Cycling Coastal New England Tour

June 27 - July 2, 2010
August 22 - 27, 2010

ITINERARY

Day 1
Plan to arrive in time for 2:00 pm check-in at the Ipswich Inn in Ipswich MA, one of the oldest communities in New England. After fitting our bikes, we'll enjoy our first bike ride, a 10 mile loop to Jeffreys Neck, where you'll have a panoramic view of Plum Island and Cape Ann. On our return we explore the streets of historic Ipswich. We'll have our first group dinner tonight at Theo's Restaurant in Ipswich.

Day 2
Today's bike ride takes us through a wooded and sparsely populated area of Essex County where you'll find roads lined with stone walls, thanks to the labors of our farming settlers. We'll ride along the Ipswich River, stopping in Topsfield and Boxford, two charming Colonial-era villages. Our bike ride today is 35 miles. After returning to Ipswich, you'll have the option of an extra 10 mile loop to Crane Beach. We'll enjoy a walk along historic High Street tonight on our way to our dinner at Stone Soup Restaurant.

Day 3
Today we offer a very full day that visits two coastal communities of Cape Ann as well as historic Salem. We first ride through Essex, an historic ship-building town, before taking a short break in Manchester-by-the-Sea. Then we continue along the shore and have lunch in Salem, famous for the Salem witch trials. We'll take time for you to visit some of the town's attractions. Our route back to Ipswich takes us through Beverly (home of the colonial army's first navy fleet) and on through charming Hamilton before completing our 40 mile loop. Dinner tonight is at the always-popular Choate Pub in Ipswich. (We recommend the famous Ipswich fried clams and a mug of Ipswich Ale).

Day 4
In the morning we check out of the Inn and drive our cars and the Bike New England van just 15 miles to the popular coastal town of Newburyport and the Essex St. Inn, which will be our base for the next two evenings. We'll get right on the bikes, setting out past historic sea captains' houses on Newburyport's High Street. We'll soon be cycling for miles along the banks of the wide Merrimack River, crossing at the Rocks Village bridge and continuing along the other side of the river. A bike path from downtown Amesbury takes us to Lowell's Boat Shop, a national historic landmark and working museum. Dinner tonight is at the Grog in Newburyport. Today's ride is 35 miles, with extra distance options along the river.

Day 5
This moring we head north to Portsmouth, NH, biking a gorgeous 30 miles along the Atlantic coast. On the way we'll pass the historic Strawbery Banke, which tells the stories of the many generations who settled in the Portsmouth, NH community. After lunch, we return to Newburyport via New Hampshire back roads. The full bike ride today is an easy flat 50 miles, with van support available for the return from Portsmouth. Dinner tonight is at Joseph's Winter St. Cafe.

Day 6
After breakfast we take the bike path out to Plum Island for a loop through the Parker River Wildlife Sanctuary, a coastal haven for migrating sea birds. We'll ride through the Great Salt Marsh, our last bike ride on this cyling tour, before returning to the Essex St. Inn in time for late moring checkout and farewells.