This is my mother.
She hasn’t ridden a bike in years, decades even. The last time she balanced on one she was on her way to her undergraduate class at American University, back when John F. Kennedy was president.
And look at this photo of her taken this weekend, she’s actually smiling and enjoying herself!
I just returned from a spectacular wedding in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Since childhood, one of my favorite activities to do on the Cape is to get on a bike and explore the area on one of the many paved, beginner-friendly (read-flat) bike paths that wind throughout the region.
Cape Cod has an extensive biking trails system, covering literally hundreds of miles through forests and along the coastline. Here’s a great website for more information on the Cape Cod biking trails.
My mom and I only went for a couple of hours on this bike ride, but there are all different sorts of trip lengths and difficulty levels that you can choose to do out on the Cape. Some friends of mine from the wedding rode their bikes to Provincetown, the furthest town on the tip of the Cape. Meanwhile, the Pan Mass Biking Challenge was taking place, where bikers rode almost 200 miles, from central Massachusetts to Provincetown, to raise money for cancer research.
I wasn’t quite as prepared as I normally would be to go on a bike ride, since I was on vacation and packed light. I still brought the essentials though; I had a water bottle, sunglasses, quick-drying shorts, cell phone, supportive shoes, and of course, a helmet. Other usual items would’ve been a quick-drying shirt, Camelbak water system pack, a high-energy snack, and a small first-aid emergency medical kit.
Whether or not you’re doing the Pan Mass Challenge or just enjoying an easy, hour-long ride, get on out there and enjoy yourself!
Photos taken by Joslin Fritz.