Thursday, June 30th, 2016
Looks like Thursday will be a beautiful day for a great ride along the rivers and fields of western Maine! It is time to get out of the rapidly crowding valley and explore some quiet places!
The route to Andover from Bethel is a beautiful, mostly shady ride on quiet roads. It is not a hard ride, only a few short hills on Intervale Road. It is a ThursdayBike favorite!
Start at the park on the Androscoggin River in Bethel (where we picnic on the North Road ride) and go north on Intervale Road to where it ends at Route 232 in Rumford Corner. Take a left and cross the Androscoggin River on the new bridge. A very short ride on Route 2 then right on Whippoorwill Road to Andover Road and eventually into the center of Andover where there is a great general store and perfect town green with gazebo for lunching.
Return south on Route 5 for a short distance, then cross the Lovejoy Covered Bridge (Maine's shortest covered bridge) then retrace the route back to the cars.
Total distance: 49 miles (a few short laps on the flats and you can call it a 50 miler)
Lunch: The Andover General Store is a good food and ice cream stop located across the park and gazebo.
Starting Time: 9:30 am Ready To Ride from the riverside park at the end of the bike path in Bethel on Route 26 (our usual lunch stop with picnic tables, porta-potties and playground).
Parking: There are not a lot of parking spaces at the riverside park. If the lot is full, park near the convenience store/DunkinDonuts on Route 2 where the bike path crosses the Androscoggin River.
Carpool: If you want to carpool, meet in Jackson at the parking lot across from the J-Town Deli at 8:20 am, otherwise, see you in Bethel!
Shorter Options:
Rumford Corner to Andover and back by Whipporwill Road and back via Route 5 is about 25 miles. Park at the intersection of route 2 and route 5 on the side of the Ellis River. There is a small parking area on the right side of Route 2 at this intersection just before the bridge over the Ellis. Ride east on Route 2 a short distance and take a left onto Whipporwill to join the ride.
Park along the edge of Intervale Road, north of our starting point at the park. You can cut out up to 16 miles this way (it is 8 miles to the intersection with East Bethel Road, located on the right off of Intervale Road where the cows are), and avoid the 2 hills at the very end of the ride! Meet with everyone else at the park at 9:30, then drive up a ways, park, hop on your bike and join the group as we ride by!
To see a map of the ride click the link:
Shorter Options:
Rumford Corner to Andover and back by Whipporwill Road and back via Route 5 is about 25 miles. Park at the intersection of route 2 and route 5 on the side of the Ellis River. There is a small parking area on the right side of Route 2 at this intersection just before the bridge over the Ellis. Ride east on Route 2 a short distance and take a left onto Whipporwill to join the ride.
Park along the edge of Intervale Road, north of our starting point at the park. You can cut out up to 16 miles this way (it is 8 miles to the intersection with East Bethel Road, located on the right off of Intervale Road where the cows are), and avoid the 2 hills at the very end of the ride! Meet with everyone else at the park at 9:30, then drive up a ways, park, hop on your bike and join the group as we ride by!
To see a map of the ride click the link:
http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/9696224
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