Ocean Drive is ten miles of road along the southern edge of Newport, and the whole way is a performance. It leaves the old town, runs past Fort Adams, one of the largest coastal forts in America, and then loops around Brenton Point and out to the open Atlantic, with the surf breaking on black ledges and the houses of the old rich set well back behind hedges and walls. At Castle Hill, a lighthouse stands above a rocky cove, and on the far side of the neck, the road swings north past the shoreline of Rhode Island Sound.
The mansions are the other half of the story. In the Gilded Age, the wealthiest families in America built summer homes here, enormous stone palaces that they called cottages, and some of them, such as The Breakers, are now open to the public. The Cliff Walk, a public path along the shore, runs for about three and a half miles in front of them. Brenton Point State Park, on the Drive, is a wide, open lawn on the cliffs, popular for kite flying and picnics, with a long view over the sea. Newport is also the home of the America's Cup races for decades and of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, and it has a long sailing tradition.
Riding it is slow and rewarding. The road is narrow and winding, with low speed limits, a lot of cyclists and walkers, and a surface that is patched and bumpy in places, and the whole thing takes half an hour if you are lucky with traffic. On a summer weekend it can take much longer, since the parking spots by the sea are always full. Go early on a weekday, or in autumn when the crowds thin. The sea fog can roll in suddenly, and the road becomes slick, so watch for it on cool mornings.
Newport has every service: fuel, restaurants, cafes, shops and a lively waterfront, though parking in the town is a challenge in summer. Jamestown, four kilometres away across the bridge, is quieter. A stop at Brenton Point to look at the waves is a good way to finish. The best time to ride is early on a clear morning in October, when the light is sharp, the crowds are gone and the sea is a deep, cold blue.