Monday, September 2, 2019

The Andover Ride. 10:00 am

Thursday, September 3, 2019
Looks like Thursday will be a good day for a scenic ride along the rivers and fields of western Maine!
Dave and Connie will host the ride for you this week.

The route to Andover from Bethel is a gem, a ThursdayBike favorite, worth the drive to Bethel. It is an extension of the North Road ride! It is a beautiful route on quiet roads. It is not a hard ride, only some short grinder hills on Intervale Road in the first 10 miles (and last 10 miles). The remainder of the ride is pleasantly gentle and scenic.

Start at little Davis Park on the Androscoggin River in Bethel 
(where we picnic at the end of 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 short out and back on the bike path and you get a 50 miler)


Lunch: The Andover General Store is a good food and ice cream stop located across the park and gazebo. Fresh made English Muffins can be obtained at the Little Red Hen Diner and Cafe.

Starting Time10:00 am Ready To Ride from Davis 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, or at the Bethel Chamber of Commerce.
Carpool: If you want to carpool, meet in Jackson at the parking lot across from the J-Town Deli at 8:45 am, otherwise, meet Dave and Connie in Bethel! 

Shorter Options:  

Park along the edge of Intervale Road, north of our starting point. 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 10:00, 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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