Beach Day!

Today I did something different. I biked to the beach! Crane's Beach in Ipswich, that is. I started in North Andover, biked through Boxford, Topsfield and Ipswich, then headed down Argilla Road to Crane's and back. Total miles round trip: 44. This was my longest ride to date.

It was a really beautiful ride. I was out by 7:00 a.m. before it got too hot. I love living in this area because there are so many great things to see alongside the road, such as this white horse grazing in a pasture. I also biked by the Ipswich River. Didn't see any canoes on the river on my way out but there were plenty on my way back.
This was a relatively direct ride and didn't involve too many twists and turns, which was nice since I'm not a real morning person. I must have seen at least 50 people out biking this morning so this area seems to be popular. Most were solo (a few of which flew by me) and some were in big groups. Saturday seems to be a more popular ride day than Sunday.

As I got to Ipswich and onto Argilla Road, I biked by some beautiful scenic marshes, as you can see. Even though it's close to the ocean, this road offered some hills (and potholes) to contend with. The views made it worth it, though.


Finally, after 22 miles, I arrived at Crane's Beach. There's no sign right at the beach (as far as I could tell) so I took a picture of this sign about 2/10ths of a mile before. I've never been up to Crane Estate but it's on the plan for this summer for sure.

Though I never actually made it on the beach (since that required getting off my bike and hiking through the dunes in my bike shoes), I did make it to the beach and I'm feeling good about that. The weather made it perfect for a beach day. Think I'll try this ride again soon.