Bermuda's Rail Trail: Serenity on Wheels

Bicycling on Bermuda allows you to see rural portions of the island. You can also stop to smell the allspice. (Bermuda Department Of Tourism)

I certainly wasn't the first person to visit Hog Bay Park, but when I finally found it, I was the only person there. It's not far off the Railway Trail, but the road sign signaling the entrance was obscured by an overgrown hedge. From that point on the trail, it took a good 15 minutes to traverse a number of terraced agricultural fields, up and down, through overgrowth, before a deep drop in a forest of native cedars. Then the payoff: a tranquil beach with shallow water, perfect for floating and further exploration.

The "two little nuns who zoom around in golf carts" promised by Fiddick were nowhere to be found when I visited Heydon Trust, a 43-acre tract of undeveloped land, what Fiddick called "one of the most peaceful places in Bermuda." (It's on Somerset Road, at Heydon Lane; it's marked from the road but not from the bike trail.) Before hitting the trail again, I took a few minutes to check out the tiny whitewashed chapel, built before 1620, with a commanding view of Great Sound.

Just past the Emanuel Church, along a section of the trail that was mostly tall grass, I spotted a small, curious two-story tower with a pyramid-shape roof, like a mini Mayan temple ruin, clad in roots and draped on one side with a dramatic creeping philodendron. I was puzzled as to what it might be. Just in time there was a sign on the trail that explained this was a buttery, a sort of cold cellar for preserving meats and perishables.

Oddly, for all the time I spent on the trail I saw a few dozen locals but few tourists: two, to be exact.

Tito Ruiz, 32, turned out to be the guitar player of a New York-based alternative rock band, AzKelt. He was traveling with his companion and manager, Dorothy Chin. I asked how they had heard about the trail and why they had chosen to ride it.

"I'll give Frommer's a plug," said Chin, who offered free tickets to upcoming gigs. Then she added that Ruiz "has to stay fit because onstage he dances and jumps around a lot."

Ruiz, who seemed a mellow guy, has ridden much farther than I had, from the couple's cottage at the laid-back 9 Beaches resort, near the western tip of the island, past Palmetto Park, about 14 miles. We agreed we loved every mile. Overall, the tranquillity of the trail was soothing and rejuvenating.

You don't have to be ultra-rich and famous or jump around on stage to enjoy it.