This is the first of several posts about a bike trail trip on the Cape Cod Trail taken in autumn, 2013.  The main paved trail, a Massachusetts state recreational facility, is about 35  km long. There is a branch off to the Old Colony Trail, and several other segments are done but not yet fully connected to the main trail. The trail does not extend all the way to Provincetown (which has ferry service back to Boston) but the public transit carries your bike from the end of the trail to Provincetown for the price of a regular fare. Local shops have carriers for groups of cyclists.

The brochures in the tourist offices are wonderful. Detailed maps. Adverts for food, access parking lots, accommodation, and bike rentals along the trail. All very reassuring. The trail turned out to be all of that, and way more.

 

It is wide, paved, and 99% of it was immaculate pavement conditions. At least one side off the paved part is wide and flat, for joggers, runners, and occasionally horses. The only bumpy section had pavement heaving due to tree routes. Shown below is a cranberry bog (farm):

 

Guardrails were provided above slopes:

 

The trail is shared by pedestrians, cyclists, runners, and others:

 

Part way along, we came to my first-ever bicycle traffic circle. This is wa-a-a-a-y different from the fancy elevated ones in The Netherlands. The path simply enters the roundabout normally:

 

 

The roundabout was at a main junction in the bike trail network, with the Old Colony Trail going off southeast towards Chatham. The was excellent signage, good sight lines …

 

and a rest facility in the centre:

 

more, tomorrow …