Seems that it is taking me as long to post about this bike ride as it took Music Maven and I to complete it.
Let’s go to the map again…
So we leave Brenton Point State Park and make our way down the windy edges of Ocean Drive.
The retaining walls on Ocean Drive are emblazoned with the Rooseveltian WPA seals.
Here just beyond the park are beautiful rocky natural jetties gracing the Atlantic.
As I pressed the shutter on this image, Music Maven pointed out the fisherman sitting re-baiting his line.
Music Maven then calmly glanced at the map and said “I was told there would be cocktails & food…where is the COCKTAILS and FOOD?” ZOINKS! Well, off we went. I, peddling a bit faster, as I felt MM’s eye’s boring into my back.
Next we came to the most beautiful cove.
Dotted along the shore were scads of artists capturing the perfect moment on various canvases.
Flowers were plentiful along this stretch o the drive.
MM and I heaved a large sign and climbed back on a trusty two wheeled steeds and made our way toward the “cliff walk” …(see mile marker 7).
The stretch of road between the cove and the entrance to the cliff walk is residential in a way. Each home was as large as the hills we kept climbing. With every hill, I heard more explicatives coming from behind me. With each explicative, I peddled harder fearing for my well being.
We fianlly made it to the beginning of the cliff walk and Bailey’s Beach Club…
Bailey’s Beach Club, is the super exclusive aquatic playground for the beautiful and rich.
The beach is surrounded with “cottages”…Oh look, what luck…one is up for sale. I think I will call about it. MM said…”write the cheque!”
Well, we still didn’t see any place to eat (and drink), so we needed to move down Bellevue Ave. We flew past Doris Duke’s Rough Point, the Astor’s, The Breakers…I spied the town section before me and my feet flew, peddling like a demon. I left poor MusicMaven in the dust with my single view…..FOOD, DRINK, and by this time…a soft LARGE seat!
We ended up eating at The LaForge which is a little bistro attached to the Newport Casino. MusicMaven had the best Rueben evah! I had fish and chips and 80 million gallons of water. We asked our waitress how long she thought the Ocean Drive biking was.
“You girls peddled all the way from the Wellington along Ocean Drive? WOW! You were cranking it.”
A few minutes later she came out and informed us that the Ocean Drive to Bellevue is at least 10 miles. MM and I pulled out our “NOT TO SCALE MAP” and guessed if Ocean Drive alone was ten we must have done at least 15, 18, NO, 19 miles. YES, 19 miles. And so the tall tale of the 19 mile bike ride was born.
After the lunch we picked up some medicinal items…
So we figured out the way home via down hill streets.
Hey, MM wanna do that again tomorrow?
The Shutter Gourmet Dive Tour 
You guys are hysterical. I would have loved to have been a fly on the bicycle during that trek. Looks like the vistas (and the post-ride refreshments) made it all worthwhile!!!
By: brc on August 29, 2008
at 12:07 pm
Let me put a little perspective on this section of the story. After stopping a few times to take pictures of the kites, the lady painting, Bailey’s Beach, etc., Shrew’s “alarm clock” went off.
When we finally made the turn onto Bellvue, she became but a speck on the horizon. She was on a specific mission to find vittles. So much for MM’s handicap and the “slow, leisurely pace” that I was told we were going to keep.
However, we spotted a liquor store and were magnetically drawn there. The liquor store dude recommended LaForge which, thankfully, was just a few hundred feet away.
The Reuben was likely the best thing I’ve ever eaten. But, I have to say that I was SO happy to get back to our condo and to sit on a nice soft cushion.
By: music maven on August 29, 2008
at 1:21 pm
I’m kinda glad I missed this part of the Newport excursion! Ha! You would have been dealing with my hunger pangs way earlier in the ride!
By: karma on August 29, 2008
at 1:56 pm
Okay..let me explain here…I was just happy to be on level ground and was peddling; yes to find food, BUT also to cool off and have some of the gallons of perspiration blown off my body!
The truth is…I think we had great fun. Plus, we will always have the bragging rights of “I biked Ocean Drive in Newport.” Us and that 80 year old guy who passed us and left us in the dirt.
The beers at the pool in the afternoon were awesome though.
By: shrewspeaks on August 29, 2008
at 2:36 pm
Yes, all kidding aside…it really was a great ride and a lot of fun. I don’t think we would have really gotten to see all of the great vistas we did, if we hadn’t been on the bikes.
And, ignorance is bliss. Had we known how really far it was to begin with, I likely would have wimped out.
By: music maven on August 29, 2008
at 5:35 pm
Great post, shrewbie! I can’t believe our big trip was over a week ago already!
By: JenAdams on August 30, 2008
at 12:41 am
Okay, I seriously need to catch up. Give me a few days.
Then after reading all the posts, I’ll need another few days to get over SGDT-envy. Sigh.
By: ivoryhut on September 3, 2008
at 11:58 pm
I … I … I … I just have nothing to say. I’m laughing my guts out here. I think I’ll need some of those medicinal items later.
Shrew, does your “alarm clock” have a snooze button? I think mine does, but I can never seem to find it. 🙂
By: ivoryhut on September 16, 2008
at 3:34 pm