Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Cruise Fryeburg Harbor Thursday May 1

On Thursday, let's ride the floodplain of the Old Saco River in Fryeburg Harbor.

There should be enough water in the river to prove why the area had the name of "Harbor". Last week, the turf, potato and soybean fields were full of snow and water - some houses looked like they were on islands. Should be interesting after all this rain....

A bit of history from http://www.fryeburgmaine.org/:
The Saco Canal: During the earliest years of Fryeburg's history, constant devastating floods known as freshets inundated the rich Saco bottomland. In 1817 a canal was built incorporating several small ponds and using the earth moving power of the Saco itself. The three mile canal bypasses roughly 30 miles of "old course" river. A shadow of its former self, the original course still winds its way through West Fryeburg, Fish Street and Fryeburg Harbor.

Meet at: The Peace With-Inn Bed and Breakfast located on route 113 in Fryeburg.
When: 10:00 am ready to ride

The Peace With-Inn is a beautiful bed and breakfast inn managed part time by Catherine Kyle. It is located on the left side (west side) of Route 113 approximately 2.2 miles north of Sherman's Farmstand. It is 1 mile north of the intersection of Green Hill Road and 113.
Pull into the driveway and park on the left side, there is a sign for guest parking.
http://www.peacewithinn.com/directions.htm


Carpool from Glen: Those in Glen/Jackson/Bartlett area who wish to carpool, meet at the Glen Dunkin Donuts at or before 9:00 am.

The route will include Cornshop Rd, Fish St, MacNeil Rd, Union Hill Rd, Meadow Road, Stow Store (still closed), and loop around to Chatham for a total of 27 miles. Here is the map info. Print out a copy to bring with you. The ride is really very flat -- no notches.....

View Interactive Map on MapMyRide.com

For a shorter even flatter option, hang out at the Stow Store, avoid the Chatham loop, for 19 miles.

Cut off the Union Hill and Chatham loop for a very flat option of 15 miles.

See you on Thursday!

Marianne


Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Crank Some Kanc Thursday April 24

Hi Everyone,

Another beautiful day is expected for this Thursday -- should be another great day for biking, skiing, gardening or any outdoor activity!

If you want to bike, and want to see the rapids on the Swift River, let's Crank Some Kanc. It is a very gradual uphill alongside the river, and a pleasant downhill back to the car. You can bike as much or as little of the Kanc as you want. The Mt Washington Velo Club did this ride on Saturday, and it was so nice that I just had to use it for this Thursday. The river is running fast!

Where to meet: Saco River Ranger Station at the intersection of Route16 and the Kanc. Park in the area away from the visitor center.

When: 10:00 ready to ride

Bring: Lunch or a snack to enjoy riverside. The usual riverside lunch stop at Rocky Gorge looked quite snowy last Saturday. If it is not ready for us to sprawl out on the rocks, we can eat on the riverbank at the Bear Notch Road bridge.

How Far? To Bear Notch Road and back - 25 miles

For shorter options:
To Rocky Gorge and back ~15 miles
To Albany Covered Bridge and back ~10 miles

For longer options:
To the gazebo at the first scenic overlook and back: 34 miles

To the summit and back ~44 miles

See you Thursday!

Marianne


Click on this link to play with the map:


View Interactive Map on MapMyRide.com

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

ThursdayBike Season Opener

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to the new ThrusdayBike Blog! I am working on this to obtain a central location for all of our ride information and to collect photos and comments about our rides.

Check this site on Tuesday nights or Wednesday mornings for information about the Thursday Bike Ride. I will include the meeting place, the ride map and the mileage.

Welcome also the Bike Season 2008!!!

Anyone anxious to get that bike out and give it a ride????

How about an easy one this Thursday in the 65 degree sunny weather????

Let's meet at the public parking lot behind the Eastern Slope Inn/EMS (entrance is just after the railroad bridge on River Road) at 10:00 am. I will have a pump and some lube if you need help with your tires and chain. Even if you cleaned and lubed your bike last fall, you still need to lube that chain again!

The ride is the valley classic -- West Side Road to Allen's Siding to Passaconaway Road. This should be an easy way to get us back in the saddle again!

Passaconaway will be gated and closed near the western end due to the snow. We can turn around there and head back to the Dugway Picnic Area to have our snacks by the Swift River. The total miles is about 21, but you if you want fewer miles, just stop at the Dugway Picnic Area and you'll cut off about 4 miles.

Here is a link to the map on Map My Ride

View Interactive Map on MapMyRide.com