Bourne cyclist rides for new bike path along Cape Cod’s Buzzards Bay coastline
Ken Cheitlin of Bourne takes his motivation for the Buzzards Bay Watershed Ride from a big-picture point of view: the tough battle of trying to mitigate human effects on the environment. Fortunately, he has found that regardless of how many miles he rides, the support he receives for that mission is always “amazing.”
Ken Cheitlin in Rochester during the 2017 Watershed Ride.
“The truth is, the fundraising has been easy, because everyone who has been lucky enough to experience life alongside and in Buzzards Bay appreciates the critical work the Coalition is doing,” said Cheitlin.
This year, Cheitlin is participating in his fifth Ride, and he has a new goal to add: helping raise awareness of and support for a proposed bike path through Bourne. This new path, dubbed the Bourne Rail Trail, would extend Falmouth’s Shining Sea Bikeway to connect with the Cape Cod Canal Bikeway, creating an uninterrupted 26.2-mile trail from Sandwich to Woods Hole through the most beautiful parts of the Cape’s Buzzards Bay coastline.
“It will be a great amenity for visitors, but will also be a boon to local businesses, and will take pedestrians and bicyclists off the many busy roadways in this area,” said Cheitlin.
The Friends of the Bourne Rail Trail have already received significant support for the new path, both from residents and from officials at the state and local level. To Cheitlin, creating a team to support the trail during the Watershed Ride only made further sense: not only does the Ride pass through the very area where the trail will be built, but it will be ridden and supported by those people who might care most about its mission. Thus, the Bourne Rail Trail Blazers were born.
“It’s a win-win scenario,” said Cheitlin. “By participating, we will raise funds for the important work of the Coalition while spreading the word about the trail to a large number of people who certainly appreciate the use and enjoyment of the Buzzards Bay watershed.”
With the Watershed Ride coming up on September 30, the Bourne Rail Trail Blazers are still open to both participants and donations. To ride with them, visit the Bourne Rail Trail Blazers team page and click on the “Join Team” button; if you’d prefer to cheer the team on, consider a donation to support the team and the Coalition’s work by clicking the “Donate Now” button.
Sign up now and join Ken and the 250+ others who are biking for clean water on September 30. Choose from three spectacular 100, 75, and 35-mile overlapping routes along scenic coastal roads from Rhode Island to Cape Cod.
The 2018 Buzzards Bay Watershed Ride is sponsored by Hutker Architects, Amica Insurance, Anderson Insulation, Fiber Optic Center, and First Citizens’ Federal Credit Union.