Touring - Very short summer tour from Portland, ME to western Mass.

I'm planning to bike from Portland, ME to western Mass this summer as a simple means of transportation. That said, I love touring and may want to extend the trip to a maximum of 5 days. Are there any really neat places to see from a bike in VT, NH, or MA? I don't mind going out of my way but I want to keep the trip under 400miles. Any thoughts?

Well, I can't think of anything outstanding between Portland ME and western Mass. Certainly the Berkshires are great for biking, as well as all of Vermont.

For good bike roads in Mass, buy Rubel's maps.

I live in Springfield MA and you send you my cue sheets if you wish. I rode from Portsmouth NH back home this summer and camped along the way. I did take the commuter train from Boston to Worcester as there isnt much to see and its kind of hilly.

Ed

You might check out map #1 of the Atlantic Coast Route for getting biking between Portsmouth and Central Mass.

I did do a cross-Mass tour a couple of years ago, and started close to Sheffield, camping at Mt Washington State Forest, which is in the southwestern part of Mass. Although there's really not a lot to see (really, the monument is just a very small stone obelisk!), I did appreciate stopping at the Shays Rebellion monument after reading this:

http://www.amazon.com/Shayss-Rebellion-American-Revolutions-Battle/dp/0812218701/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1199292548&sr=8-1

Great read -very interesting -and it gave me an appreciation of where I was cycling. After reading it, I did want to do a tour based on the book. Anyway, nice area to cycle in, though out of Sheffield and going towards Worcester is a little strenuous when fully loaded. The hill out of New Boston on Route 57 is just very tough going -had to walk up it. If you want to go to Springfield, you can drop by the Basketball Hall of Fame (basketball means nothing to me, I just cycled by the place).

Bash Bish Falls are supposed to be nice, but time wise it wasn't possible for me to see them.

I'm planning to bike from Portland, ME to western Mass this summer as a simple means of transportation. That said, I love touring and may want to extend the trip to a maximum of 5 days. Are there any really neat places to see from a bike in VT, NH, or MA? I don't mind going out of my way but I want to keep the trip under 400miles. Any thoughts?

I would recommend you see Mt. Monadnock in Southern New Hampshire, near Keene. Quite unique geologically.

Heading south from there into Mass, Rt 202 south along the Quabbin reservoir is forested, lightly traveled, and hugely shouldered, and passes thru a good bunch of small towns. When ya get to Belchtertown turn west on rt 9, them after a mile or so onto Bay Road which will take across the most of the Connecticut river valley without getting into the mess around amherst and hadley. The Holyoke Range (on your left, as ya go) are one of the few 'mountain' (ahem) ranges in the western hemisphere which trend east/west.

Cross the river near northampton, and somehow get out west on 9 till ya pick up rt 143, which winds its way up (alot of up) into the hills. Turn south on 112, western mass's best 'road to nowhere.'

Hard to say where in WMass you are going, so i'll leave ya at this point.

roughstuff

Depends on where you want to go. If it's your cup of tea you could go to Amherst and check out the Emily Dickenson house. If you want to avoid roads in that area there's a rail trail between Northampton and Amherst.

At some point I found myself near the northern end of the Quabbin resevoir needing to get to Worcester, I ended up driving down route 122 which is really lovely, lots of wetlands and woods. However from the google maps view it looks as though there isn't much of a shoulder so I don't know if I can recommend it for cycling.

Thanks Roughstuff-- thats the kind of thing I was looking for. I think I will hike Mt. Monadnock and maybe spend a few hours in the Holyoke Range State Park. Both should be fun and I think I can fit in both and still limit the trip to 5 days.