PDPP (Providence Duxbury Plymouth Providence)- May 22nd, 2021
Ride Information
Start Location: Roger Williams Square, corner of Gano & Williams Street in Providence, RI (restrooms across the street at Dunkin’)
Start Time: 07:00am, Saturday, May 22nd, 2021
Length: 200k / 125mi
Time Limit: 13.5 Hours
Lights & Reflective Gear: Required after 7pm
Ride Leader: Ted Shwartz
Sanctioning: RUSA/ACP
Cue Sheet: PDP_-_Providence_Duxbury_Providence-3
Online Map/GPS: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/35844425
Registration: On BikeReg
PDPP – Providence Duxbury Plymouth Providence
This is a new ride for NER. It has its roots in training rides I used to get ready for PBP. It’s a flattish ride by NER standards, but that’s the lay of the land between where the Pilgrims landed and where the expelled heretic, Roger Williams landed.
Our ride starts in Providence, RI at the Roger Williams Square. RW landed here is 1636 after having worn out our his welcome in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
The first two legs of our ride head NE to Raynham and then Duxbury. The terrain is flat to rolling, through suburbs, woods, some farmland and crossing a few rivers. The most notable landmark is the Old Colony Correctional Center in Bridgewater.
At mile 49 we reach the ocean looking at Kingston Bay. If you look across the water you can see the Myles Standish Monument where Myles Standish is buried. If you would like to visit the monument then detour at 51.2 miles (rotary with Dunkin) and follow the signs.
A few miles later we are at French Impressions Bakery in Duxbury. This brevet was designed around reaching this very tasty spot. Sometimes they even make Paris-Brest pastries…
We depart Duxbury, heading along the shore in a easterly fashion.
A short ride brings us to Plymouth Rock.
Then it’s time to work our way southerly to Myles Standish State Forest. This is one of the most pastoral sections of the ride. Coastal Plymouth is cooled by Massachusetts Bay, and when you leave it for MSSF you pass into a different climate, hotter and drier, moderated by the kettle ponds and evergreens of MSS.
Summertime transits of the park can be hot, and the nickname of MSSF is “The Desert” will be understood. If conditions warrant it, and I have the time, I will stop for a swim or siesta in the park.
As you exit the park, you will pass the Headquarters where bathrooms and water are available at mile 70.
The Brevet will then take you about 17 miles west to get around the lakes of Lakeville, and then SW to return to Rhode Island. Around mile 100 is a nice kicker of a hill, something to remind you, this is after all, a NER brevet.
15 miles more brings you to Warren, RI and the East Bay Bike Path. The EBBP is our return ticket, to Providence, hopefully being pushed by the afternoon southwesters. You will have a beautiful view of Providence and Narragansett Bay as you return.
The terminus of the EBBP brings you to the George Redmond Linear Park, above the Seekonk River.
A short spin through India Point Park brings you to our last bridge of the day, again with a beautiful view of Narragansett Bay. When you finish the meander up from the park to the bridge, stop, look down and turn around to see this view.
The ride will finish with a short section on Ives Street, aka restaurant row. I highly recommend all of the following as worth a stop (you will be within blocks of the finish at the park)
Aleppo Sweets – Syrian Food
Chomp Kitchen – Burgers etc…
Tallulah’s Taqueria – Mexican
Silver Star Bakery – Portuguese Bakery
Bee’s Thai – Thai food
This being Covid times, I might recommend ordering 45 minutes before…
Along the route:
Food and/or Bathrooms
21 miles Dunkin
25 miles McDonalds
42 miles Shell
51 miles Dunkin
53 miles French Impressions Bakery
61 miles Downtown Plymouth
72 miles MSSF (water and bathroom)
91 miles Star Drive In
92 miles Dunkin
107 miles The Ice Cream Barn
114 miles Cumberland Farms
115 miles Starbucks