E-Bikes Inspire Couple’s New England Bike ADVENTURE

This is the story of our first big trip with our e-bikes. Our chosen destinations were Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard, home to some incredible New England bike trails, historic landmarks, and natural beauty.

This is also a love story of my blossoming and continuing love affair with biking – and now especially with e-biking.

E-bikes: Love at First Ride

About six months ago, my husband Bruce and I decided to buy e-bikes. We’d both enjoyed biking in earlier years and liked the idea of exercise disguised as fun. My first time on my e-bike (at my local bike shop), I fell … instantly in love with it! The exhilaration of biking always transports me back to being a kid and learning to ride without training wheels. From that moment on, my world was transformed. Getting on my e-bike was no different; I felt the same thrill of being able to get there on my own two wheels. I was hooked. I tell people that it’s everything you love about biking and none of the things you don’t. It’s plenty of exercise, though. You are totally in control of the amount of assist you use. In other words, it’s not a scooter. 

We are fortunate to live in New England where many old rail lines have been converted to bike trails. A couple of books (and apps) on rail trails of New England got us started. We’d taken enough day trips to fall truly in love with exploring places by bike we would have never seen from a car. 

Having six months to ride and experiment and get to really know our bikes, we decided to set off on a vacation centered around biking and specifically, bike trails. We first picked our destinations based on the trails. Bruce, who enjoys planning travel, researched the other important stuff, like where we might stay, where we might eat, and the rest of the details. 

Rhode Island Trails

Our first stop was Bristol, Rhode Island. We planned a two-night stay. The trail was the East Bay Rail Trail which runs from Bristol to Providence, just under 15 miles each way. We hadn’t attempted a trip that long before, so we didn’t know if we’d make it all the way, or do part of it one day and part the next or what, but we were definitely game on to try it.  Our hotel was right on the water and about a block from the Bristol trailhead.  

We set off for the trail at about 1 p.m. on the day of our arrival. The trailhead was at the northern end of a small park right by our hotel. It’s paved and smooth and a car-less joy. In no time, we were pedaling along the bay past sea grass and through beautiful neighborhoods along the water.  About five miles in we passed through a small town with a taco truck right on the trail so we stopped for lunch. It was a glorious September day. As we finished up and proceeded on, we passed over bridges and around a couple of detours for bridges under repair. We were rewarded with changing landscape from cityscape to wooded ponds.  

Riding these trails, you are always surprised with what is next. Our route led us from the water to a bit more inland, passing an old train station that had been converted to a coffee shop, taking a few small detours through small towns and enjoying ourselves immensely. We broke into a clearing with sweeping views of the bay and Providence in sight on the horizon. As we rode by Pomham Rocks Lighthouse, congratulating ourselves that we’d made it this far, we decided to go for it. The final few miles into Providence were definitely in the city. The final bit crossed a large bridge over the Providence River and ended at a beautiful East Providence waterside park called India Point. We were definitely aware that we had to make our way back, but the park was so pretty, we took time to tool around it for a few minutes before turning to head back. We rode into a strong headwind on the return trip to Bristol. Of course that didn’t bother us because we just gave ourselves a little bit more of an assist with our trusty e-bikes.

Our total for the day was just over 34 miles, which was a new high for us at that point. Over dinner, we had fun reliving the day and congratulating ourselves. We would break that record later, but the day was a total joy.

We took the next day off for a little recovery and enjoyed Bristol, watching the non-stop sailing races. We visited the extremely cool Herreshoff Sailing Museum.

Cruising on Cape Cod

Our next stop was Falmouth on Cape Cod.

Being in no particular hurry, we took a leisurely route instead of bombing down the highway.  When we stopped for lunch, we were careful to park where we could see our bikes on the car.  Even locked up, e-bikes can be a tempting target. We were amused to see two crusty old New Englanders stopping to look them over, up and down, sideways and backwards. We were on a patio so we finally called to them, “Hey!  If you’ve got any questions, those are ours!”  

We planned the next two nights in Falmouth, and we stayed at an inn in Falmouth Heights. Our accommodations turned out to be about two miles from our destination, the Shining Sea Bike Trail, which runs 14 miles from Woods Hole in the south to North Falmouth. The ride over to the trail was pleasant enough, around the harbor at Falmouth Heights, not too much traffic. We do dress in bright colors and have lights on our bikes. We want vehicles to definitely notice us!  

We jumped on the trail at the southern end a couple of miles north of Woods Hole and rode north. We crossed quite a few streets, but there are always stop signs. For the most part, the traffic stops for bikes, even though signs all along the trail tell you that they are not required to do so. The trail passes through wooded neighborhoods, wetlands, past beautiful ponds, deep burgundy cranberry bogs, and open bays full of marsh grass. One person had put out a little trailside box full of sunscreen. 

We passed a “clubhouse” called Buzzard’s Nest that looked like the Little Rascals might have built it. We stopped to learn about Little Sippewissett Marsh and how important it was to the Native Americans who considered it sacred. At the trailhead in North Falmouth, we tooled around the ample parking lot which offered a refill station for your water bottle as well as air for your tires and then turned back to backtrack toward Woods Hole.

The southern part of the trail cruises along the beach and is a real delight. The views are wonderful as ocean views generally are. There were plenty of people stopped there to take in the warm sunshine on this autumn day. After a few miles of ocean, the trail took us again into the woods, over a couple of bridges, and then passed into parking for the Martha’s Vineyard Ferry.  The trail continues through the parking lot all the way to Woods Hole. We were glad we didn’t skip the last part as there is quite a lovely harbor on the way that we stopped to admire. We checked out the scene at the busy ferry terminal and then turned back to head north on the trail back to Falmouth Heights and our hotel.

Biking on Martha’s Vineyard

Our next stop was Martha’s Vineyard. We loaded up the bikes onto the car rack and boarded the ferry for the 45-minute boat ride over to the island. (Pro tip: make your ferry reservations well in advance – it books up!  If you are able to travel lightly, you can also walk on without a car, with or without your bike.)  The Vineyard is extremely bike friendly and boasts 27 miles of bike paths, although that may or may not include the many bike lanes on the sides of the roads. We stayed in Edgartown at an inn/hotel/timeshare near the ferry to Chappaquiddick. Our hotel turned out to be right across the street from a nice bike shop and right next door to a wonderful coffee shop – needs fulfilled!  We always walked to dinner so we ended up putting many more miles on our bikes than on our car.

It is a little more difficult to describe the trails at Martha’s Vineyard because they don’t have names. The trail we rode first was the bike path that runs from Edgartown to South Beach. It’s a triangular route, with the trail segregated from the road. We did do a little off-path exploring in the residential neighborhoods which proved to be worthwhile with very little traffic. We ended up riding to South Beach twice during our stay and one day the wind was blowing a gale and the sea was “angry that day, my friends.” On our second trip a couple of days later, the beach was placid and calm. We happened on a little café at the Katama Airfield (Katama Kitchen) where it was very easy to keep watch on the bikes and the food was so good we went back on our second trip to the beach. Katama Kitchen is family run and very much recommended.  If you’re feeling adventurous, you can catch a bi-plane ride there, too!

The longest ride we did on The Vineyard  was from Edgartown to Oak Bluffs (where we had previously disembarked the ferry) to the very pretty lighthouse at East Chop to Vineyard Haven.  We found a nice place for lunch in Vineyard Haven where we could sit outside and keep an eye on our bikes. It was a long day and not all of it was on bike paths. When you get there, pick up a brochure on the bike paths and you can figure it out. We ended up coming back via trails that run by the airport. There were many more over there that we just didn’t get a chance to explore.  

“Up island,” as they call the southwestern part of the island, has some beautiful scenery, but the bike trails don’t run all the way out there. We drove the car out to Gay Head Light one drizzly afternoon to check it out. Many of the roads have no shoulders at all, so you need to be very comfortable riding in close contact with cars if you do choose to ride your bike out there. In Menemsha, there’s a very cute little bike ferry, but since we didn’t take our bikes, we didn’t experience it.

A notable ride that we took as a pre-amble to our second trip to the beach was over to Chappaquiddick, an island of some fame from 1969. A small ferry can take three cars and a few people and bikes over for a few bucks. It’s about a five-minute trip and the ferry runs continuously; you just get in line. Bonus: bikes get to cut to the head of the line before the cars.  In addition to the very quiet country roads (some are dirt and sand) that lead to the ocean, we were surprised to find a really beautiful Japanese Garden called Mytoi.  Take your bike lock and enjoy the garden!  Plan to come back to the main island for lunch or anything else as it is pretty quiet over there.

Riding the Cape Cod Rail Trail

After four days of perfectly wonderful riding, we boarded the ferry in Oak Bluffs back to “America,” (another Vineyard saying), landed back in Woods Hole and set off to our final stop of Harwich. Here is where we were looking forward to the mother of all the trails we were riding, the Cape Cod Rail Trail (not to be confused with the Cape Cod Canal Trail – that one has to wait for the next trip).  The 25-mile CCRT runs from Yarmouth in the west and bends like an elbow (like Cape Cod itself) north to Wellfleet. The trailhead at Wellfleet is under construction and is in process of being extended.

We chose Harwich because it is located close to and in the middle of the CCRT, so it makes a great place to jump on the trail. It’s a long trail, so we decided to split covering it into two days. Besides, Harwich turned out to be a perfectly lovely little place with a great pub and lots of great restaurants a mile away down by the water. We would definitely go back. 

The first day we jumped on the Old Colony Trail just east of the CCRT bike rotary. For those who don’t know, a “bike rotary” is a traffic circle just for bikes on the trail. We headed north to Wellfleet, just over 20 miles one way. It was going to be a big day if we went all the way. We wheeled past too many beautiful glacial lakes and bays and beaches to count, through protected nature preserves, and through several little towns that would make great stops for lunch. We made a pit stop in Orleans and stopped to listen to (and sing with!) a guy playing guitar trailside.  

When we got to the trailhead in Wellfleet, we could have opted to ride on the streets over to the beach – it’s only about a mile or so – but instead, we took pictures of folks on their bikes (they returned the favor) and headed back to Nauset where we had read there was a bike trail over to Coast Guard Beach. It turned out to be a great detour. The trail over to the beach is paved and a nice ride through the woods before crossing over a wooden bridge and up to the beach. I will say this trail is a bit hilly. Since I was trying to preserve my battery, I did ride a good bit of it without any power assist at all. So even on my e-bike, which is heavier than a regular bike, it was very doable. The beach is spectacular, and the views were definitely worth the side trip. We had spied a little lobster shack on our ride over from the CCRT and we stopped there for a late chowder to fortify us for the ride back home. Here is where we broke our previous record and put in a 45-mile day!  

The next day, we decided to ride the rest of the trail west to Yarmouth.  The trail was extended in 2018. Unfortunately, that extension is not shown on a lot of the maps or online resources, so we weren’t quite sure how far we were going. Turned out to be about seven miles one way. This section of the trail is only slightly more urban. There are still plenty of woods and ponds and cranberry bogs to admire. A really wide bridge spans the Bass River and is a highlight of this section of the CCRT. It runs parallel to the highway a few hundred feet away.  It was a pretty cool feeling to be crossing the same body of water as the cars, but on our very own dedicated thoroughfare. I must have really loved that bridge because I had something like 20 pictures of it on my phone when I sorted through them later!  

Toward the end, the trail skirts alongside a beautiful golf course and through more woods and then ends. We did see a few hardy souls going on the road but since it wasn’t marked or showing any indication of trail continuation, we turned around. There are plans to link it up with other nearby trails in the future, all the way to the canal.

We had ridden through a park a short way back, so we made a stop there for the facilities and a snack. There were plenty of picnic tables and families enjoying the unseasonably warm autumn day. When we got back to the bike rotary, having ridden about 14 miles, we still had “gas in our tanks,” so we opted to explore some of the Old Colony Trail, the trail we got on to access the CCRT.  This eight-mile trail follows the road in a few places but the traffic is light and it is well marked. 

To our delight, we got to negotiate two more (smaller) bike rotaries along the way. We took the trail all the way to Dennis. We did not explore the beaches or the town on this trip because we were tired from the previous day and it was getting overcast and cool. We had experienced being caught in the rain on our bikes once (thankfully not on this trip!) and weren’t keen to do that again.

Reflections on the Trip

That was our last bike outing on this trip. I have left off details about lodging and restaurants because everybody’s tastes are different and you probably already know how to find what you want for those. I have to tell you, though, I had great fun reliving the trip as I wrote it. In fact, I had to break from writing a couple of times to go hop on my bike to take a spin. 

I have become really addicted to riding my e-bike. I hope that if you’ve ever thought about riding an e-bike that I’ve encouraged you to look into it. An unexpected and welcome surprise that has come from riding is that I’ve rediscovered the town I live in, finding shortcuts and bike trails I never knew existed. Turns out I live in a really bike-friendly place. I never realized how bike friendly it was before I became an e-biker.  

Shopping for E-bikes

We seniors are the demographic that are buying e-bikes the most. If you are thinking about buying one, your local bike shop is a great place to start. A good shop will gladly educate you on which bike might be right for you and offer you a test drive or two or three or…

Have fun and happy trails!  Bike trails, that is!