Go Back  Bike Forums > Community Connections > Regional Discussions > Northeast
Reload this Page >

Bike riding in Portland (ME, not PDX)

Notices
Northeast Connecticut | Maine | Massachusetts | New Hampshire | New Jersey | New York |Rhode Island | Vermont |

Bike riding in Portland (ME, not PDX)

Old 11-19-07, 12:48 PM
  #1  
Kamek
Thread Starter
 
ralph12's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 486
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Bike riding in Portland (ME, not PDX)

I want to move to Portland this spring. I'm working on finding an apartment and a mcjob to hold over until I can go to college after a year to avoid out of state fees.

How is cycling in Portland? The beaches look like they'd be great to ride a cruiser across and it's a lot flatter than what I'm used to (I notice some Mainers call out-of-staters flatlanders, but compared to northeast TN Portland is anything but mountainous). I am surprised by how much it snows there.
ralph12 is offline  
Old 11-19-07, 07:17 PM
  #2  
purity of essence
 
scotch's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: NH
Posts: 2,260

Bikes: 2018 Giant Trance 2, 2019 Trek Farley 7, 2017 Jamis Renegade Exploit

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 37 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 26 Times in 11 Posts
Portland's a cool town. Lots to do, good food, good culture, good cycling, especially just outside of town. Just be ready to freeze your ass off for a good part of the year.
scotch is offline  
Old 11-19-07, 07:52 PM
  #3  
Tail End Charlie
 
Ritehsedad's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Maine, The Way Life Should Be
Posts: 545

Bikes: Fuji Nevada MTB, Giant OCR1

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Plenty of good biking in Portland, fairly bike friendly. Bike Coalition of Maine website, Portland Trails web site, and the Eastern Trail web site can give you a little info on biking in Maine and in Portland.
__________________
Why isn't 11 pronounced onety one?
Ritehsedad is offline  
Old 11-19-07, 09:52 PM
  #4  
Kamek
Thread Starter
 
ralph12's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 486
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by scotch
Portland's a cool town. Lots to do, good food, good culture, good cycling, especially just outside of town. Just be ready to freeze your ass off for a good part of the year.
Yeah I am going to work on getting enough warm clothes. I want to try bike commuting at least a few times a week year-round. Do people actually go in the water on Portland beaches during the summertime?
ralph12 is offline  
Old 11-20-07, 02:01 PM
  #5  
purity of essence
 
scotch's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: NH
Posts: 2,260

Bikes: 2018 Giant Trance 2, 2019 Trek Farley 7, 2017 Jamis Renegade Exploit

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 37 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 26 Times in 11 Posts
Originally Posted by ralph12
Yeah I am going to work on getting enough warm clothes. I want to try bike commuting at least a few times a week year-round. Do people actually go in the water on Portland beaches during the summertime?
yep, very nice beaches in the area, too. the water's not too bad once you get in.
scotch is offline  
Old 12-01-07, 08:14 PM
  #6  
Borne Again Biker
 
Rabid Jackal's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Saco, ME
Posts: 21

Bikes: Trek 7.6 FX, Trek 7.5 FX WSD, Trek 800 Antelope (circa 1990), Iron Horse MTB

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Howdy Ralph, Check out Route 77 through South Portland and Cape Elizabeth. Fairly flat, bike friendly and very scenic. Access to beaches, parks and other interesting landmarks.
Rabid Jackal is offline  
Old 12-02-07, 06:48 PM
  #7  
Kamek
Thread Starter
 
ralph12's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 486
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Rabid Jackal
Howdy Ralph, Check out Route 77 through South Portland and Cape Elizabeth. Fairly flat, bike friendly and very scenic. Access to beaches, parks and other interesting landmarks.
Sounds awesome! Thanks.
ralph12 is offline  
Old 12-05-07, 12:59 PM
  #8  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Land of the Lobster
Posts: 165

Bikes: Marin Larkspur 1998

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
You can also check out the Portland, ME bike commuter group:

https://bike.meetup.com/132/
mikepop is offline  
Old 12-23-07, 05:45 PM
  #9  
Off-season Swimmer
 
Teboner92's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Maine
Posts: 199

Bikes: 2007 Specialized Hardrock Super sport Sport- Recon 351, Avid BB7s

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
i live about 15 minutes outside of portland and another 15 minutes away from me is the Bradbury Mt. State park. They have some great trails over there that you should check out. And also if you're looking for a great bike shop, Cyclemania is the place to go! 59 Federal Street
Teboner92 is offline  
Old 01-06-08, 02:14 PM
  #10  
Kamek
Thread Starter
 
ralph12's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 486
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Well, I went to Portland on Xmas eve. It is awesome. Much better than the town I live in now and a lot more fun. I saw more than one bike shop in the area and SMCC has this great little beach right behind campus with wildlife. I saw a lot of cyclists even though it was wintertime.
ralph12 is offline  
Old 01-06-08, 02:18 PM
  #11  
Bicycle Repair Man !!!
 
Sixty Fiver's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: YEG
Posts: 27,272

Bikes: See my sig...

Mentioned: 12 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 67 Post(s)
Liked 128 Times in 95 Posts
Originally Posted by scotch
Portland's a cool town. Lots to do, good food, good culture, good cycling, especially just outside of town. Just be ready to freeze your ass off for a good part of the year.
I will be going to Portland in February and don't think I will have any issue with staying warm.

Staying dry might be an issue.
Sixty Fiver is offline  
Old 01-06-08, 02:44 PM
  #12  
Kamek
Thread Starter
 
ralph12's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 486
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Sixty Fiver
I will be going to Portland in February and don't think I will have any issue with staying warm.

Staying dry might be an issue.
Reminds me of a saying I heard: "Maine is cold, but it's damp"

It was not very hard to stay warm in December. It wasn't really cold at all, and a lot of people were in windbreakers or light jackets. By February though, I'm sure that will be another story. I would be sure to take enough clothes to keep you both warm and dry.
ralph12 is offline  
Old 01-07-08, 08:51 AM
  #13  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,564
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
road rides

hook up with cyclemania. cat 1,2,3 level road rides

https://www.cyclemania1.com/

and back bay bike, cat any

https://www.backbaybicycle.com/
https://www.bikecccp.org/


or portland velo

https://www.portlandvelo.com/


and Allspeed bike for MTB rides

https://www.allspeed.com
edzo is offline  
Old 01-10-08, 08:06 PM
  #14  
Kamek
Thread Starter
 
ralph12's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 486
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Excellent.
ralph12 is offline  
Old 01-11-08, 07:51 AM
  #15  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,564
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time in 1 Post
Originally Posted by ralph12
Excellent.
Plus, there are some hills around Portland,
but this is the nearest biggest one.

a lot of rides work their
way out to this hill and back. it's fun to hammer 30 miles here, then hammer
up it, and then try not to die 20 miles back. it is only 10 miles away, but fun to
ride up the coast via Yarmouth and Cumberland to get there

Dutton HI, Gray Maine


https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...wloc=addr&om=1
edzo is offline  
Old 02-11-08, 09:53 PM
  #16  
Kamek
Thread Starter
 
ralph12's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Posts: 486
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by edzo
Plus, there are some hills around Portland,
but this is the nearest biggest one.

a lot of rides work their
way out to this hill and back. it's fun to hammer 30 miles here, then hammer
up it, and then try not to die 20 miles back. it is only 10 miles away, but fun to
ride up the coast via Yarmouth and Cumberland to get there

Dutton HI, Gray Maine


https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...wloc=addr&om=1
Thanks for the info. I did see that the Portland area had some hills, but fortunately it was still a lot flatter than where I live now (more winter cyclists too from what I saw, so maybe a few less people will think I'm crazy for riding in a little snow). I'm not much into hills, although that may change if I get fitter or get a lighter bike (my current ride is easily over 40 pounds). On the way, I saw some MAJOR hills in NY and CT, that are as big (and a few bigger) than where I live. Coincidentally, my town is also called Gray, in Tennessee.

O/T But the beaches of Maine really were beautiful, if a little more rugged than most of the ones I've seen. I hope they stay as beautiful and clean in the summertime as they were in December.
ralph12 is offline  
Old 03-16-08, 12:03 PM
  #17  
Senior Member
 
madeinjpn's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: West End Portland, Me.
Posts: 64

Bikes: Kona Stinky, Kona Roast, Panasonic ss/fixie project. Cannondale R600 full campy Record set.

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
I live in portland and it is awesome like everyone says. Yeah it's hilly but hills are good for you. Rent is fairly cheap (depending on what end of town and how many folks you're shacking up with). If you got any questions man please feel free to PM me. I got to School at USM too if you got any questions.
madeinjpn is offline  
Old 03-16-08, 12:13 PM
  #18  
Senior Member
 
late's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Southern Maine
Posts: 8,938
Mentioned: 129 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 12172 Post(s)
Liked 1,481 Times in 1,094 Posts
Hi,
get this..
https://www.amazon.com/25-Bicycle-Tou...5690778&sr=8-1

There are a number of group rides and such. I have come up with some rides of my own, depends on what you want.

Home to Rte88 to Tuttle Rd to Blackstrap Rd to home is nice.

To answer your question, it's pretty good. Portland was Bicycling Magazine's first BikeTown. That helped. When you get here look for winter duds in the various LL Bean outlets.
late is offline  
Old 03-19-08, 11:44 AM
  #19  
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Maine
Posts: 9

Bikes: 2007 Masi CXR

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
i also live in portland on the east end, right up from the prom. great location with a great view to wake up to. anyway, i just wanted to throw some support out there (and i am not knocking any other bike shop in town, they all have their own charm) for back bay cycles, on forest ave. as a new cyclist and someone who asks too many questions, they were quite patient.
madeski is offline  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.