Triumphrat

sailfish · 08-16-2009, 03:46 PM

I'll be attending a wedding mid Sept. an hour north of Portland, ME and have decided to ride to the event. I'm leaving from Lincoln, NE but the fun probably won't really start 'till I'm east of Chicago a bit. What I'm looking for are:

The best roads
Things to see
Campgrounds
Places to eat

Once I get to Maine I'll probably day trip or overnight into Canada from a base camp.

Thanks in advance for sharing your favorites and secrets.

KitNYC · 08-16-2009, 04:47 PM

Sorry man, I have none of that info, but I do have one potentially useful piece of advice: bring some warm clothes to layer in with your more temperate gear! The calendar might say Summer until September 20th, but it can get down to freezing in Maine around then.

Cheers,
-Kit

97sprint · 08-17-2009, 03:55 PM

How much time are you spending in New England?
How much time on the road?
How much meandering do you want to do?
I love riding thru Vermont.

If you're coming across upsate NY, as in the Adirondac region some of the roads are nice thru there. 22 is ok, 9N comes from the south and runs thru Lake Placid and Lake George areas.
Look for Ft Kent on Lake Champlain, take the ferry across into upstate Vermont.
Out of Brattleboro VT take 15 north/east to rte 2 outside St Johnsbury and take either 2 or 302 east thru NH.
302 will take you past Mt. Washington or rte 12 the Kangamungus highway, beautiful scenery, if you do it on the weekend, be aware traffic is heavy and slow, no passing for 30+ miles.
302 will take you east into Maine.

Late September can be cool/chilly up here.
The foliage will just be starting to change, so again traffic can be heavy.

ATriumphGoddess · 08-17-2009, 05:16 PM

Bike friendly motel and campground in Arundel, ME:

http://www.bentleyssaloon.com/

and right nearby in Kennebunkport, one of my favorite stops for lobsta:

http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/R...s-lobster-claw

See if you can get make some time for Acadia National Park:

http://www.nps.gov/acad/

Lee from Chitown · 08-17-2009, 05:33 PM

You probably already know, but, while passing through Chicago try not to be going across I80 from Joliet east past I65 from 3:30 and on till 6:00. Traffic is HEAVY and lots of nuts. Everytime I must be on Chicago Xways during commute I pity out-of-towners.
Have a great ride

97sprint · 08-21-2009, 09:59 AM

Any idea of dates?

I'll be at Moosehead Lake the weekend AFTER Labor day
and riding thru Maine. Some nice back roads, if you're still in the area.
Granted I'll be a "bit" west of you......

Drop me a PM when you have something of a schedule

ride4321 · 08-21-2009, 11:04 AM

That's a great time of year to tour the NE. As stated before bring some warm clothes. I'm in upstate NY (Binghamton) and suggest you check out the Finger Lakes region while your passing through. Get in touch with me closer to your departure and I'll ride part of it with you and show you the region.

bow2no1 · 08-30-2009, 09:51 AM

i'm not far from portland, only about an hour.
RT 1 is usually a good ride once you get past wiscasset.

just past portland in freeport. there is a restraunt called "bucks naked bar-b-q" it's on rt1 before ll beens. great place to eat.