Back Out There

Okay, enough talk and introspection for now. Late this past weekend, I finally got back on the saddle (sorry, another cliche) and got my butt out there for my longest and most challenging ride to date. I rode out to Gloucester and around Cape Ann through Rockport and back.

What a ride. 83 miles! Solo! I have to laugh about the solo part; my friend Sue told me she prefers riding with people since she usually can't stand herself after 20 miles. But I like the alone time. I usually have a great tune going in my head (no iPod just brain tunes) and plenty to think about. Plus, I had bigger challenges to deal with - like almost 50 miles of head and cross winds and Labor Day and beach traffic. Thankfully, I was rewarded with beautiful ocean views and blue sky so the ride was well worth it.

Below are shots from the day (and I do mean "day" because my total ride time was just under 6 hours - that's a long time to be pedaling a bike!):

I inadvertently timed my visit perfectly to coincide with the Parade of Sail in Gloucester Harbor. This was one of the many tall ships out for the morning.
This beachfront view is from private Eastern Point Boulevard, where I took a detour to check out the Yacht Club.
And this is along lower Atlantic Road. The mansions were fantastic, too.
I finally made it to Rockport Harbor, took a brief break to rest and filled up my water bottle.
I was dying for a big, juicy burger but it was only 10:30 in the morning and none of the sandwich shops were open. So I continued north up past Pigeon Cove. It was pretty rural up there until I came around a sharp bend to Folly Cove below.Further down was Plum Cove, which also had a beach area for swimmers and scuba divers to enter.
These were the main pictures from my scenic route. More details on the ride, recovery and navigating the Rt. 128 rotary with Labor Day traffic in the next post...