Planning a trip to Acadia the end of June. My wife and I are novices when it comes to biking. Any advice would be appreciated. Also any itineraries would be welcomed. We both use 2007 Raleigh Ventures 4.0.

Cheers,
:beer:

Planning a trip to Acadia the end of June. My wife and I are novices when it comes to biking. Any advice would be appreciated. Also any itineraries would be welcomed. We both use 2007 Raleigh Ventures 4.0.

Cheers,
:beer:

Carriage Roads is what Acadia has to offer. There are good loops that have great places to pull up a rock and eat a sandwich with great views. The trails are maintained crushed stone surface and closed to all motorized vehicles. Your bikes will be fine on these. Just stop at the first information center that you see when entering the island and there will be lots of info to get you going. Or google "Acadia carriage trails"

Planning a trip to Acadia the end of June. My wife and I are novices when it comes to biking. Any advice would be appreciated. Also any itineraries would be welcomed. We both use 2007 Raleigh Ventures 4.0 my girlfriend have ridden our bikes around Acadia twice in the last couple of years, and we've enjoyed it immensely. One recommendation that I'd make before heading down is to drop by an REI branch or similar camping store, and try to get a terrain map of the area.

We picked up the National Geographic map for Acadia, and having the contour lines was handy for deciding on routes based on our level of energy and ambition. There are some pretty decent climbs around the park, along with some easy and flat rides around Eagle Lake. A bit for everyone.

Have fun! It's one of our favorite trips.

Thanks for the advice. We do plan on packing a lunch (with beer) to enjoy while soaking in the views. I will plan on getting a topographical map - GREAT suggestion.

We also booked a house in the Finger Lakes (upstate NY) to ride the wine trails.

My wife and I biked from Bath, ME to Acadia last September. We stayed in the Blackwoods campground for 3 or 4 days. We were self contained, except for food.

As the previous posts mentioned, the Carriage Trails are quite nice. We ride a tandem with 700x28 tires – so we were nervous about the carriage roads and the bike. We ended up renting a Trek mountain bike tandem and had fun. In retrospect – we could have taken our bikes on the trails without any issues. The “kids” at the bike shop kept insisting that the crushed granite was sharp and could shred a tire. Since we had no other transportation for the trip and didn’t want to shred a tire (we had already lost a wallet at that point, lol) we opted for the rental.

Don’t forget about the park loop road. It may be busy during the time you are there. It wasn’t too bad for us. The views are spectacular. Even with traffic – the cars move relatively slow and they are used to cyclists. Bar Harbor is a very bicycle friendly place.

Biking to the Jordan Pond House for popovers at lunch is a fun, easy jaunt. I would get there a little before noon – it is a popular spot with a nice view. We ate outside on the lawn.

If you feel ambitious you can climb Cadillac Mt by bike. It was written up in Biycling magazine a month or so ago as one of the best climbs in Maine. We did it on the tandem – and we are not hard core bikers or climbers by any means. At least not physically! Although the road is long, the climb is gradual and can be done. It took us about 35-40 minutes to make it to the top. We felt a great sense of accomplishment. Of course – there were folks on racers that were up and down at least twice – with much more grace and style. For us on the tandem, the worst part was the ride down and controlling our speed (we now have a drag break).

There is a great LLBean sponsored bus system in the Park and Bar Harbor. The buses are free, and they have bike racks on the front. The schedule is easy to pick up in town. They run circuits through the park loop and Bar Harbor – allowing you to explore quite a bit. Unfortunately they do not support a tandem.

All in all, it was a great trip – I am sure you will love it. If you do decide to camp – there are nice hot, clean showers at a “bath house” adjacent to the Blackwoods campground entrance that really save the day.

Best of luck!

fvalenti - good info. Thanks - I like the bus idea if we become tired and a long way from where we are staying.

The bus system was great for us - it allowed us to be out past dark!

When we were there in September - we really had to get off of the roads by 6:15 or so - it was getting pretty "dusky" and we don't have a good lighting system. The campground was a few miles out of town, so dinner had to be early or we had to get there by bus.

Are there many places you can get the bus? I see this would allow us to not worry about how far out we travel knowing that if we ever get too tired to ride back. :D I will have to get a map showing the bus stops in addition to the topographical map.

If I remember correctly - the bus stops on the loop road and in town (multiple spots). There are multiple loops that the buses run - I got the impression that you could flag down a bus anywhere on the loop.

The idea is that hikers can hike up and over - or point to point - and not have to worry about hiking back down the way they came - they can pop out on to the loop road and catch the bus. I don't see why it wouldn't work for cyclists as well.

Are you staying in BH or camping?

We are renting a house for the week. It is located on West St. on a trail I'm told

The Carriage Trails are nice and all, but on a road bike they would be annoying. Granted, I haven't been on them in over 15 years, but couldn't imagine bombing down some of the sections with loose rock on road tires.

The park loop road is nice, and offers plenty of scenic views and places to stop. Grab a few maps and you'll be good to go. The other nice thing about staying in Bar Harbor is everything is within walking distance (driving through "downtown" is too much of a pain in the ass). Another fun thing to do is to hike along the rocks on the coast between Thunder Hole and Cliffs of Otter.....pack a lunch, and enjoy the view.

I haven't ridden up Cadillac Mtn. yet, but hopefully this summer.

Hi,
we have been to Acadia a couple dozen times. If you like to hike, there are many nice trails. There is an awesome map of Cadillac in a recent issue of Bicycling, but it is a very tough climb.

Your bikes would be fine on the carriage trials. Park at the Jordan Pond Tea House and ride the trails. Have lunch at the tea house when you're done. I suggest the lobster chowder and popovers. Trust me on this.

Another fine ride is the loop that starts in Bar Harbor, goes to the Jordan Pond Tea HOuse (you may have noticed a theme here :) ..after lunch take the coastal loop back. The turnoff for the coastal route is easy to miss.

Have breakfast one morning at Two Cats. I should warn you the coffee is very strong, and the breakfsts are pretty rich. That's why we like them. There is a
regular breakfast joint just down the road from Two Cats that serves up a good stack of blueberry pancakes.

Make sure you stop at Lompoc's and have a glass of blueberry beer. Yeah, yeah, trust me, if nothing else it will make for a good story to tell your friends.

There is an internet cafe, they have good coffee and terrific baked goods. Nice place to unwind after a ride.

I have had better luck in more modest looking places than the fancy schmancy places. There are exceptions, but the turnover is high, so restaurant quality can vary more than a lot of areas.

The girls went on the whale watching ride and really liked it. If you are driving make sure to stop at Moody's.
http://www.moodysdiner.com/

Actually, if you are driving, I suggest driving up the coast, make a day of it, and then take the pike home. Take pike as far as Portland, and then get off at 295.
That will take you to Freeport where they have LL Bean and a dozens of other shops. The take Rt1 up the coast, and stop at places that look neat.

When you do the carriage trials, take an extra water bottle and snacks. One time we took a wrong turn and the ride wound up being a little longer than we expected. You can't get lost, the trails were built to accomodate Rockefeller's carriages. But you can take the long way round easily enough. Then again, there have been days when we decided that would be the fun thing to do.

Lots of great information from all. Being a beer connoisseur, I like the idea of trying the "blueberry" beer. It sounds like a breakfast beer :beer: :D My wife and I have been cycling several times a week on loose gravel trails to ready ourselves for Acadia. As many times as I have driven past a Moodys, I never thought to stop - I guess I will have to try it now. We usually stay on the southern coast around Kennebunkport (love Federal Jacks brew Pub). Also enjoy the lobster and blueberry pie at The Ogunquit Lobster Pound. We are really looking forward to this trip - as biking is a new found activity and we are both enjoying it.

CHEERS

Hi,
my usual at Moody's is a crab roll, a chocolate shake and walnut cream pie.
Someone should try the walnut cream pie. The shakes have not changed a bit since the 50's, or perhaps even earlier.

As far as training goes, look for hills. The first trail you should take is behind Jordan Pond and climbs the mountain providing a nice view of the pond. From there, the park is yours.

Your bikes would be fine on the carriage trials. Park at the Jordan Pond Tea House and ride the trails. Have lunch at the tea house when you're done. I suggest the lobster chowder and popovers. Trust me on this.

Big +1 on the popovers!

Moody's is pretty cool too.

I've gone to Acadia for stays of up to a week and would highly recommend it's carriage trails to any bicyclist. If you're staying in Bar Harbor, the closest trailhead is less than 5 miles from the town. It's the first and easiest point of access. Once you are on them, you can enjoy the environment and don't have to contend with people driving cars.

If you like asphalt roads, the park has those too: Just be prepared for longer and steeper climbs. One of these is Cadilac Mountain. It's a five-mile long gradual climb. Some people can ride all the way to the top without stopping. For those who can't taking periodic breaks and enjoying the view isn't a bad thing,either.

For anyone who is going to Mount Desert Island, have fun. I'm going there, too.

Geddy's is a pretty good place to eat as well in Bar Harbor. Love that place.

Didn't get on the bike this weekend but my Saturday consisted of hiking Caddillac, n-shore up, gorge trail down. Went to Geddy's after for some Macho Nacho's and Moose Breath ale, then grabbed a couple lobsters on the way home for din......aaahhhhhhh. Twas sweet!

Ok back to bikes.....The trail that we went up comes close to the paved road going up Caddillac in one spot. Just so happens 2-3 bikers were pedalling up and I was grimacing with pain for them. Very stiff wind, in the high 30's so it felt quiet a bit cooler than it was. They were barely creeping along, with only doubles to work with. Those guys really deserved a Moose Breath.

Just got back from a short ride (6 miles) 45 degrees and we were cold. I can only imagine what they felt like riding a trail with a stiff wind in the 30's.

Lunch at Jordan House rocks. No matter what, order the popovers.

Has anyone ridden the carriage roads at Acadia on road tires? How about a tandem? I'm interested in knowing whether the gravel surface caused any problems.

My wife and I are heading up to Bar Harbor in three days. We have a road tandem with IRC 700x30 tires. They are beefier than the average road tire but wimpier than the average hybrid or mtb tire. We weigh 340 lbs + bike weight. I'm bringing extra tubes. We'll be taking in the scenery and stopping often so speed and comfort are less important to us. My main concerns are (1) constantly changing tubes (2) mangling our current tires and (3) frustrating my stoker (I just talked her into tandem-ing; I don't want her to quit on me yet!).

Of course I should have thought of this weeks ago and purchased the appropriate tires. But this issue only occured to me today. My other option is to bring the single mtb bikes and leave the tandem at home (or save it for the paved roads on Mount Desert Island). But the tandem is new to us and we are REALLY excited about riding it during our vacation.

Thanks for your input!

Has anyone ridden the carriage roads at Acadia on road tires? How about a tandem? I'm interested in knowing whether the gravel surface caused any problems.

My wife and I are heading up to Bar Harbor in three days. We have a road tandem with IRC 700x30 tires. They are beefier than the average road tire but wimpier than the average hybrid or mtb tire. We weigh 340 lbs + bike weight. I'm bringing extra tubes. We'll be taking in the scenery and stopping often so speed and comfort are less important to us. My main concerns are (1) constantly changing tubes (2) mangling our current tires and (3) frustrating my stoker (I just talked her into tandem-ing; I don't want her to quit on me yet!).

Of course I should have thought of this weeks ago and purchased the appropriate tires. But this issue only occured to me today. My other option is to bring the single mtb bikes and leave the tandem at home (or save it for the paved roads on Mount Desert Island). But the tandem is new to us and we are REALLY excited about riding it during our vacation.

Thanks for your input!

Many times. They are roads designed for a horse and carriage. They are flat, dirt,
a lot of gravel and small rocks. There are a few places steep enough that traction could be a concern, but you could walk up those. Mtb bikes are the obvious choice.
I suggest bringing them, riding the carriage trails a couple days, and then rent a tandem and do the perimeter road. Just a thought. Make sure you go to the Jordan Pond Tea House and have popovers and chowder. Two Cats is good for breakfast if you like strong coffee. The blueberry pancake house down the street
is a typical breakfast joint if you don't. The hike up Cadillac is nice and not too long. The whale watch is nice. The internet cafe has really good desserts (my place to hit after a ride). And you must go to Lompocs and try draft blueberry beer.


edit
I just checked the thread, I seem to be beside myself:rolleyes:

edit
I just checked the thread, I seem to be beside myself:rolleyes:

Yeah, I pulled a fast one on you by resurrecting an old thread. I'll give your recommendations twice as much credence. :D Thank you for the helpful response. I'm going to see if I can get all three bikes on the car. If not, I'll probably bring the mtb bikes as you suggested.