and legs. Just last evening, we'd experienced fierce winds at sunset, but that phase of weather had passed. Since I felt very good, I decided to push ahead and see how much ground I could cover in about twenty minutes on the trail For those who want to track mileage. stone markers appear at every mile and identify which town you're in and how many miles you are from the start of the trail in Dennis.
Most of my ride was in the town of Eastham. Sights include the back side of the local transfer station, which now doubles as a massive solar farm, vestiges of departed businesses such as a fully overgrown golf driving range and a diverse variety of different micro eco-systems. On my way out, I was content to move along past all of that, but planned to view the trail-side flora and fauna more closely upon my return. So I rode and rode. The trail wasn't too crowded. I saw one large group of teenagers in matching tee shirts, most likely a scout troop, various walkers, the occasional jogger and of course, bikers coming to and fro. My journey continued, past some of my favorite small lakes and ponds, across numerous intersections and the miles rolled up.
As I approached my twenty minute goal, I decided to continue until I hit a major cross street. As luck and my route would have it, I naturally hit a stretch where there were no cross streets. I continued on, but noted how the terrain had changed to a mix of swamps and green lowlands;the scent of decaying vegetation filled the air. Finally, I saw an indication of incline on the trail just ahead. I continued until I reached that point, which led onto a bridge that crossed over into the town of Orleans. I'd taken that particular ride last year, but decided It was time to stop and begin my return back. My outbound ride had expanded from twenty to twenty-six minutes. I scanned the map at trail-side; the spot I'd stopped at branched off the trail to a road that led to Rock Harbor. Years ago, this had all been part of the rail trail, but a relatively new set of bridges and interconnections built since then now totally bypasses that segue.
As I rolled down the hill, I noticed a mile marker and pulled my bike to a stop. The mark showed I'd reached the town of Orleans:
And so the slower and more observant return began. I soon reached a group of elder women who were taking a walk and I guessed they'd be knowledgeable about the local birds. I was right. One woman quickly identified a white bird in the nearby marsh to be an egret and another called attention to a massive nest atop a power line tower:
The nest, atop the middle stanchion, was the home of a large Osprey. The bird itself was perched on the top of the left tower. Quite a sight and one I wouldn't have noticed on my own. I passed along my thanks, bid adieu to the women and continued down the path.
Along the way, I saw several of the lakes and ponds I'd passed on the way out.
By now, my muscles were getting a bit sore, but I carried on toward my goal. Near where I began, a large stone marks a distance where the trail is 100 miles from Boston. Here's a glimpse of when I reached that point.
After this stop, I circled back to my hotel and concluded a perfect morning by writing about the journey. If you like nature and are visiting Cape Cod, be sure to check out the wonderful Cape Cod Rail Trail.