Touring - Planning the summer trip

It gets hard doing something new every year. Especially since I wanted to start at home and finish the same way.

I came up with one trip... we get dropped off in Bethel, take a couple days getting to Augusta, then down to Brunswick and have a day off in Brunswick.

It feels awkward, and we did the Augusta to Brunswick leg a couple years ago.
I also don't feel entirely comfortable with the idea of riding a day on Rte 2.

So then I looked at riding up to Bethel. But then where do we go? I don't want to spend 5 or 6 days riding before we take a break.

We could go from here to Augusta in a day. It would make for a long day, but we could do it. From there we could go to Camden. Camden is a perfect place to take a day off. It's scenic, good restaurants, a really nice upscale supermarket
where you can buy good fruit and cheese (and wine). There is also shopping, boat tours, a bit of hiking, a nice bike shop... you get the idea. I like the place.

We could do about 40 miles and stay at a nice B&B, and then ride down to Bailey Island. There is an old Fifties style inn on the island. The beds stink, the foods great, nothing matches. But there are rockers on the porch and the view can't be beat. We like it. And there is a ferry that goes back to Portland which is a pleasant way to end an trip.

Of course, we've done variations of that trip 4 or 5 times.

I'll think of something.

How set are you on starting and ending from home?


What about flying or taking a train to another location and starting the cycling part of the tour from there?

We may have to do that. Around here it would make more sense to rent a van and drive up to Burlington or Bangor.

What about flying or taking a train to another location and starting the cycling part of the tour from there?

Or start from home, finish anywhere, rent a car or truck to get home. For the cost of a motel your last night, you could sleep in your own bed. Rental cars available at medium-size & larger airports; trucks one-way from any medium-size or larger city.

Or start from home, finish anywhere, rent a car or truck to get home. For the cost of a motel your last night, you could sleep in your own bed. Rental cars available at medium-size & larger airports; trucks one-way from any medium-size or larger city.

Just keep in mind that most rental companies usually charge quite a bit more for one-way rentals.

We may have to do that. Around here it would make more sense to rent a van and drive up to Burlington or Bangor.

We're thinking of doing a tour like that ... drive to a destination, then cycle in that area for a few days ... drive to another destination, cycle in that area for a few days, etc. That way we get to concentrate on a few specific places we really want to see.

We're thinking of doing a tour like that ... drive to a destination, then cycle in that area for a few days ... drive to another destination, cycle in that area for a few days, etc. That way we get to concentrate on a few specific places we really want to see.

I had not thought of that.. It isn't as eco-friendly as I like, but it would allow for some new trips.

I had not thought of that.. It isn't as eco-friendly as I like, but it would allow for some new trips.

Well, you'd drive one day to your destination, then park the vehicle and cycle for the next 3 or 4 or 5 or however many days ... then drive one day to your next destination, etc. etc. so it wouldn't be as though you're using the car every day, and you wouldn't use it to get groceries and pick up postcards, and all that stuff either.

This is a good way to do a tour if you don't have a lot of time, but would like to see and cycle in two or three different areas ... instead of spending 5 or 6 days cycling from one area to the next, you just drive there all in one day.

Plus it allows you to spend some time in the area of interest. Most of our tours, I think, are spent rolling into town one night and rolling out the next day, and we don't tend to head down side roads or spend time checking out this sight or that attraction or whatever. A tour like what Rowan and I are thinking of doing puts us into a beautiful area, and then we can spend several days checking out the waterfalls over here, and the scenic lake over there, and the outlook way up there, and this little side road, and that little town, and so on.