Day 2: Somerville to Rockport

Having biked 74 miles in yesterday, I need another 118 miles over the next two days to get to 192 miles for PMC weekend. The weekend's plan was to bike up to Rockport Saturday and join the family at our Rockport house, and then bike back Sunday. I do this trip by bike often and know how to squeeze in extra miles when needed (it's generally 46 miles if I bike directly). Just like PMC weekend, I was up before dawn and on the road by 7 AM.

The first third of the trip is on the Northern Strand Trail which starts nearby in Everett and ends in Lynn near the ocean. It's a great trail made possible by an amazing group of advocates who started an organization called Bike to the Sea. The trail is becoming a real game changer for biking to the northern suburbs. 

Along the trail, I picked up some biking buddies. This was great since I was riding solo and missing my PMC crew. One of these riders even had a PMC jersey!

The paved part of the Northern Strand trail becomes gravel in Saugus, and since my bike eats gravel for breakfast, we were both very happy. The trail affords lovely views of marshes and the Saugus River.

After the trail ends, I bike through the city of Lynn and emerge along the lovely Lynn Shore Drive, The biking through the cities and towns of the north shore (Swampscott, Marblehead, Salem, Beverly and Manchester by the Sea) is really excellent, with many of the roads having bike lanes and if not decent shoulders. And of course the views of the ocean ain't bad.

 

 I again saw many Black Lives Matter signs on lawns. And I came across this powerful sign in a lovely setting in Beverly. 

By late morning I was in Gloucester (the town before Rockport), where my Great Aunt and Uncle lived for many years. It always feels like home when i get to this part of Cape Ann. My legs felt pretty good for having biked over a 125 miles over the last 24 hours- my body is used to these multi-days rides from the past ten years of charity riding.  

I definitely saw a lot of PMC riders today and I was greeted by a lot of folks who knew about the ride and thanked me for riding. I met this rider, Chris on the back shore of East Gloucester. He's from Newburyport and is biking 148 miles in honor of his parents, who both have cancer (they live 148 miles from the PMC start in Sturbridge). 

I got into Rockport around noon, having squeezed 55 miles out of this route. I was hot and definitely tired by the end of the ride, and went immediately for a swim in a nearby quarry. Man did that swim feel great. And then on to our house where I was greeted by Ana, who was patiently waiting Pop-Pop's arrival.

After lunch, and after Ana went for her nap, I willed myself to bike another ten miles to get my total for the day to 65 miles (to make tomorrow's ride a little easier).  The motivation- biking to my favorite beach for an ocean swim. Worth it! Tomorrow I ride back to Somerville, only needing 53 miles.