Northeast - Portland, Me?

Hey I'm quite possibly moving to Portland, Maine in June. I was wondering if anyone could tell me anything about the cycling scene there. I've visited once as my mom lives in Rangeley(sp?). I don't know too much about the city so if you do lemme know!

Suzy,

I responded to you in the introduction subforum and also bumped up the Southern Maine thread.

Portland is a pretty nice city with some good riding.

I live here currently. Lots of biking, so much to choose from. Two largest clubs, Portland Velo (PVC) out of Cyclemania and SMCC out of Gorham Bike and Ski. PVC also sponsors a womens team. Group rides every day of the week, pick your poison. It's a great place to live. Arts, music, concerts, excellent restaurants, ocean, close to mountains, fun people.......... An Outdoors Magazine top 10 pick.

I'm gonna miss it.

check out www.bikemaine.org!

My brother and sister-in-law have been up in Maine for awhile now; they have lived in Gorham and now live in East Baldwin (about 35 minutes or so outside of Portland), and I've been up there plenty....

The roads, particularly the main routes, seem very nice for cycling - generally have wide shoulders and good pavement once you're heading out in the "country". Portland itself is pretty small, and is not really set up like a "large" city; more like a suburban area with some big buildings in the middle of it. Heading off the main roads onto secondary roads and "other" roads seems to be hit or miss. Some can be ok, others can be all torn up, and yet others may end up being dirt/rock at some point :).

I've heard the term "flatlanders" used to describe those from out-of-state on more than one occasion, which I find sort of funny since Maine isn't exactly mountaineous. The terrain in southern Maine reminds me a lot of my area, except my area has more elevation on some of the hills around here....expect lots of rollers and short/steeper climbs, along with some longer/more gradual climbs that don't gain a lot of elevation.

The coast is really nice, especially as you head north. Acadia National Park/Bar Harbor is one of my favorite places, and definitely bring your bike. The park loop road is pretty arduous in parts, especially if you decide to climb Cadillac Mtn. It's only a few hours from Portland, so it's not too bad of a drive.

You're pretty close to the White Mountains in New Hampshire, and Mt. Washington offers big-mountain weather on a "small" and very accessible mountain if you like mountaineering and hiking. Maine has Mt. Katahdin, but I've yet to climb that. I sent in my camping registration for Jan. 1st a few years back, and got denied because Maine residents get first dibs :rolleyes:. At any rate, it's a popular destination, and I can't wait to hike/climb the Knife Edge someday.

Old Orchard Beach is sorta "close by" to Portland, but when I went a couple years ago in mid May, it seemed a bit dead there. Not that it was a problem, because I hate crowds anyway and most everything was still closed at that point. If you like running on a beach though, start at the pier and head north. It was really nice.

Good luck, and I hope you like cold, crappy weather.

Maine's not mountainous... compared to CT? Have you ventured anywhere beyond Gorham, Baldwin, Acadia or the coast?

No, it's not mountainous compared to say, CO, WA or UT but western Maine has some pretty good mountains. Check your topo and find Sugarloaf, Bigelow and Katahdin for example.

Riding in the Rangely area for example, has some good hills, and though I don't know first hand, I'd guess more elevation than CT.

Dude, Maine isn't "mountaineous" for New England. Hilly, yes. Mountaineous, no. I would consider Vermont and New Hampshire to be much moreso than Maine. And in regards to the terrain being like CT, I was comparing the southern Maine area to where I live. Obviously you can't compare say, Katahdin to that of Bear Mtn....and I wasn't doing that.

Yes, Katahdin may be over 5,000 feet....but look around there. It's about the only thing that really "sticks its' head in the clouds" in the surrounding area. It's like driving along seeing flat area, flat area, flat area, BAM, mountain.

And compared to out west, New England is merely a series of small speed bumps. I have driven all over the United States, and there really is no comparison.

Maine's great in the summer..spent 7 years there.

Steve

Maine is awesome no matter what the elevation is!

Maine, the Way Life Should Be.

Maine, the Way Life Should Be.

Compared to what?

Compared to what?

Having lived in Willimantic for a while in the 70's, compared to Willimantic...

Having lived in Willimantic for a while in the 70's, compared to Willimantic...

Oh, I fully agree Willmantic is a dump.....much moreso now than back in the 70's from what I've heard. It was much nicer back then, before they had a big "welfare" problem like they do now. In fact, I would venture to say a lot of eastern CT is pretty crappy for the most part. The only thing it has going for it is relatively few people in the area, not a lot of traffic (great for cycling), and not much in the area for jobs. Hell, I work in Cranston/Providence RI because there's nothing around here. Actually, it reminds me a lot of upstate New Hamsphire and Maine, but on a much smaller scale.

After traveling fairly extensively throughout the United States, I would venture to say that living out west is leaps and bounds better than the east coast. Being a New Englander, I was brought up to believe that California was evil and everyone was crazy. This is not the case. The scenery is second to none; nothing on the east coast can even come close to being able to compare. The people are pretty laid back, which leads to a very relaxing atmosphere. There's a lot of people out there in certain parts, but that's due to the fact that other people have figured out that they have pretty ideal weather, a great "portal" to living an active lifestyle, and having a fairly decent economy. The bad parts are overpopulation in some areas and cost of living. San Diego has probably the "nicest" weather in the country, but it is very expensive and very populated. However, California is large enough to where you can go inland a bit, and have the option to deal with far less crowded areas.

You guys would probably like Montana a lot. Very, very scenic in the western part of the state going through the rockies, and very few people around. I've never been on such a long stretch of a main highway before and have seen so few people on it. Only downside is no ocean nearby.

blah! blah! blah!

Heh...someone who's never left the motherland.... ;)

Actually, I live in Arizona. However, I've visited N.E. and found Maine awesome!

Interesting. I like the wide-open expanses of land (and better weather) and large-scale scenery of the southwest (and west in general). There's only about 10 states or so I haven't been to, and its kind of funny that people from one area find areas basically the complete opposite of what they live in so appealing.

I basically take living in New England for granted, whereas I've actually heard people from other parts of the country say how much they like it....which I can't figure out why, but I'm sure you probably say the same thing about AZ when someone says how much they like it.

However, I'd glady take 75 degree weather in January in Tuscon over weeks of 10-20 degree weather in upper New England :)

The pace is just a bit slower here, except on the Thursday evening hammerfest rides out of Back Bay Bicycle, or the Saturday morning Portland Velo rides (both of which I'm working up to). I grew up in TN/NC/FL and spent some formative years here, my family moved back south when I was in college, and I chose to come back, settle down, get married, have a family. I've visited every state east of the Mississippi and this is by far my favorite.

You have to be okay with the cold winters and the high cost of living (highest tax burden, anyone?), but as long as you can find a decent job and make a living, you're living the good life. There's a reason this state is overrun with a bazillion people from MA/CT/NY/PA/NJ during the summer. Lots of great biking routes, you can ski within 45 minutes of Portland, and there's the ocean, which is a big draw for me.

I'm biased, but the high cost of living is the only thing that frustrates me sometimes. Wages lag a bit and housing prices are comparatively high.

What is the problem with enjoying different parts of the country?
Live - enjoy your life and don't spend time comparing!

There's nothing wrong with enjoying different parts of the country....I love all parts of the country for one reason or another. Hell, if I ever win Powerball, I will be buying a little cottage up in Bar Harbor for summer trips.

As was mentioned above, cost of living can be high versus wages, but it's also not that bad compared to other states. When my brother and sister-in-law moved up to Maine like 4-5 years ago from CT, a lot of their bills were significantly cut in comparison to here in CT (motor vehicle taxes, insurance, gas, food, etc)....but, they also make a bit less money, so it sorta evens out a bit.

Oh....Maine does have a great highway - I like to refer to it as the New England Autobahn. Above Augusta there is little traffic and you can fly :)

just to bump a dying thread...

I'm a Portlander and the bike scene around here is thriving. I MTB one day and then hop on the Roadie the next. Portland is a great city. It's got a nice Urban center but REAL easy to escape to the country... Lots of artists, if that matters to you. Great quality of life and very liberal community.

...and to respond to the Wizard. Most people don't know that roughly 25% of the white mountains (of which you speak) are in the great state of Maine. while Southern Maine is just hilly Maine is a Mountain state by East coast standards. In fact, there are more miles of Mountains in Maine than in VT or NH.

Why is it that I find this subject really funny....

Why is it that I find this subject really funny....


I don't know, please enlighten us...