But the picturesque 22-mile pedal-hike trail remains a showpiece and one that certainly garners attention. It is one of the oldest bike paths in the United States.

Part of its appeal is that the trail lies on Cape Cod, perhaps the No. 1 tourist destination in the Northeast, an area that gets 13 million vacationers a year.

The rail trail stretches from state Route 134 in South Dennis to the east and north to South Wellfleet within the Cape Cod National Seashore.

It runs through the towns of South Dennis, Harwich, Brewster, Orleans and Eastham to near Wellfleet -- with a spur trail that runs to Chatham.

The trail -- its first leg opened in 1979 -- typically gets 400,000 users a year.

The trail's scenery is first-rate: forested tracts, salt marshes, cranberry bogs, dunes, lakes and ponds, beaches, scenic harbors, nature preserves, giant homes with their own sea planes parked out front and small cottages.

The trail is not long on ocean views, but you might find a saltwater scent in the air. You will pedal past some of the hundreds of kettle ponds left by retreating glaciers.

The rail trail's terrain is surprisingly flat with a few rolling hills. That makes for easy pedaling.

The trail has a grassy, wide, unpaved shoulder for runners, walkers and horses.

Trail hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

The 8-foot-wide trail even has its own rotary, just like the Tallmadge Circle in Ohio or Boston's infamous traffic circles.

But instead of vehicles, the Harwich rotary directs walkers and bicyclists east toward Chatham, west to Brewster or north to Orleans and Wellfleet.

It's a way to really see Cape Cod.

The off-the-road trail has lots of bike rental shops, snack shops and restaurants along the route. It has a growing infrastructure that caters to trail users. Free parking is offered at eight trailheads.

Bike rentals typically cost about $14 for three hours.

In Harwich, you pedal along three swimming lakes -- Seymour, Long and Hinckley ponds -- before you come to the Pleasant Lake General Store in Harwich. Its ice cream cones are special.

How much better can it get than to lunch next to the trail on a lobster roll and bucket of steamers at Arnold's Lobster & Clam Bar in Eastham? Something like that reminds you that you're not pedaling in Ohio.

There are numerous roads to cross, but that's where the real shocker came: Drivers who yielded to trail users at intersections.

Massachusetts state law requires motorists to stop for trail users and they actually do. I was shocked because in Ohio trail users often risk their lives trying to safely get across roads. This was Massachusetts, where drivers have a reputation for being more than a little crazed when they get behind their steering wheels.