All streaks must end sometime . . . Even a perfect streak of biking in the rain.
My sweetheart Marilyn and I love to drive to a destination, park our car and tour by tandem bike wherever we want to go. Whenever we do this, especially Nova Scotia, it rains. When we toured Cape Cod end-to-end, a few weeks ago, it rained. When we honeymooned in the Eastern Townships and Outaouais regions of Quebec, it rained at least part of the time. And on our first bike tour in Vermont, it poured! We had fun anyway, but our streak of rain riding was unbroken.
Until now.
Among our favorite places to bike tour in New England (even in the rain) are Cape Bike (known to most people as “Cape Cod–but trust me there are more bikes than cod around these days) and Biker’s Vineyard (where even Martha rides a bike). Now we have to add BikeTucket (otherwise known as Nantucket Island) to our list of favorites, even though it didn’t rain a single drop while we were there. . . .
On a Saturday morning in late June (before the Fourth of July rush . . .), we rolled our tandem bike -and-BOB-trailer aboard the 7:30 Steamship Authority slow ferry from Hyannis to BikeTucket. A lot of other folks brought their bikes, too, most going for just the day. The word is obviously out on BikeTucket . . .
BikeTucket has a network of wide, smooth bicycle paths and well-marked bike routes which can take you almost anywhere on the island. By 10 we were off the ferry, had stopped at Young’s Bicycle Shop — a great place to rent a bike if you don’t have one — for one of their superb maps and were on the winding streets of downtown BikeTucket, heading toward the Surfside Bike Path. A warning—the cobblestone streets of downtown can be rough; with the car and pedestrian traffic, we chose to walk those short sections.
A half hour after leaving town we dropped the BOB trailer with our luggage at the Nantucket Hostel International which is in an old Life-Saving station right at Surfside Beach. More on the Hostel in a moment . . .
Then, we jumped back on the bike and headed out to Wawinet on the northeast corner of the island. It’s about a 10 mile pedal over gently rolling terrain—easy biking, beautiful ride.
In Wawinet, we had scheduled a Natural History Tour at the Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge. This marvelous piece of property is protected by the Trustees of the Reservations which protects open lands across Massachusetts.
The 3-hour tour took us by 4WD van across the sandy beaches of Great Point to Great Point Lighthouse. In cooler weather we’d have walked the 8-mile round trip but on this hot, sunny summer afternoon, the van was welcome. Time after time our sharp-eyed guide, Diane Lang, pointed out things we would likely have missed on our own, and filled us in on both the natural and human history of this amazing area.
The wildlife here was stunning. We saw northern harrier hawks hunting to feed their young, ospreys on their nests, a seagull nesting colony with fluffy chicks sticking close to their parents for protection. We watched a grey seal catch and eat a skate (a flat fish in the ray family) in the surf while a great black-backed gull harassed it until it gave up the mostly-stripped carcass. We also saw endangered piping plovers, terns, eider ducks, cormorants and a variety of other seabirds and, last but not least, an eastern kingbird. Dozens of seals basked on the lonely beach. What a display of life! I highly recommend the experience.
After a quiet evening and a good night’s sleep at the hostel, we got up early, pedaled out to Madaket and back, then collected our trailer for the ride into town where we were staying. After dinner we strolled the streets of downtown with other tourists enjoying the window shopping and the quiet of a Sunday evening.
Good biking, fun place to visit. We could have stayed another week! You can bet we’ll be back on BikeTucket sometime soon—maybe in September . . .
Sleeping and Eating on BikeTucket
The Hostel on Nantucket was an eye opener for us. We’d never stayed in a Hostel before. But we surely will again. Set in a beautiful location just steps from the dunes and a beach, the Hostel was filled with friendly people from all over the world. They hot showers, clean bathrooms and a complete kitchen available for the guests. If you like meeting new people from all over the world and don’t mind sleeping in an un-airconditioned bunk room with shared baths, this is a tremendous bargain and great fun.
Our second night was in a lovely room at the Hawthorn House, a quaint and quiet guest house right in town. We could walk to shops and restaurants and were only five minutes from the ferry when we had to leave. I wish we hadn’t had to leave . . .
On the way out to Wawinet on our first day, we stopped for lunch at the Rotary Restaurant. We liked it and the people who ran it so much we went back for dinner—try the Jerk Chicken and steamed veggies.
Our second night, we were directed to the Brant Point Grill at the White Elephant Hotel overlooking the harbor on Easton Street. We were promised fine dining and they delivered an absolutely sumptuous meal. Supposedly, their steaks are unforgettable, but in our experience you can’t go wrong with any of the seafood options. Marilyn had swordfish while I couldn’t resist the Ahi tuna. If, like us, you occasionally splurge when you travel, this is a perfect place to do it. Memorable meal.
Other Outdoor Stuff
I’m an ardent fisherman and I simply couldn’t pass up a chance to do some fishing in the legendary waters around BikeTucket – so I arranged one afternoon catching stripers and bluefish with Jason Mleczko of Capt. Tom’s Charters out of Madaket. Fun guy to fish with and lots of fish . . .
On our last morning on the island we had planned an early-morning kayak paddle around the harbor in sit-on-top kayaks rented from Sea Nantucket Kayaks but a strong wind that kicked up a wicked chop kept us safely onshore. Better safe than sorry. Next time, for sure . . .