Bicycle Tour: Dune's Edge Campground, Day One

On Sunday, September 10, 2023, I started what I had planned to be a multiple-day tour of Cape Cod by taking the Provincetown Fast Ferry from Boston to Provincetown and riding to Dune’s Edge Campground just north of Provincetown.

This was my first bicycle tour since 1978, forty-five years ago. I took my Trek Valencia, a commuter hybrid bike I had purchased in 2010.

I left the house at 11:35. I rode the Community Path to Museum Way, turning right. I turned left onto Charles River Dam Road. I continued straight through the intersection to Martha Road and Lomasney Way. I turned left onto Causeway Street and took it all the way to Commercial Street. This was slow, and I think I won’t go this way next time. I rode the bike path along Commercial Street to Cross Street. I stayed on the sidewalk, walking or riding slowly, until I reached Seaport Boulevard. Rain had started, and it was raining pretty hard. I took the bike lane to the ferry terminal on the east side of World Trade Center, arriving at 12:20 p.m. I collected my ticket at the booth.

During the ride, I noticed my heavily loaded bicycle (two front panniers and two rear panniers) had an unpleasant shimmy when I cornered. Either the rear rack wasn’t sturdy, or the frame was not as stiff as I would like.

Boarding had already begun. I got in the end of the line and wheeled my bike onto the bow deck. I locked my bike to a bike rack on the bow deck and went into the inside seating area. I put on my N-95 mask; I think I was the only person wearing a mask. The ferry cast off promptly at 1:00 PM.

Because of rain, visibility was poor during the ferry crossing. We arrived at MacMillan Pier in Provincetown at 2:30 p.m. I rolled my bike off and oriented myself. I rode to Conwell Street and followed it north to Route 6. There was no shoulder for riding, but traffic was slow and courteous. I turned right onto Route 6, a divided highway with no paved shoulders, two lanes in each direction. I rode east past the campground on the left until I found a place where I could cross the median. I rode back west and turned right into the campground.

My actual riding distance was very short, 4.94 miles from my home to the ferry pier in Boston and 1.47 miles from MacMillan Pier in Provincetown to Dune’s Edge Campground.

All of my camping equipment was new, and I hadn’t used it before. It took me a long time to set up my tent in the rain because I couldn’t figure out how to install the rain fly. I figured out how to inflate my sleeping pad and attach it to my sleeping bag.

The weather was warm and humid, and I was too warm and sweaty inside the tent, so I put my shower towel on top of the sleeping bag and lay on that. I figured out how to adjust the rain fly to increase ventilation inside the tent, and that helped.

The heavy rain accumulated in a low part of my campsite, and I had to dig a trench to divert the water.

My wet campsite at Dune’s Edge Campground

An Adventure Cycling Association tour group was camping in the park that night, occupying several sites in the middle of the campground with two tents in each site. They were all seated at one picnic table, so I did not disturb them. I often feel shy about talking to other bicyclists.

For the second day of this tour, see Dune’s Edge Campground, Day Two.