Repairs will limit use of Cape bike trail

The Cape Cod Rail Trail, one of the nation's oldest and most popular bicycle paths, is shutting down for a badly needed tune-up.

If this had happened elsewhere in the Commonwealth, two-wheelers, roller bladers, and stroller walkers would be up in arms. But on this historic Cape trail, where sections are pockmarked with potholes, heaving with tree roots, and suffering from the wear and tear of 26 years and 400,000 annual users, there's a strong consensus that the scenic path needs work.

The trail is in such tough shape that riders have begun to name the hazards. One snaking root inside a tunnel was painted fluorescent orange and named Anaconda. A series of bumps caused by underground roots was called The Rattler. Both are now gone, the Rattler disappearing after a visit by Governor Mitt Romney to announce $5 million in state funding for the project.

''The Rattler was so bad that it's the only place where I've ever broken spokes," said Tim Millar, chairman of the Harwich Bikeways Committee. ''It was wicked."

The Department of Conservation and Recreation yesterday said that the opening and closing dates for the $6.2 million project will run into the spring and fall seasons, but bike shop workers and cyclists interviewed yesterday said they did not mind.

''I'm OK with it because this is long needed," said Bike Depot owner Don Roberts.

Officials will first close the oldest section -- 10 miles from the Route 134 parking lot in Dennis to Millstone Road in Brewster -- from Sept. 12 to June. From September 2006 to June 2007, the section from Brewster to Wellfleet will close for repairs.

In the first phase, the trail will be widened, the equestrian shoulder upgraded, invasive trees removed, root barriers installed, and intersections and parking lots improved.

The second phase on the 12-mile section from Nickerson State Park in Brewster to LeCount Hollow Road in Wellfleet includes work on the treacherous Route 6 bicycle tunnel in Eastham.

There was a caveat in the conservation department's press release, which said ''it is expected" the first phase of the project would be open when the second phase is closed. Officials said weather will be a determining factor.

The work is expected to hurt sales at the Bike Depot, which is along the trail's first mile at the Harwich-Dennis line. Roberts, however, said he supports the repairs. ''It could be a lot worse," he said. ''The trail is very popular and going from 8-foot wide to 10 feet is going to make it a lot safer automatically."

The trail, which runs along the former Old Colony rail bed and passes kettle ponds, cranberry bogs, and beaches, was one of the first rail-to-trail projects in the country, in 1979.