Northeast - Know of any good trails?

My wife and I have been riding together alot more after buying a tandem two years ago. We have ridden many miles around Mt Desert Island here in Maine. The carriage trails are great. 30+ winding miles.

Does anyone know of any similar type trails in New England?

We have also ridden around Cape Cod....great paved bike trails by the beach....10 - 20 miles.

Thanks, Mike from Maine

Mike,

NH has a number of Rail Trails, but for the most part, they are packed fine gravel. In the winter they double as major snow mobile thoroughfares.

I live near the Northern Rail Trail in Merrimack and Grafton Counties, which is one of the longest, and sometime in the summer of 2010, should be connected. At this moment, the Merrimack section stretches from Franklin at Webster Lake to Potter's Place in Andover (about 12 miles). The Grafton Co. section is longer from Grafton to Lebanon and is about 20-25 miles.

The section from Potters Place north to Danbury is scheduled to be built as bike friendly by early July 2010. This would leave about 4-5 mile section still undone. This portion, however, runs beside US Rt. 4, which is a lightly traveled road running through a relatively flat valley.

Many parts of this Rail Trail are quite scenic (not Acadia scenic, mind you), and it passes through the small towns of" (south to north) East Andover, Andover, Potter's Place, Danbury, Grafton, Canaan, Enfield, and ends in the largest town, Lebanon, near the Connecticut River and Vermont border.

I'll try to post some pictures later, which I took on the Potters Place to Webster Lake section, about a month ago.

Here are some pictures of the Northern Rail Trail in Merrimack Co., NH: Andover to Franklin:

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p71/pastorbobnlnh/Cannondale/Oct25RockCut1.jpg

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p71/pastorbobnlnh/Bike%20Scenes/Rail%20Trails/Oct25AndoverMUPGoldenTunnel.jpg

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p71/pastorbobnlnh/Bike%20Scenes/Rail%20Trails/Oct25MtKearsarge.jpg

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p71/pastorbobnlnh/Bike%20Scenes/Rail%20Trails/Oct25RaggedMtHighlandlake.jpg

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p71/pastorbobnlnh/Bike%20Scenes/Rail%20Trails/Oct25SunonBog.jpg

http://i125.photobucket.com/albums/p71/pastorbobnlnh/Bike%20Scenes/Rail%20Trails/Oct25RockWall.jpg

Very nice pix! I'm going to have to make the effort to get up there.

How have the carriage paths in Acadia been on the Tandem? I've got a road tandem, but have some cyclocross tires that I can put on it. Do you think it would be possible?

Professor Bob,

Where abouts do you live?

I would think that any tire wider than 25mm could handle most of the carriage trails in Acadia, even with the added weight of two riders on a tandem. I have an older Schwinn tandem with 27 X 1 & 1/4 tires, and I believe it would do fine there.

Yes, the trails are pretty hard-packed, some good hills, but with turns. we really have to watch are speed on the tandem coming down a few of them.

I rode the carriage roads this past Sept. on a tourer with 28mm slicks.

Had no trouble and was happy to NOT be on a mt. bike for the distance covered.

I took it slower then usual on downhill turns, but other then that had no issues and this would be my bike and tires of choice for a return.

Steve B.