Tag: Augusta Maine

Day 6 — 50 miles from Augusta to Auburn

We rode on two trails today — the Kennebec River Trail and the Riverside Greenway in Lewiston.

ecg sign augusta maine

Today started and finished on wonderful trails. In between were mostly quiet roads, that evil 15% grade on part of a two-mile climb and a press event with the Maine Department of Transportation. Oh, and a lobster roll at a hole-in-the-wall. Properly toasted, unlike the one at the non-descript deli on Day 0 in Portland.

It was hot again, but we seemed to have more shade and the day didn’t end with a brutal climb. All told, we “officially” climbed 1,816 feet (but descended more — yay!). We pretty much behaved ourselves — no crazy detours today. And once again thanks to another wonderful SAG who kept us well-supplied with water.

The Kennebec River Trail in Augusta was lovely, with the river on our left and taking us blissfully traffic-free (and hill-free!) about 6 1/2 miles to Gardiner. It’s somewhat unusual in that it’s a rail with trail, rather than a trail on a former rail line. Notice there’s no fence between the rail and the trail.

ecg kennebec river trail with rail

This photo of two Kennebec Trail users comes from a fellow rider. The mother is 90 years old. Her daughter can’t walk. Just two reasons why we need more trail!

ecg kennebec river trail users

Before we took off on the trail, we met with Maine DOT to thank them for their support of the East Coast Greenway and for the wayfinding signage we’ve used for much of our trip. (Once again, the route essentially overlaps with U.S. Bicycle Route 1.) Watch the local TV’s station report here and read the short AP story that somehow is illustrated with a photo from my blog.

Here’s an impressive theater in Monmouth — too big to fit into my photo! With an impressive list of productions for the summer season. And the town has just 4,100 people.

ecg monmouth theater

At the end of our ride was the Riverside Greenway in Lewiston, with the Androscoggin River on our right, before we crossed over to Auburn and our hotel:

ecg riverside trail lewiston

Food picture of the day is my $8 lobster roll, with nice chunks of lobster:

lobster roll in monmouth

What else I’ve learned about food in Maine: For ice cream, Gifford’s trumps Hershey’s. Much better range of flavors. And not much cookie dough in the Hershey’s ice cream version.

One more day to go — hard to believe this bike adventure is almost over.

 

More of the Maine food tour: Lobster pizza

The Maine food tour on a bike continues.

ecg maine lobster pizzaOf course this exists in Maine!

I found it at our hotel in Augusta — chunks of lobster, squares of roasted seaweed (nori), spicy chili aoli, topped with scallions and toasted sesame seeds. And of course oozing with cheese — asiago and mozzarella. I’d cut down on the cheese and let the lobster shine through.

Bonus: half-price pizzas during happy hour. And then they let me bring it to the restaurant.

Can I confess that I’d be back for the weekday lunch pizza buffet? I’d try the crabmeat pizza, the pear, walnut and gorgonzola one…

Day 5 — 50 miles from Unity to Augusta, with detours

This hot day made for a tough day of biking.

It once cost two cents to walk across this bridge.
It once cost two cents to walk across this bridge.

I thought Maine weather was supposed to be on the cool side, and I packed accordingly.

Wrong move.

Today was particularly hot — I think it topped 90 — and that made it a tougher day, especially on the back half of the ride, all along U.S. 201 with barely a lick of shade.

Once again, the East Coast Greenway route overlapped with U.S. Bicycle Route 1. Climbing-wise, the “official” cue-sheet estimate was 2,032 feet, which seemed OK. But there was a really nasty hill in Augusta, after the heat had worn us down, and we had already detoured to the Viles Arboretum, which involved another big hill.

The day’s big highlight was being guided by Peter Garrett during the first half of the day, until we got to Waterville. Peter has led an amazing effort to build trails in the area — 40 miles and counting, for astounding low cost of about $2.5 million. He’ll be the subject of a separate post.

We stopped at the headquarters of Johnny’s Seeds, a fun spot for any gardener. Wouldn’t I like this sort of protective set-up in our garden!

johnnys seeds

One week to go!

Here’s our itinerary for the Maine ride along the East Coast Greenway.

East-Coast-Greenway-logoNext Saturday afternoon we’ll be on a bus from Portland to Calais (pronounced cal-iss) and the start of our 337-mile ride along the East Coast Greenway. Calais seems to be not quite the most eastern point in the U.S. But it does have a border crossing — passport and Canadian dollars are packed. Dinner? Ice cream? Definitely a passport stamp!

We’ve gotten the cue sheets and here’s how it’s shaping up:

Sunday: Calais to Machias. We’re taking the road option — the Down East Trail looks rocky and we’d rather have our road bikes for the hills that come later. 46 miles.

Monday: Machias to Ellsworth. Once again, road over that rocky trail. Thankfully we have the option. This is our long day — 68 miles. I think we stopped in Ellsworth on our first trip to Maine 11 years ago (destination Acadia National Park) — there’s an L.L. Bean outlet in town. Looks like our hotel is a parking lot away.

Tuesday: Ellsworth to Bangor. This is apparently where the hills start. At least it’s just a 42-mile day.

Wednesday: Bangor to Unity. More hills? But just 38 miles. We’re spending the night in a college dorm. We did the same thing at the start of the charity ride I did for Anchor House three years ago (then it was Burlington, Vermont) — here’s the blog about that year.

Thursday: Unity to Augusta. A 43-mile day, and our hotel at the end has the word “spa” in it. Better pack a swimsuit.

Friday: Augusta to Lewiston/Auburn. The day includes an event with the Maine Department of Transportation just 2 miles from the start, at a trailhead for the Kennebec River Trail. It’s always great to meet local and state officials and help make the case for the East Coast Greenway. And to say thanks too, of course. It looks like we’ll ride most, if not all, of this 6.5-mile trail. I wonder if there are plans to extend it? We end the 44.5-mile day with a much shorter Riverside Greenway.

Saturday: Lewiston/Auburn to Portland. We’re ending the ride with another long day — 56.6 miles, with the option of another 3.5 miles for a victory lap with Maine Adaptive Sports. If people with physical disabilities are coming  to ride with us, heck yes we can do another 3.5 miles!

THANK YOU once again to all who have supported the East Coast Greenway through this ride. If you’d like to donate, you can do it online here. If you prefer to support Clive, go here.