|
|
|
|
Tour Down Maine |
|
|
|
Written by Matt Hersey
|
|
Sunday, 27 July 2008 |
Tour Down Maine
 4 days. 4 guys. 400 miles. From Fort Kent to Kittery – the whole span of Maine from north to south. It was an idea that I had had for years and just happened to mention to an old college roommate and hometown friend while on a ski trip this winter. And then, well, it’s funny how the words, “Let’s do it” suddenly send you into a world of commitment, extensive planning and phone calls, and a bit of doubt about the safety and sanity of your project.
The cast of potential characters changed a few times during our planning, but we were left with a solid 4. All of us originally from Presque Isle, Maine. My freshman college roommate – Scott. Kind of a strongheaded and talkative guy who provided the bulk of the organizing and energy for the ride. Vaughn was the oldest guy on the trip. Wise and strong with lots of experience in the outdoors. He just happens to be the state time trial champ in his category. And we were joined by a younger guy that I had never met before. Mike works at the bike shop in Presque Isle and is kind of an all around athlete guy – good at everything that he tries. He had never ridden a century before, and has only been road riding for 2 years, but sped right past me most days.
Now, some folks are tough and independent and carry all of their gear with panniers and such. I’ve never done that before. We decided that riding the mileage would be enough and someone else could carry our gear. In the beginning, there was talk of RV support. When that fell through, there was some talk of us carrying our gear in trailers. In the end, we had a patchwork of support. My mom ended up dropping us off in Fort Kent on our first morning and meeting us in Millonocket at the end of the day with our duffels. She provided support for 2 days and my friend’s wife covered our 2 days in southern Maine. We carried the basics in Camelbacks.
The first day was beautifully rural. Just a straight road, with lots of big hills, for 133 miles north to south. As you crested one climb, you could see the next, about a mile down. From the Maine/Canada border to base of Maine’s highest mountain, Mt. Katahdin. The weather treated us nicely. A tailwind and some bright sun. After a few sprints for town lines, we made our first stop at Freme’s Bar in Ashland. What an incredible and frightening collection of taxidermy! Everybody had a beer except for me. Call me a wuss, but I became the worrier on the trip. I was afraid that we wouldn’t make it. Or, we wouldn’t make it before sunset.
I was wrong. We rolled into the campground in Millonocket about 30 minutes before sunset. The first day really was the best day. We didn’t see as many trailer trucks as we though we might. We were able to spend lots of time riding side by side, taking up the whole lane. We got within breathing distance of a few moose.
The second day was much shorter – only 70 miles. That was perfect, because we woke to pouring rain and 56 degrees. Wow, time to break out the wool shorts! The second day was pretty unremarkable. Lots of straight, flat miles, just putting in the time, spinning the miles away. The coldness felt good on my sunburn. We stayed at a nice hotel at the Bangor International Airport. A good shower, dry clothes, and some hot soup made us like new.
We rode from Bangor to Brunswick on the 3rd day. The sun was out again. We began to get closer to the busier and more touristy part of southern Maine. Our route took us to Bucksport and onto route 1. The food choices improved as we moved south. On the first two days the towns were small and sparse. We might see a small general store every 30 miles. Suddenly, on day 3 we were eating good gas station pizza and downing milkshakes from Wendy’s. That was a weird theme on our trip – we ate a lot of unhealthy food. Too many hotdogs. I had the worst heartburn of my life on day 3 and 4. The only thing that made it better was chocolate milk. We rode past the Bikeman shop on day 3, but it was Sunday and they were closed. Day 3 was pretty long again, 115 miles, and we all hit a little bonk mid-afternoon. We stopped at a Maine Classic – Moody’s Dinner – more hotdogs. Navigating around Bath and Brunswick was a little complicated. Thankfully, Big Al’s wife, Darcy, had given me advice on how to do it best, and I had previously driven it in my car and mapped it out. Another all day bike ride in the books as we rolled in right before sunset.
The demands of the real world began to creep in before we even started our last day. Folks wanted to start early so that we could arrive at the finish in the early afternoon and get back to their responsibilities. So, we rolled out at 7am or something and decided we would get breakfast along the way. It was a nice country road that led us into Freeport. I voted for breakfast at Starbucks and lost. We ended up at the Freeport Café. From there we enjoyed more sun as we rolled down Falmouth Foreside. To best navigate Portland, we cruised down the Eastern Prom bike path, down Commercial st, and across the Casco Bay Bridge. We followed the route for the Classic Saturday morning ride until it spit us out on route 1 in Old Orchard Beach. And then it was just route 1 all the way to the New Hampshire border. I was a little sad on the last day – knowing that the trip and the endless days of cycling were over. I should have been a pro cyclist.
There was lots of nostalgia for me on this ride. I live in Boston right now and I miss Maine a bit. I rode down lots of roads I had ridden or driven before. It was interesting to think that we covered and experienced the whole state in just a few days. Seeing all of those places brought back memories from different eras of my life. I grew up in the northern part of the state and then gradually moved south.
Overall, the experience was good. We were very lucky with the weather and the tailwind, and the absolute lack of mechanicals and flat tires. I would recommend this route in Maine to anyone interested in bike touring. Or, maybe you want to traverse some other state.
Matt |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Team Bikeman: From collecting medals at the Masters World's, to the top podium step of NCS mountain bike races, Team Bikeman has a long history of top performances around the country. If you would like info on becoming a part of one of the top amateur teams in the country, please E-Mail our Team Director.
Following Freye: Team BIKEMAN - Salsa Cycles Pro Rider, Andrew Freye, will share his view of life as a budding professional. Ever wanted to know what it was like to race professionally with aspirations of making it to the big show.... Follow Andrew and find out
; "Image")
