Nantucket Island is roughly 15 miles long and three miles wide. Today, I managed to bike that distance and then some. A small group of us (five to be exact) biked 10 miles out and eight miles back into the center of the island today. It was cold, misty, and definitely a challenge but it was beyond amazing. The landscape here is wonderfully picturesque; we passes two inland ponds (well, maybe we should call them lakes) and the signature lighthouse that signaled us on to the beach. As we rode up and down the hills and I came face to face with natural beauty, I couldn't help but think of Melville's writings: the gentle hills appear as rolling waves as you travel. If you stay in Nantucket Center and never venture out to the shore, you could never really get a sense of how much like the sea the island truly is. Even though 18 miles nearly killed me, it was well worth it.