Year 1 - Ride Day 9 - Provincetown MA to Chatham MA - Sept 9






The weather forecast for today was rain, then rain, and more rain! We prepared to get wet. It was a short ride day, only about 54 miles! As we carefully examined the route, we decided to cut off a portion of the ECG route and head directly to the motel in the most direct route possible. This ultimately reduced our mileage to about 43 miles. 

Along the way we traveled many miles on the Cape Cod Rail Trail. A very nice black topped surface. I saw another flock of turkeys and watched most of them cross the road in front of me!

We stopped in Orleans for a bite to eat and to dry off for a while. The waitress/hostess was very nice and brought us each a small towel to dry off with. Just coincidentally we stopped at the location of the first Howard Johnson’s restaurant! 

As we arrived at the motel, we were greeted by the owner and (I am assuming) and her husband. She showed us where we could store our bicycles for the night because she did not want them in her freshly redecorated rooms! As we rolled our bicycles into the barely standup basement below her office, it seemed like the heavens opened up and it down-poured. 

The rain so far today had been light to moderate, but this was as an all out deluge! We took the next couple hours to shower and attempt to dry out some of our stuff. The motel did not have a laundry and the only laundromat in town was closed on Thursdays, so the best we could do was to hang stuff and hope for the best!

Luckily there was a highly rated restaurant less than a block away from the motel. We donned our rain jackets and walked to the restaurant. We were advised to get there early as it becomes quite busy quickly! The web said it opened at 5:30 p.m. We arrived soon thereafter and it was already packed. The bar was full, the inside was full, the only available tables were in a tented “addition” to the main restaurant. We were seated but the bench seat I was going to sit on was wet from dripping rain water. So I sat at the end of the table on a chair. All during the meal, there were drips arriving at our table! Not very a 5 star dining experience! 

We were paying our checks when again the heavens opened up! It rained very hard for many minutes. We sat in the vestibule of the restaurant until the rain slowed to a moderate rainfall. But the damage was already done. The streets and pavement at the motel were rivers of water. Until we got back to our rooms, our feet were soaked as well as the bottom of my pant legs and socks! 

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