Monday, May 12, 2008

Biker's Paradise

Cape Cod is a biker’s paradise and we always load up all four bikes for our Cape vacations. One of my favorite books is Short Bike Rides on Cape Cod, Nantucket and the Vineyard, by Edwin Mullen and Jane Griffith. You can also look online for maps and routes, or discover your own. One of our favorites is the Shining Sea Bikeway in Falmouth, near Silver Beach. {excerpt from the upcoming Compleat Day Tripper: Cape Cod} - by author Marlissa Briggett

The Compleat Cape Blogger

As the publication date for the Compleat Day Tripper: Cape Cod approaches (and beyond), we'll be posting items from the book in this blog. Sign up for these and regular updates and corrections to the book as destinations change -plus all our new discoveries for summer, fall, winter and spring "Day Tripping" on the Cape, South Coast, & Islands! Send us your blog posts and photos with byline or credit information and win a free book or destination discount if your contribution is published!

New Cape 'Tripper on the Way!

by Marlissa Briggett


When my friend Charlotte of Pierce Press approached me about working on a Cape Cod and South Coast edition for the Compleat Day Tripper series, I was thrilled. Not only was I a big fan of the Boston edition of The Compleat Day Tripper, but I’ve spent more than half my life spending the summers in Onset, Massachusetts, just off-Cape. Over the course of those summers, I acquired a storehouse of favorite day trips. Friends often turned to me prior to Cape visits for destinations they knew they couldn’t find at the Chamber of Commerce or in the canned internet guides.

When Charlotte’s idea for a Cape Cod Day Tripper edition sunk in, my nuggets of information suddenly found a home and my indolent summers spent at the beach took on a more tangible meaning. So, emboldened by this mission, I enlisted my three very plucky Day Tripper sidekicks – my husband Peter and daughters Shea and Ella - and manically conducted “serious research” on behalf of the book for a good year and a half.

We have to emphasize that this book is no encyclopedia or Internet digest – think of it as a quirky, personal selection of magical spots, classic amusements, and must-do’s. From Fall River to Provincetown, every destination has been family-tested by us or by our trusted Cape and South Coast friends.

In the upcoming Compleat Day Tripper: Cape Cod, you can find out where a handful of quarters can buy you a boatload of family entertainment, and where you can pause before heading out on a sunset bike ride and set your watch by the descent of a railroad bridge over the canal. It’s that kind of guide book. Now, if you think we’ve missed something you feel belongs in this kind of a book, please let us know at daytripper@piercepress.com, or call 781-648-8166.

Many families revealed their own favjavascript:void(0)orite destinations and inside tips and tricks, and the book is much better as a result. Many thanks to the Carignans, the Dohertys, the Kupers, the Ritzkowskis, and the Thomases; and a special thanks to Lisa Moncevicz, a Dennis native and Arlington friend, who helped me immensely by sharing her personal stash of out-of the way places and hidden finds.

We’d also like to thank all the kids who gamely threw themselves into the research with Shea and Ella: Anna, Asher, Emma, Helena, Jane, Louisa, Marta, Roxane, Sabina, Savannah, Sierra, and Toby. We hope you have as much fun checking out these spots as we did!

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