Nantucket Cycling

The last two days on the island of Nantucket have been full and vigorous Saturday we headed out shortly after breakfast on our bicycles taking the Cliff road bike route which began close to our B and B. we were told this route was hilly but we found it quite doable. Winds were light and the bike path protected from vehicular traffic was closer to town than indicated by our map. We went past houses and hiking areas. The path met the Madeket road path which led us to the beach. THis area was to be the site of one of the many weddings on the island this weekend. Reports of the numbers of weddings were from 12 to 60 depending on who was speaking. We toured the beach area before going to a local eatery Millie's which had been recommended. We were not very hungry but shared a delicious scrambled egg burrito and the best sticky bun I'd ever had. A local Nantucket cranberry juice added to the tasty meal. Soon after we headed back to town staying on the Madaket Path until reaching cobblestone streets. From there we mostly walked the bikes back to the B and B. our ride was about 13 miles. After parking the pikes and changing clothes we headed into town to catch the historical society house tour that left from the Whaling Museum at 2:15. Our knowledgable guide provided us with information on a number of the buildings and toured us through 3 very interesting ones from 3 periods of Nantucket's history. The guide recommended the book "in the heart of thE sea" which we both purchased from a local bookstore. Some other shopping proceeded a fantastic salmon dinner at the Center St. bistro. From there we headed to the Anteneum for a free concert. It was a very local event featuring a girls band as the opener and an acoustic group Woodford Line joined by a great guitarist Dennis Fancher. Sunday our ride was along the Milestone ride bike path to the sivas onset beach area known for the Rose covered cottages and the Sankaty lighthouse. Our ride was about 20 miles and I only had a problem with one hill and that was partly due to increased wind on the return trip. I took lots of photos. Judys camera has stopped working and my IPhone is our only documentation. We had wonderful sandwiches at a small eatery after visiting the lighthouse. The return ride seemed shorter despite the wind. We toured the marina area on our return. Very few boats were at the docks or on the moorings. It was quite different 18 years ago when we moored there on Partnership. Some final shopping followed by a concert of Italian music at the Unitarian Universalist Meeting House by a wonderful trio and singer John Murrell. Our dinner at the Easy St Cafe was very good. The town is very quiet on Sunday with many having left and restaurants closed. We felt sad to have it end for us too as we'll be off on the early ferry in the morning. It has really been a fantastic opportunity.