Maine DownboundRIDING and THE East PAVED Story and photos by Chuck Haney SHORELINE OF MAINE I read recently that Maine had been voted crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean were Cadillac Mountain. Locals claim that the the second most bike-friendly state by to my left, and heavily forested hills of jack first rays of the sun to reach the U.S. touch the League of American Bicyclists, trailing pine and maple trees blurred by as the the summit of the mountain each morning only the state of Washington. That lofty miles ticked off, one by one, on the sunny from spring to fall. As I gained altitude accolade was the only added incentive I Maine afternoon. with each pedal stroke, I remembered my needed as I planned for a journey across The circuit on the main road around first visit as a 10-year-old during our fam- the country to one of my favorite locations, the downeast region of the Maine coast. According to Down East magazine, “Down East” roughly describes the coastal section The scent of the ocean lingered in the air, of the state from Penobscot Bay all the way to the Canadian border. When ships sailed and a slight breeze kept just the perfect from Boston to ports in Maine (which were to the east of Boston), the wind was at their temperature as we spun past the point. backs, so they were sailing downwind, hence the term Down East. After arriving in Bar Harbor and a quick Acadia National Park is 27 miles in length, ily vacation. Unfortunately, our vigil was visit to pick up my rental bike, I was soon but I was having such a pleasant time that I wasted as a complete whiteout with cold pedaling as smooth pavement unfurled wanted to add a few more miles to my day’s fog and fierce winds made us quickly under my tires and I glided along with the total, so I made an abrupt right-hand turn retreat that particular morning. The sun one-way traffic on the loop road in Acadia and began one of the most famed cycling could have risen first in Topeka, Kansas, for National Park. Huge slabs of sparkling pink ascents on the East Coast. I shifted down all we knew. granite that buffer against the incessant to lower gears and began powering up My second visit to the summit on my honeymoon wasn’t much different, except this time I had my bike with me and I Nuts & Bolts: Maine braved the gloomy conditions just to boast that I had ridden to the top of Cadillac Mountain, the highest point on the Eastern Best times: Seaboard at 1,528 feet. I’ve been told many May and June are a great time to cycle in the times by knowledgeable locals that Maine Down East region of Maine. The crowds of July and August have yet to arrive and tem- actually invented fog, and I became a peratures are pleasant. Tthe other great time devout believer. The third time, however, A feast for the eyes. An abundance of colorful buoys is a common sight in Maine and often means lobster is on the menu. to visit is the end of the September through was the charm. Last year, during a visit mid-October when the hardwood trees, espe- devoted to a photography class, I did wit- versing the bottom of a Maine bay. I can’t In the popular tourist town of Bar built carriage roads that tycoon John D. cially maples, put on their annual dazzling ness those first rays of daylight along with think of too many finer things after a good, Harbor, I spent some time visiting with Joe Rockefeller constructed from 1913 to 1940. display of reds and gold’s. a throng of other early-rising tourists who hard ride than to sit down with a cold Minutolo, who since 1978 has co-owned the A large fleet of rental bicycles at the shop made the pilgrimage in the pre-dawn hour beverage and eat a lobster dinner, which is Bar Harbor Bicycle Shop with his brother testifies to their popularity (the carriage Resources: to reserve their favorite spots on the bald especially delectable for a Montanan. (Fresh Al. One of the biggest cycling draws in roads were covered in “Cycling Maine’s There are excellent resources for cycling in granite dome summit. On this ride, I got seafood in Big Sky Country is only a myth!) town is the over 50 miles of impeccably Acadia National Park” by Cindy Ross in the Maine at visitmaine.com/attractions/out door_ a much later start than needed for any May 2007 issue, so I won’t describe their recreation_sports_adventure. Explore Main by sunrise. I was content with taking in the virtues again here. To read that story, visit Bike is also available online at exploremaine. org/bike/downeast. fabulous views of Frenchman Bay and its adventurecycling.org/library). Bar Harbor many islands along with the town of Bar is also the beginning or ending, depend- Good read: Harbor below as I reached the higher sec- ing on the direction of travel, of Adventure Ellsworth 1 Biking on Mount Desert Island by Audrey tions where the views opened up. It was Cycling Associations Northern Tier Route. NORTHERN 1 TIER Minutolo. The book is available at the Bar a clear day, and the winds were calm. I According to Joe, eastbound riders should Gouldsboro Harbor Bicycle Shop, barharborbike.com, could even see Mount Katahdin, Maine’s “leave a little bit of energy for the end 3 186 Salsbury Cove 186 (207) 288-3886. highest mountain over 100 miles away, and of their tour” so they can experience the Frenchman Schoodic Bay Peninsula I savored the experience, knowing far too beauty of the loop road in Acadia National Winter Harbor Bar Harbor General travel information: Birch Harbor well the other end of the weather spectrum Park, but some riders simply want to be 233 ferry Cadillac visitmaine.com. Mount Desert 1532ft that would leave me looking at only the done with the trip upon reaching town. Island 3 ACADIA NATIONAL stunted trees cloaked in an eerie white. According to Minutolo, another good PARK 102 Bar Harbor: barharborinfo.com, downeastacadia.com. The coast of Maine has always been a option for road bikes is riding the island’s Southwest Northeast Harbor Harbor Katahdin fascinating getaway for travelers and a draw western portion to the small quaint village 5268ft Ayers Junction M A I N E Bike shops: for wealthy tycoons seeking grand and of Southwest Harbor. Once in Southwest Bernard Bass Harbor Bangor Atlantic l Bar Harbor Bicycle Shop, barharborbike. secluded summer homes. Miles of rugged, Harbor, take Highway 102A down to visit Ocean Ellsworth com, (207) 288-3886. scenic coastline dotted with historic light- the lighthouse in Bass Harbor, then travel 0 5 Miles Portland case y gr ee n e l Acadia Bike and Canoe, (207) 288-5483. houses warning sailors to keep a safe dis- north through tiny Bernard on Highway l Acadia Bike, (207) 276-3344. tance are as iconic as eating freshly caught 102, travel to Indian Point Road to Highway lobsters that only hours before were tra- Iconic sight. Lighthouses dot Maine’s crenulated coastline and warn mariners of trouble. 3 and Salisbury Cove, and finally take
12 ADVENTURE CYCLIST OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 13 Highway 233 back to Bar Harbor. was, fittingly enough, topped off with I found out there are several different an ornamental wind vane shaped like a The real art of the bicycle is for each to have its purpose. ways out of the hustle and bustle of Bar fish. As I ordered another meal containing Harbor via two wheels. One is the climb lobster, this time a lobster roll sandwich, I up West Street, which quickly gets you flippantly fantasized if I could do an entire into the relative serenity of the national bike tour surviving on just lobster and park. The other way is to carry your bike blueberry pie (another Maine delicacy). The perfect marriage between humanity and machinery. down to the pier and hop aboard a water As Phil and I loaded our bikes back taxi as I did with Phil Savignano of the onto the small boat for the crossing of Maine Office of Tourism. We stowed our Frenchman Bay back to Bar Harbor, we road bikes in the back of a small boat with rehashed our fabulous cycling outing on Wes, our seasoned captain, and headed the quiet roads of Schoodic Peninsula across Frenchman Bay for a day of cycling and listened intently while Wes told sto- another lesser-known section of Acadia ries of the sea. About halfway across the National Park. Schoodic Peninsula is the bay, we heard a loud pop, and Captain only part of the park actually located on Wes exclaimed “Oh no, oh no!” A cable the mainland. In my vast cycling experi- supporting the steering wheel had just ences, I have pedaled under headlamp light snapped, leaving us adrift without a rud- to cross a state line beneath thousands of der. Our day had just become a bit more feet of rock in a tunnel and passed through adventurous, especially when we drifted a herd of buffalo while mountain biking, aimlessly toward a towering cruise ship but I have never loaded my bicycle into that was docked and reloading passengers the back of a small boat before, so it was from a town visit. While Captain Wes was quite a novel experience as we pulled into down in the hull attempting a repair, Phil Winter Harbor to begin our exploration of told him that we were only about 100 yards the sparsely populated peninsula. away from the behemoth ship, and closing Within a couple of miles, we re-entered in. The land lover in me started to have American Made. Oregon Made. Handmade. Acadia National Park, which looks nothing an anxious moment or two, and I wished www.co-motion.com like the Mount Desert Island version across I were back on solid ground still pedaling the bay. Schoodic is flat terrain and mostly devoid of automobile traffic. We cruised along the empty flat road and heard the dinging of a bell buoy echoing in time with crashing waves from an incoming high tide YOU LOVE NOW, GET TO against pink granite outcroppings. The ® scent of the ocean sea salt lingered in the YOUR NOMAD KNOW TRAVOY air, and a slight breeze kept just the perfect Burley’s touring trailer The urban commuter trailer temperature as we spun past the penin- sula’s point. Whether you are biking into town Soon we pedaled back out of the park or commuting to work, the Travoy and into one tiny fishing village after handles it all. Haul groceries, another — with names like Bunker Harbor, firewood or building supplies. Birch Harbor, Prospect Harbor, Corea, Pack your laptop, work files and and Winter Harbor — where we liter- a change of clothes, too. ally rubbed elbows with working lobster- When it’s time to go indoors, take men on weathered docks, plying and bait- the Travoy with you. At less than ing their squared traps for the next trip 10 lbs, fold it up and carry it in. out. A highlight of my previous visit to It goes where you go. Bunker Harbor was when a local lobster- man showed me a rare blue lobster that What will you haul on he had just caught. Multi-colored buoys adorned outbuildings along the side of your Travoy? the road, and blueberry barrens were just Let us know at [email protected] starting to turn color as the fruit ripened in the summer sun. We rode a figure-eight loop that was a feast for the eyes and also experienced sensory overload for the nose as the smell of fresh seafood enticed us www.burley.com to stop for a lunch break back in Winter Paved splendor. Acadia National Park’s carriage roads make perfect cycling tracks. Harbor. I noticed the church steeple here
14 ADVENTURE CYCLIST OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG ADVENTURE CYCLIST OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2011 ADVENTURECYCLING.ORG 15 my bike. Finally Captain Wes figured out Down East charm. that he could steer with the small auxiliary Just north of the island is the city of motor in the back of the boat if one of us Apogee Adventures loaded bikes up hilly terrain for days on Ellsworth, where another exciting new bicycle riders could run the throttle up in Did you ever wonder where the next end. cycling opportunity has just arrived in the cabin. Thankfully, the solution worked generation of cyclotourists will come I’ve had the privilege over the last the area. The Down East Sunrise Trail, an as we gingerly skirted the cruise ship and from? One place they are grooming few years of accompanying some of 85-mile-long stretch of gravel located on a limped back into Bar Harbor. bicycle tourists of the future is Apogee these groups as I photograph part of former railbed ends in the forest at Ayers Mount Desert Island, where Bar Harbor Adventures. This small company is their journey for the company. One of Junction. It’s a multi-use trail so you’re and Acadia National Park are located, is the based out of Brunswick, Maine, and the cool things about their trips is that likely to see an ATV or hikers along the largest island off the coast of Maine. Even recently celebrated its 10th year in busi- they spend their “rest” days doing com- route, but it’s not heavily used and the bal- though it is heavily forested, the island got its ness. Apogee runs tours across North munity service projects in the local area last is smooth enough that a touring bicycle desert name in 1604 from the French explorer America, the Caribbean, and Europe for where they happen to be. This could would have no trouble traversing the most- Samuel de Champlain whose observations of teenagers only, mostly 13 to 16 years be trail building, working with Boys ly level pathway. As you cycle along the the island’s barren mountain summits from old. Although they offer hiking courses, and Girls Clubs, volunteering at nursing route, you’ll pass by rivers running with a ship out at sea led him to call the island most of the trips involve self-supported homes or the Salvation Army, or with salmon, ponds topped with beaver lodges, “Île des Monts Déserts,” or Island of the Bare cycle touring ranging from 11 days to a local food banks and soup kitchens. bogs with carnivorous pitcher plants, and Mountains. It has a year-round population six-week, cross-country excursion. Each I would say the future of long-distance forests that are home to the occasional of about 10,000 people, but over 2.5 million summer, Apogee hosts several hundred bike touring is in good hands if only a moose that may pop out on the trail. tourists visit the park each year, at times young riders who learn the art of pack- handful of these teens continue to pursue After spending a week exploring down- making for some crowded road conditions. ing a loaded touring bike along with the the activity as they gracefully age. bound and east in Maine while feasting on I would suggest riding the park loop in the intricacies of map reading, camp cook- Apogee Tours, apogeeadventures. lobster and blueberry pie and riding some morning or late-afternoon hours to avoid the ing, and the resilience required to pedal com, (877) 700-5046) of the most spectacular vistas on the East heaviest traffic. Coast, it is easy to see why Maine is consid- Cycling along coastal Maine’s country ered such a bike-friendly state. roads, you come across numerous quaint boiling lobster pots at tiny diners, and Red Sox pennants proudly hang and con- New England villages and small towns weathered headstones at the edge of town versation with the locals reinforces the fact Chuck Haney is a freelance writer and photographer who lives in Whitefish, Montana. Chasing the golden where stately white church steeples thrust signify that communities here are much that Mainers sometimes forget the letter light of evening and early mornings during Montana sharply towards heaven and stand above older than where I hail from in the West. A “R” is involved in the English language summers doesn’t allow him much sleep. More about Rockefeller’s legacy. Carriage tracks are a good example of American broken-stone roads. all other town buildings. Steam rises from stop at the local general store where Boston provides quintessential New England Chuck can be found at chuckhaney.com.
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