Frenzen

Hey guys I have never done long touring distance at best few hours non stop. I would like to think that I have a lot of experience in cicycling, been doing it since I was 6-7. I was wondering if any of you guys would suggest a map and places I could stay while on my way to trip. I want to do the math and everything to see if it's worth touring instead of paying for the bus or the train, instead I can use that money on exploring and seeing stuff. If I do touring, I will start from Montreal with my bicycle and will have to see how I can get through the border with my bicycle, haven't done that research. I hope you guys can give me advice.

fietsbob

Delorme is a map company, now owned by Garmin,

and I expect every town chamber of commerce can tell you about themselves from their website.

Valid Passport is the thing to have on you.

J.Higgins 

First of all, why ANYONE would put Bangor as a touring destination I have no idea. Bar Harbor, Acadia National Park, and the rest of Mount Desert Island is just another day's ride past Bangor and then the world is your oyster. The only thing in Bangor is heroin and bad radio now.

Frenzen

I've a friend who lives in Bangor, will basically see my friend on the way.

J.Higgins 

Well! That changes EVERYTHING!

Frenzen

Are you from Maine? Tbh I'm excited to be touring didn't actually think it was a real thing. Just realized you are from New Hampshire my bad! Lol

Frenzen

Thank you Bob, I'm sure it will be useful instead of google maps. Yes a valid passport is a thing I have lol. Do you own their maps and their gps?

unionmanbirch

Not sure of your route, but you will be riding through some desolate and remote areas. Make sure you have plenty of water and don't be afraid to ask for more at someone's house if you need to. 2 years ago I toured through Downeast Maine (I left from Bangor!) and went several hours on the road without seeing a store, gas station or restaurant. I saw a lady outside her house and asked her for water. She was more than happy to help. Have fun. It was a great trip.

Steve B.

There are so many options and good potential route's I wouldn't know where to start.

Round Trip ?.

East thru Quebec, then south on Maine Rt 27, then meander across Maine ?, then back west to NH - White Mountains, then into Vermont and north ?.

Camping ?, that'll drive the route choices to where are the campgrounds.

In general, heading south to Vermont, then east thru NH and into Maine is more populated and scenic. SE of Montreal in Quebec is a lot of farms till you hit Maine then it's tres, trees and more trees till you get down by the US Rt 2 east/west corridor, then populated as well as a lot of old New England former mill towns. Lot's of road choices though.

Steve B.

You happened to pick an area of Maine that is particularly desolate, is all. The region east of the I95 corridor is a lot of woods and swamps. The coastal/Rt 1 route has more towns.

Western Maine is a bit more populated to a point maybe 50 miles north of the east/west Rt 2 corridor. Then nothing but trees and there's only 2 routes down from Quebec with border crossings - Rt 27 and Rt 201, from NH in the SW to New Brunswick in the NE.

btbeth

I would recommend a south to the US, then east to Bangor route. Especially for a first tour as there will be more facilities and bike friendly roads. I'm certain you can find many routes out of Montreal. Here are some resources for Vermont and New Hampshire to help you choose a route across these two fantastic states for touring:

https://www.vermontvacation.com/thin...reation/biking

https://www.nh.gov/dot/programs/bikeped/maps/

Re: Maine, I put together a pretty good route using the aforementioned Delorme print maps for our 2004 cross country route ... pre GPS. Maybe stick to the Route 2 area and ask your friend for a good/safe way into Bangor. I have ridden many thousands of touring miles in NY, VT and NH...not so much in ME. Good luck and have fun!

FBinNY 

As the others have said, this could be a beautiful tour.

Of the two basic routes, going east through Sherbrook and on to Maine has few options, and takes you through some fairly desolate areas. OTOH - going south to Burlington, across Vermont, then either skirting the White Mountains to the north, or dropping south through one of the notches, and through Conway, then onto Bangor, offers plenty of route, scenic, and lodging (or camping) options.

Depending on when you do it, there's be decent volumes of tourists on the roads, but traffic won't be bad if you're an early riser riding off the busiest of them.

Vintage_Cyclist

One option could be to ride south towards Albany, NY, then somewhere between Saratoga and Albany, head east across southern Vermont and New Hampshire, into Maine.

It's been many, many moons, but I did a tour from NYC to Montreal. North of Albany we stuck to the roads along the west side of Lake Champlain and Lake George, mostly 9 or 9N, whichever was closer to the water at the time. We did another tour from Albany to Acadia. Not sure how we got out of NY, but I believe we rode routes 9 and 202 across VT and NH, to route 1, then up the Maine coast. Both tours, back then, were very nice, with plenty of small towns and ample places to stay.

J.Higgins 

I was born and raised in Maine. All of my relatives live on Mount Desert Island. My wife and I went to college in Bangor.

You'll have a good time there. I'm planning a late-summer bikepacking tour up through northern NH and northern Maine, into Canada and back down through Fort Kent. Its sort of circumnavigating Maine. I'll be pedaling back to my place along the coastal roads.

CocoRibe

Crossing the border on bike is no problem. Just find the a small road that crosses over, that way you won't have to deal with a ton of cars, trucks, and general hassle.

PedalingWalrus

I would seek the areas of Maine that some here classify as 'desolate swamp' ... :-) but I have lived in Maine for 30 years so what do I know. Actually the less populated areas are catering to outdoor tourism so You will find more campgrounds, more affordable campgrounds and more opportunities to find free campsites with beautiful views.

Just googling it with a bike options gives you a good start:

BobG

Here's a fairly circuitous route that will get you as far as Rangeley ME. You're on your own beyond there to Bangor. Good cycling on bike paths and roads out of Montreal entering the US at the very sleepy port of entry at Frelighsburg QC/East Franklin VT. I've ridden all sections on various trips. Nice state parks at Lake Carmi and Brighton VT. You should find plenty of services in Newport VT, Colebrook NH, then across scenic Dixville Notch to Errol NH. Several years back I stayed an affordable downtown motel on the lake in Rangeley ME that catered to Appalachian Trail hikers. There's also a state park outside of town on Rangeley Lake.

https://goo.gl/maps/gspcoycsAkw