Bicycle Tour: Cape Cod, Day Eight

Wednesday, September 10, 2025, was the eighth and final day of my tour on Cape Cod. I rode from Nickerson State Park following the East Coast Greenway route to MacMillan Pier in Provincetown. I caught the fast ferry to Seaport in Boston and rode bike lanes to my home in Somerville. This is one of my favorite routes.

I woke up at 6:00 after sleeping well through the night. My neighbor Paul got up and visited briefly. I ate breakfast, collected my trash, and took it over to the dumpsters in Areas 6 and 6X, a one-mile ride each way.

I prepared a bottle of Gatorade and fruit and nut bars for snacking. While I was packing, Paul’s wife Bernadette came over, and we discussed my equipment. I showed her my bikepacking tent and compact cooking gear, and we talked about her profession (nursing) and her desire to get an M.S. in nursing (she is 62). Bernadette gave me a peach for the road.

All this good neighborly conversation slowed down my packing. My goal had been to depart at 8:00 a.m., but I left at 8:53 a.m.

As I’ve noted before, it was nearly four miles from my campsite in Area 7 to the entrance of the park and the Cape Cod Rail Trail. I rode steadily north without overexerting myself, staying within Zone 2, and I was disciplined, taking a rest and food break every ten miles. For food I was consuming granola bars and drinking Gatorade.

I took my first break just north of Locust Rd in Eastham; I considering swinging over to the Little Capistrano Bike Shop to show Mark my setup and compliment him on the brake repairs, but I was worried about time. At 15 miles, I reached the intersection of the Cape Cod Rail Trail with Lecount Hollow Rd. I rode up Ocean View Dr along the shoreline, climbing slowly with a breeze in my face, until I turned left on Long Pond Road. I rode past Long Pond into Wellfleet, and I reached twenty miles on West Main St, where I took another food break.

I continued along the East Coast Greenway route west of U.S. 6. This route had some hills, including one hill where I had to walk my bike up. I was passed by two younger riders whose loads were as big as mine. Otherwise, the ride was uneventful, and I reached the Head of the Meadow Beach at 32 miles at 12:30 p.m. (3.5 hours of riding). I used the restroom facilities there, but it was a little too windy to stop to eat. I met a nice couple who were out bicycling and who were staying at the Adventure Bound Camping Resort on Highland Rd. We exchanged information about North of Highland Campground and ABC; they said the tent sites on the perimeter are nice, and the showers are excellent since no one uses them since they’re all in RVs.

At 12:35 p.m. at mile 32.91, I stopped at a bench on the Head of the Meadow Bike Trail and ate a leisurely lunch (a packet of tuna, an asiago bagel, and the peach Bernadette had given me.) I had built a big surplus of time, so I relaxed until 1:30 p.m. before riding the last 6.01 miles into Provincetown, for a total distance of 38.92 miles.

I arrived at MacMillan Pier at 2:05 p.m. Since it was nearly an hour before the ferry’s scheduled departure, I was near the front of the line waiting for the ferry, and boarding was easy because mine was the only bicycle. I sat outside on the upper deck and watched the scenery during the trip to Boston.

MacMillan Pier in Provincetown

Waiting for the Fast Ferry in Provincetown

Approaching Boston on the Fast Ferry

I rode home using the bicycle lanes in Boston and the Somerville Community Path. In Boston, when I stopped at red lights, other bicyclists and scooter riders went around me and ran the traffic lights. When I crossed the new Bill Russell Bridge, at the west end my timing was good, and there was a big crowd of bicyclists waiting to cross the road; I went with them, which saved the big 270-degree loop to the right and under the bridge. Since it was rush hour, the community path was congested, and the ride was moderately stressful.

I arrived home at about 5:15 p.m. There was no rain the entire day. My total bicycle mileage was 45.15 miles.