Pan Mass Challenge Google Earth Mashup

The PMC Google Earth mashup is now available for download here:

PanMassChallenge.kml

(If you don't have Google Earth installed, download it here.)

The PMC/GE mashup provides new riders a ground-level view of the longest and most popular route in this amazing event: from Sturbridge in Central Massachusetts to Bourne at the start of Cape Cod, then on to Provincetown at the very end of the Cape, a total of 192 miles over two days. Playing it as a "tour" provides a turn-by-turn narrative of what you'll see along the way, and how punchy casual riders like myself often get after riding the first 70 miles or so. I hope non-participants will appreciate not only the twisted route, but the somewhat twisted commentary as well. Contributors can, at least somewhat, share the experience of the riders they sponsor.

Here's a view of one of the most beautiful sections, along the Cape Cod Canal, which riders encounter early the morning of the second day:

Note that while it conveys how difficult it is to ride such a long distance, it doesn't show how hard it is to get to your fundraising goal. If you appreciate this effort, please consider contributing to help sponsor my ride, which benefits one of the world's top cancer research facilities. Your contributions are tax-deductible, and thanks to the Stephen and Caroline Kaufer Fund for Neuroendocrine Research, every dollar is matched.

Thanks,
--Mike

Why I Ride

[Here's the appeal I posted on the PMC contribution page]

This is a photograph of my brother–in–law, Bryce McHale. Bryce died in the summer of 2005, days before his 41st birthday, following a failed surgery to treat his colon cancer. Bryce was a smart, gentle, kind man with a quiet but rather wicked sense of humor. A chemist, he built up a successful environmental testing firm in suburban Detroit that he ultimately willed to his employees. For the third year I am riding in the Pan Mass Challenge in his memory, and need your support.

Despite state–of–the–art treatment options, including consultation at the world–class Mayo Clinic, Bryce's death can be partly attributed to a failure to distinguish the reappearance of cancer following chemotherapy from a recurring infection. It was rather a shock for members of his family to realize that, despite advanced research, expert specialists and cutting–edge diagnostic tools, there can be such gaps in our more mundane treatment options. I find this situation unacceptable. Short of the cure we strive for, research will help provide a better set of everyday tools to fight this set of diseases, so that others may avoid Bryce's ordeal.

Founded in 1980, the Pan Mass Challenge is the nation's oldest fundraising bike–a–thon, and its most successful charitable athletic event. Last year it raised $26 million for Dana Farber's Jimmy Fund, with an outstanding 99 percent of all funds raised going directly to developing new treatments. Compared to other charity athletic events, each participant is expected to commit to much greater fundraising goals, to the extent where the biking is by all accounts the easy part.

Nearly 5,000 riders will participate the first weekend of August, most (like myself) traversing a 192–mile route across much of Massachusetts. Thousands of other volunteers make it happen, and untold numbers of cheerleading spectators line the route. It is an awe–inspiring event, prompting one participant to tell me it was the number one reason he loves living in New England.

For its part, Dana Farber receives near–perfect scores from the National Institutes of Health in the quality and efficiency of its research. They are at the very top of their field, and deserve our support.

This year I'll be riding as part of the Caring for Carcinoid team. Carcinoid is a relatively underpublicized form of cancer that, while not what killed Bryce, has features making it an interesting subject for the sort of basic genetic research applicable to all cancers. As a generous bonus, each dollar sponsoring my ride will be matched by the Stephen and Caroline Kaufer Fund for Neuroendocrine Research.

To make your tax–deductible contribution to Dana Farber's Jimmy Fund, press the 'e–Gift' button in the red sidebar to the right [of this page]. Thank you for your consideration & God Bless.

For Geo Geeks

I originally punched the convoluted route of the PMC's first day into Google MyMaps to test how that new service handled decent-sized data sets. The answer, of course, is very well, thank you! When it occurred to me this data might form the basis of a fundraising application for cancer therapy, I realized MyMaps didn't provide much of a "sharing" interface. (Sorry, but having your geodata turn up in search results just doesn't rate.)

Turns out there's a social-tagging site specializing in geo data called Platial.com, and I had some fun importing the KML data via comma-separated files, a data exchange format I haven't seen in many a moon. They promise GeoRSS and KML support soon. The trouble with Platial is that it doesn't support the idea of a sequence, presenting the data as an unrelated series of points aggregated according to your view. All the metadata and implicit context you get from a KML or GeoRSS aggregation is lost. So it's not as useful when presenting the sort of sequential narrative this application requires, though that may change soon as well. (But they do provide a fun plug-in that you can see in the sidebar!)

While Google Earth doesn't provide much of a social interface, it more than makes up for that in the quality of its rendering and playback options. I experimented with paths, but found you couldn't reproduce the playback experience of hugging a path closely, at least not when presenting a series of them. The best approach, I found, was to introduce a series of "tween" points to minimize the tendency to jump in huge arcs between more distant points. Setting the heading of each point provides a comparable illusion of following the route. When adding display text, I had to make sure it didn't get eaten up by hillsides with terrain view enabled. Lots of one-off KML-hacking scripts, like the one setting the viewing range at 300m and the tilt at 75°. I folded in some photographs as ground overlays, which have to be viewed from straight up to avoid the distortion you get from looking towards the horizon. Finally, I added some introductory walk-through sections to convey basic logistic information for new riders, like the fact that food will be provided along the way. Overall, it was fun to push the limits of Google Earth to make it into more of a storytelling engine, rather like a blog.

Maybe for next year's ride, I'll include some A/V. That, and not snub the good people of Wellesley.

---

UPDATE: Why not use invisible paths? I experimented with that approach, but wound up rejecting it for a few reasons:

• You can't string more than one path in a row and get the same behavior of closely following the overall route in sequence. Instead, for multiple paths GE passes over the midpoints from such a height as to display each path in its entirety. Viewers thus wouldn't be able to play a whole day's ride in its entirety and get the same experience.

• There's no reasonable way to incorporate display text into the sequence, and displaying images would be out of the question. You can have a long path followed by a series of points it passes along the way. When playing that path you'd see the points go by and be able to read the text, albeit with no pause. But it would mean you couldn't play back the overall sequence without traversing the same route twice.

• On all the versions I've used, GE occasionally dumps little bits of random video memory to screen, sometimes (amusingly) as persistent ground overlays, and sometimes as sudden flashes to screen regions. I see the latter artifacts a lot when playing back paths, though I haven't isolated what cause them. Anyway, the effect might be jarring.

• Users would have to be told how to set up their preferences for touring driving directions (e.g., tilt, range) to achieve the desired playback experience. I'd rather have it work right out of the box.

PMC/GE Text

Here's the KML's embedded text:

• Day 1: Sturbridge to Buzzard's Bay (111 miles)
  • Get ready, get set...
    • It all starts here at the Sturbridge Host Hotel in Central MA
    • Nice place, fronting a long lake.
    • Plenty of parking for the whole weekend.
    • Bring an overnight bag w/light sleeping gear
    • You should prime yourself with plenty of water.
    • No need to carry food -- plenty along the way.
    • Breakfast is also available here: try the bagels for carbs.
    • ...rest stops every 20 miles or so.
    • Check in inside: get your bike & body tagged.
    • They'll even give you a jersey and maybe a water bottle & other freebies.
    • Carry a couple of tubes just in case.
    • After final checklist, give your overnight bag to a guy in a truck.
    • Line Up! (choose slow, medium, or FAST columns)
    • Please stand at attention for the National Anthem.
    • [IMAGE]
  • 1st Leg: to Sutton (20.5 miles)
    • START at 6:00 AM
    • [IMAGE]
    • Your first turn of the day: a left onto Rt. 20
    • Pass under I-80, enjoying the ECHO!!!!!
    • About 2,500 bikers leave from Sturbridge.
    • Another 2,000 or so bike a different route from Wellesley.
    • Many people line the road to cheer you on!
    • [IMAGE]
    • Over 2,500 volunteers in bright blue shirts to help you out.
    • That's the Mass Pike on the left.
    • PMC Bikers come from about 36 states and 7 other countries.
    • There's a 60/40 male/female ratio. Average rider's age is 43.
    • Riders will travel through 50 billion towns on the first day alone!
    • Turn right onto Masonic Home Rd. You're in the town of Charleton.
    • That's "billion" with a "B"...
    • Turn right onto Rt. 31.
    • ...followed by a left onto Muggett Hill Rd.
    • So I'm calling this thing "Cartography Against Cancer."
    • I never get why people say "so-and-so FOR cancer."
    • I mean, it's ANTI-dandruff shampoo, isn't it?
    • I'm just saying, is all.
    • Turn right onto Oxford.
    • Actually, Muggett Hill already turned into Oxford.
    • But you didn't need to know that.
    • [IMAGE]
    • [IMAGE]
    • [IMAGE]
    • Oxford turns into Charleton St. in the little village of Buffumville.
    • So do they call themselves Buffumvillians?
    • That would be a shame.
    • Amazing, the number of people who line the roads so early in the morning!
    • In the town of Oxford, Charleton St. turns into Sutton Av.
    • Cross I-395, the route between Worcester & E. Connecticut.
    • My fundraising redirect link is tinyurl.com/nsjdz
    • Easy to remember, too -- tinyurl.com, followed by...
    • "Never Say Jack Doesn't Zymurgate"
    • Sutton Av. turns into Central Turnpike at the Sutton town line.
    • [IMAGE]
    • Turn left onto W. Sutton.
    • ...followed quickly by a right onto Boston Rd.
    • [IMAGE]
    • Do you want to know what the best feeling in the whole world is?
    • Give up?
    • It's passing a guy whose bike costs four times as much as yours.
    • Okay, so it's not a race, it's a bike-a-thon, but still....
    • REST STOP #1: Sutton High School
  • 2nd Leg: to Franklin (43.6 miles)
    • Okay, enough dawdling around!
    • Turn right onto Uxbridge.
    • Put a bunch of spandex on these guys...
    • Doesn't matter -- they're STILL Boston drivers.
    • Turn left onto Central Turnpike again.
    • ...followed quickly by a right onto Purgatory Rd.
    • Uh-oh! Is this going to be anything like HELL?
    • The distant sound of bagpipes suggests that yes, it will be.
    • [IMAGE]
    • Here's the HILL! Huff, Puff, Curse (repeat)
    • Photographers love it when you look like this:
    • [IMAGE]
    • [IMAGE]
    • [IMAGE]
    • The best thing about going up hills like that...
    • ...is going down the other side!
    • Purgatory Chasm State Park. Sorry, can't stop to chat!
    • State highway 146, the Worcester/Providence connector.
    • That hill wasn't so bad, and would make a San Franciscan laugh.
    • ...even the 70-year-old riders make it.
    • Purgatory turns into N. Main St in the town of Northbridge.
    • [IMAGE]
    • N. Main merges into Main St. in the village of Whitinsville.
    • Turn right onto Douglas.
    • Turn left quickly thereafter onto Fletcher.
    • I would never suggest Jack doesn't zymurgate.
    • Wave to the golfers. Mock their athletic abilities.
    • Fletcher turns to Rivulet at the Uxbridge town line.
    • I didn't see a "rivulet," did you?
    • Turn left onto W. Hartford.
    • W. Hartford turns to E. Hartford at the Rt. 122 intersection.
    • That fact, plus the position of the sun right in your face...
    • ...offers a good sign that you're heading east.
    • At the Mendon line, E. Hartford Ave turns to W. Hartford...
    • ...even though you're heading east!
    • That's just whacked.
    • Merge with Rt. 16 onto Uxbridge St.
    • Bear right onto Maple.
    • Turn right onto Providence St.
    • Okay, so technically, "zymurgate" is not an actual word.
    • Bear left onto Hartford Av. East.
    • Sure hope it doesn't turn into "West" again!
    • Bear right onto Bellingham Street.
    • "Zymurgate" is a lot more memorable than "zip" or "zoom," though.
    • Turn right onto Bates.
    • Too bad iPods aren't allowed, but I guess they're a safety hazard.
    • Town of Bellingham: Bates turns into North St.
    • After a while, I tend to make my own music.
    • Turn left onto Rt. 126
    • Turn right immediately afterwards onto Center.
    • ...followed by a left onto Cross.
    • Starting to run parallel to 495 southwest of Boston.
    • Merge with Lake St.
    • Egad. Turn right onto Prospect.
    • "Heaven, I'm in Heaven" ...
    • "And my heart beats so that I can hardly speak" ...
    • "It's a wonder I don't just bug out and freak" ...
    • "When we're dancing on the floor, cheek to cheek."
    • Turn left onto Washington.
    • You're now about a mile away from Rt. 495.
    • [IMAGE]
    • [IMAGE]
    • REST STOP #2: Franklin's Jefferson High School.
  • 3rd Leg: to Dighton (70.3 miles)
    • [IMAGE]
    • [IMAGE]
    • Leaving the high school, you take a left turn onto Jefferson.
    • So you start riding, eager to get somewhere...
    • ...then you realize you're hosed.
    • You're on one of those crazy, winding subdivision roads!
    • After a tour of the neighborhood, take a left onto Harrison.
    • ...which turns into Vine.
    • ...which turns into Otis at the Wrentham line.
    • Turn right onto Arnold.
    • Then turn left onto Rt. 121, aka West Street.
    • Yelling "Car Up" means stay out of the oncoming lane.
    • "Car Back" means move over and make room, single file if possible.
    • Route split! Right to get to Bourne, or straight to Wellesley
    • [IMAGE]
    • You may see some funny people along Cherry Street...
    • [IMAGE]
    • Cherry turns to Hancock Street near the Plainville town line.
    • A nice, easy road.
    • ...goes at least a couple of thousand feet before another turn!
    • Oh well. Turn right onto High St.
    • Starting to diverge from the Rt. 495 corridor.
    • You are rounding Rhode Island's top right corner.
    • Turn left onto Hawkins.
    • Very little traffic out this way.
    • Left onto Fales. Rhode Island is about 1000 feet on your right.
    • Fales turns back into High Street at the N. Attleboro town line.
    • ...which may give you a sense of deja vu.
    • Bear right onto Ellis.
    • This is some glorious cycling terrain!
    • Through the Rt. 120 intersection onto Hoppin Hill Ave.
    • ...No, I am not making that up.
    • This place be hoppin'!
    • Left onto Allen.
    • Another left onto Draper, just before the highway.
    • Cross over the Rt. 1 intersection.
    • ...then turn right onto Old Post Rd.
    • I-295 is the ring road around Providence.
    • Turn left onto Mt. Hope.
    • Turn right onto Linden.
    • Linden magically becomes Rocklawn Ave at the Attleboro line.
    • No more of this "North Attleboro" nonsense. This is the REAL THING!
    • Turn right onto Tiffany.
    • The legendary I-95. Anyone up for Florida?
    • Keep going! Don't be misled by this evil enchantress County Street!
    • Turn right onto Rt. 152, aka S. Main Street.
    • Turn left onto Thurber.
    • After all, you wouldn't want to go straight for TOO long, would you?
    • Merge with Oak Hill.
    • How long CAN you go without making a turn, anyway?
    • Not long. Turn right onto Reynolds.
    • Reynolds becomes Agricultural Av. at the Rehoboth town line.
    • The evil enchantress returns in another guise, this time calling itself "Tremont Street."
    • ...But you know better, and move on.
    • Turn left onto Fairfield.
    • All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.
    • Turn left onto Ash.
    • Right onto Fairview. WAIT A MINUTE! Weren't we just on Fairview?
    • No, that was Fairfield. Never mind...
    • It was somewhere around here last year...
    • ...that my leg unexpectedly seized up into a painful charley horse.
    • Basic problem was: too much "sports drink," not enough water.
    • All you can do with a charley horse is walk it off.
    • CAREFUL! This is where some of the crazy bikers coming in from Wellesley merge on your left.
    • [IMAGE]
    • Bear right onto New Street.
    • ...and cross Rt. 44.
    • Turn left onto Regional Road to get some lunch.
    • You may run across these people...
    • [IMAGE]
    • [IMAGE]
    • REST STOP #3: Dighton/Rehoboth Regional High School
  • 4th leg: to Lakeville (84.7 miles)
    • Okay, after the bananas (potassium)...
    • ...and peanut butter sandwiches (carbs + salts)...
    • You still have another 40 miles to go! Bear left into Horton.
    • This is some amazingly flat terrain!
    • Turn right onto Williams.
    • Turn left onto Center St.
    • [IMAGE]
    • What a crazy contraption, huh?
    • Up here is the famed wooden bridge. Becomes Elm St at Berkley town line.
    • [IMAGE]
    • By the way, if you haven't figured it out by now...
    • ...when someone yells "CAR BACK," it means move over and let him through.
    • Elm turns into S. Main St., surprise, surprise.
    • Bear right onto Porter.
    • ...then a hard right onto Locust.
    • Good to bike as early as possible, to avoid the sun's brain-fry.
    • ...and helps keep Ella Megalast from burling so forever.
    • Locust merges with Bryant.
    • State highway 24 goes from the Blue Hills south of Boston down to Fall River.
    • Keep going on Bryant and don't be led astray by Algenne St.
    • Freetown. Amazingly, the name of your street, "Bryant," will not change.
    • Some of the people you ride with are being treated for cancer.
    • Turn right onto Rt. 79.
    • ...then left onto Beechwood.
    • Beechwood turns into Mill St. at the Lakeville line.
    • Mill merges into Howland.
    • Somewhere around here are the famous witches.
    • [IMAGE]
    • Bless 'em. They've been doing it forever.
    • REST STOP #4: Apponequet High School in Lakeville.
    • [IMAGE]
  • 5th Leg: to Buzzard's Bay (111 miles)
    • Get back onto Howland.
    • What the %$@#&!? How can I be back in Freetown?
    • Steady, now. Howland turns into Washburn.
    • [IMAGE]
    • Rt. 140. It connects New Bedford with Taunton, if you had to ask.
    • Turn right onto County. Yes, you're still in Freetown, you miserable wretch.
    • Left onto Mason.
    • Turn left onto Rt. 18, aka Middleboro Rd.
    • Ellen DeGeneris had a funny joke that applies here.
    • She said there's one way to tell you're a boring person.
    • You lie awake at night and say to yourself...
    • "I like grapes."
    • Morton turns into North Av. at the Rochester town line.
    • ...but you're still suspicious, half expecting to find yourself back in Freetown again.
    • By this point, the riders have thinned out quite a bit.
    • Is anybody here? Hello? Anyone?
    • Turn right onto Neck Rd.
    • Whoo-hoo, WATER!
    • Turn left onto Burgess.
    • You know, as it turns out, I DO like grapes.
    • Turn right onto Walnut Plain.
    • Turn left onto High Street. Haven't I already been on this street?
    • "Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be" ...
    • "That's because I'm an amputee" ...
    • Rurn feft ... onto County.
    • ...tunr rigt ...onto Piceville, Pieveille, Pieeviioi, Peceville, whatever.
    • THEY KILLED KENNEDY, YOU KNOW! CUBAN CIA MAFIA DWARFS!
    • Okay, all better now. On Papermill, I believe.
    • Papermill merges with Main Street at the Wareham town line.
    • Main Street, like they couldn't come up with a more original name.
    • I-195, the east/west route through Fall River and New Bedford.
    • Turn right onto Gibbs. Wareham is home stretch country!
    • ...quickly followed by a fork left onto High street.
    • Turn right onto Kennedy Lane: barely worth mentioning because...
    • ...you turn left onto Church a few feet later. Prepare for meandering path.
    • [IMAGE]
    • You were on a perfectly good road heading for Buzzard's Bay. The reason you got off it was... why?
    • Turn left, back onto Main Street, but this time going the other way!
    • Hard right onto Sandwich Rd., aka Rt. 6, over the bridge.
    • Bear right onto Narrows Rd. just after the bridge.
    • Narrows turns into Minot, and you didn't even have to cross a town line to accomplish that!
    • Keep going through the intersection, where Minot turns into Onset.
    • Can you smell the salt air now?
    • Onset is a nice little coastal town, but I can't stop to chat!
    • [IMAGE]
    • [IMAGE]
    • No matter how tired you are, it's hard not to cut out here.
    • You can see the MMA's windmill off in the distance.
    • [IMAGE]
    • Turn right onto Rt. 6 and let 'er rip. You can smell it.
    • [IMAGE]
    • Wouldn't it be ironic if you came all this way...
    • ...only to get creamed by a SUV in a rotary a couple of thousand feet from the finish line?
    • [IMAGE]
    • [IMAGE]
    • Turn right onto Academy Drive. This is it!
    • [IMAGE]
    • [IMAGE]
    • [IMAGE]
    • FINISH: Massachusetts Maritime Academy
    • [IMAGE]
  • Rest Up! (stroll around the MMA campus)
    • A brief stroll through the Mass. Maritime Academy....
    • ...your host for the evening.
    • Here's where you pick up your luggage.
    • [IMAGE]
    • Everywhere you go there's a perpetual CLOP-CLOP sound from all the biker shoes.
    • Over here's where the bikes are kept overnight.
    • [IMAGE]
    • Here's the facility's impressive wind turbine.
    • [IMAGE]
    • Please don't overdo it on the unlimited beer, okay?
    • It's a diuretic. You can easily go into shock from acute dehydration.
    • [IMAGE]
    • GY-NORMOUS dining tent, the length of a football field.
    • [IMAGE]
    • Massage tent. Prepare to wait a while.
    • [IMAGE]
    • BTW: I took most of these pictures while walking off a major charley horse.
    • ...to keep my legs from seizing up.
    • You should have seen me trying to get my socks off that night.
    • Strictly Buster Keaton.
    • Here's a great place to take a dip.
    • [IMAGE]
    • Some riders sleep in the dorms.
    • [IMAGE]
    • Nice view of Buzzard's Bay.
    • [IMAGE]
    • "Heavy hitters" who raise lots of $$$ can sleep on the ship.
    • [IMAGE]
    • (hint, hint)
    • The promenade fronts the mouth of Cape Cod Canal.
    • [IMAGE]
    • Sleep well! Wake-up is 4:30.
    • [IMAGE]
• Day 2: Buzzard's Bay to Provincetown (82 miles)
  • 1st Leg: to Barnstable (22.8 miles)
    • Wake Up!
    • [IMAGE]
    • Pack up & stretch legs. Whoops, there goes your bag!
    • [IMAGE]
    • Time for breakfast! Eat! Eat! Eat!
    • [IMAGE]
    • Again with the CLOP! CLOP! CLOP!
    • [IMAGE]
    • START. No set start time on the second day.
    • Turn right onto Main St.
    • CAREFUL! You're in one of those awful rotaries again.
    • Bear right onto the on ramp of the Bourne Bridge.
    • Get on the bridge, not the highway, OK?
    • Merge onto the Bourne Bridge
    • [IMAGE]
    • [IMAGE]
    • Careful! Another rotary. It'll be your first right.
    • Turn right onto Veteran's Way. Welcome to Cape Cod.
    • Hard right onto Sandwich.
    • Turn left just after passing under the bridge.
    • Turn right onto the Cape Cod Canal Bike Path.
    • Wow! This is a gorgeous stretch, hugging the canal.
    • [IMAGE]
    • Did you remember to hydrate?
    • How about sunscreen?
    • Vaseline?
    • Maybe some pain reliever?
    • Town of Sandwich. Pass under the Sagamore Bridge.
    • Canal Service Road turns into Freezer Road by the utility plant.
    • Loop right, and watch out for obfuscation!
    • Turn left onto Tupper.
    • Much clearer now!
    • Cross Rt. 6A
    • Sandwich is a spectacularly beautiful little town.
    • Turn left onto Rt. 130, aka Water St.
    • Cross Interstate 6
    • Turn left onto Rt. 6's service road.
    • [IMAGE]
    • You'll be going on this one for a while. Get used to it.
    • Lots of long, gentle grades.
    • So, the one thing I never fully understood...
    • ...is what motivates people to contribute to rides like this?
    • Sure, it's a physically challenging weekend...
    • But why not instead hit myself on the head for cancer research?
    • Why doesn't THAT work?
    • At least then I can sip on G&T's while doing it.
    • Turn left onto Rt. 149. You're in Barnstable.
    • Turn right onto Church St.
    • Merge: Church turns into Parker.
    • Merge again, this time with Rt. 6A.
    • Stay on Rt. 6A, bearing left.
    • Serious traffic on this road. Single file. Patience.
    • Watch out for drivers eager to run you over on the way to church.
    • For the most part, you'll be going faster than traffic.
    • REST STOP #1: Barnstable County Complex.
    • [IMAGE]
  • 2nd Leg: to Nickerson Park (40.4 miles)
    • Keep going up Rt. 6A, and learn to like it!
    • If you're trying to keep up a certain pace...
    • This stretch of road may be a little frustrating.
    • There is often sufficient traffic...
    • ...that you're forced to ride single file.
    • Reminds me of why I generally don't like to draft other bikers.
    • Aside from having to match pace with someone else...
    • It means you spend a lot of time looking at someone's butt.
    • And sorry, even these don't rate.
    • Bear right onto Setucket. You're in Yarmouth by now.
    • Town of Dennis
    • The Caring for Carcinoid Team hosted a brunch...
    • ...with Dr. Matthew Meyerson of Dana Farber as guest.
    • There he described the research that our ride would help fund.
    • Town of Brewster.
    • Setucket just turned into Satucket. Weird.
    • Merge with Stony Brook.
    • Merge again with Rt. 6A.
    • Anyway, wish I could summarize what Meyerson said...
    • ...but I didn't take notes, and it was back in October.
    • I think statistical analysis of human genome data was one of them.
    • Developing a stable set of cell lines was another.
    • You actually want to give him money just for being incredibly smart.
    • REST STOP #2: Nickerson State Park
  • 3rd Leg: to Wellfleet (56.5 miles)
    • Town of Orleans, Cape Cod Rail Trail
    • This trail started out in Dennis...
    • ...and goes all the way up to Wellfleet.
    • You won't be going up the whole way on it, though.
    • It lets out into local roads around here.
    • Left onto West St. You're rounding Cape Cod's "elbow."
    • [IMAGE]
    • Turn right onto Skaket Beach Rd.
    • Ziz-zagging through the neighborhood...
    • Turn left Rock Harbor Rd.
    • Hard right continues you on Rock Harbor Rd.
    • That's just how crazy this place is.
    • [IMAGE]
    • [IMAGE]
    • Turn left onto Bridge Rd. You may be getting disoriented by now.
    • Are we heading to P-Town, or what?
    • Town of Eastham: Turning right continues on Bridge Rd.
    • Cross the beautiful salt marsh.
    • Bear left onto Herring Brook.
    • Now there's a place name I can get behind.
    • You're hugging the cape's bay side.
    • ...but you still have to go around these gigantic natural obstacles.
    • Out this way you notice the trees are shorter and shrubbier.
    • Turn right onto Kingsbury Beach. (Cape Cod Bay 1000 feet on left)
    • Going out to the Cod, that's what I'm doing!
    • Turn left, back onto the Cape Cod Rail Trail.
    • Pass under Rt. 6.
    • Here it's hard not to cut out.
    • There's no slowing down as you do at a turn.
    • The occasional stop sign at crossings are of course ignored.
    • The only problem? It's narrower and harder to pass other bikers.
    • You're in Wellfleet, the third-to-last town.
    • At the end of the rail trail, turn right onto Lecounts Hollow Rd.
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    • Turn left onto Ocean View. And let me tell you, they ain't kidding!
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    • Turn left onto Long Pond.
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    • A couple of nice swimming holes here, if you want to cool off.
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    • Bear left, continuing on plain old Long Pond rather than Old Long Pond.
    • REST STOP #3: Wellfleet Elementary School.
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  • 4th Leg: to P-Town
    • There is simply no excuse for any more rest stops after this.
    • Turn right onto Rt. 6.
    • I'm sure the PMC planners try to keep you off this busy road...
    • ...but up this way there are few other options.
    • Town of Truro, the SECOND TO LAST!
    • Get off Rt. 6, and bear right onto George Nilson.
    • Turn right onto Collins.
    • This is one of the smaller roads you take to avoid the highway.
    • You're heading up the east side of Rt. 6.
    • This is perhaps the most desolate road of them all.
    • The occasional dirt road off to your right...
    • ...leads to the ocean, which is about a mile away.
    • Turn left onto S. Pamet.
    • Houses, people, civilization.
    • Pamet River on your right, which runs from bay- to ocean-side.
    • Turn right in Truro "Center" (ha, ha!)
    • Turn left onto Castle Rd. after crossing the river.
    • This time you're diverting off to the west of Rt. 6.
    • Thought there were no hills out on the Cape, did you?
    • Well, maybe someone lied to you.
    • Turn right to continue on Castle Rd.
    • Jeez, are we there yet?
    • Nice weathered shingle houses all up and down the Cape.
    • Turn left onto Rt. 6. No getting around this road!
    • It rolls up and down in long, gentle grades.
    • Rt. 6A would make it too easy. Keep going!
    • IN PROVINCETOWN! WOO-HOO!
    • You will clearly see the Pilgrim Monument off in the distance, offering hope.
    • Here's the start of a bazillion cottage rental units, on your left.
    • You can smell the sudden change in zoning laws.
    • On the edge of a HUGE dune, on your right. Watch for sandbars!
    • Rounding the hook, you're almost there.
    • Turn right onto Race Point Road. Going straight would get you there faster.
    • But no, they want to show you the natural beauty of this unique place.
    • The rolling dunes...
    • The fragile wildlife habitat...
    • The entire eco-freaking-system, damn them.
    • Up and down, up and down!
    • After such a long ride, this is simply adding insult to injury.
    • ...then for good measure, some more injury.
    • Turn left onto Provinceland Rd.
    • So did I mention bagpipes mean bad news?
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    • Good news: you've now hit the very end of Cape Cod...
    • ...shaped like a hammerhead against a swirl of ocean currents.
    • "Family Finish" to the left. The one with the beer is to the right.
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    • FINISH: Provincetown Inn!
  • Now you can relax!
    • And when you're done celebrating here...
    • ...wander around and enjoy one of America's prettiest towns.
    • Commercial Street is the main drag for pedestrians.
    • Unique mix of gays, artists, tourists, and Portuguese.
    • Here's where the ferries leave for Boston.
    • Meet Billy Starr, who founded the PMC in 1980.
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