Maine Visitor Center to the Fall Fields of North Fryeburg 11:00am B/2/21-26-31

Thursday, October 28, 2021

Looks like a good day for a late October bike ride!  It will be nice after all the rainy days!

The fields of North Fryeburg are probably all put away for the season except for the bright green turf that is likely still being harvested. Should be a scenic ride.

Start at the Maine Visitor's Center on Route 302, ready to ride at 11:00. This timing should allow for a bit of a warm up and more sun to come out from behind the clouds.

Head out the bike path and take the first left to go into Fryeburg Village, Weston's Farm and beach, then north onto Route 113. Lots of options from here!  Return from Cornshop for about a 21 mile ride. Go right on Cornshop, over to Fish, MacNeil and then to Old Harbor. If you return from here it will be about a 26 mile ride. If you keep going out to Union Hill and the Stow Store, you will get about 31 miles. So, choose the route that suits the weather and your energy!

Here is a map for the longest version out to the Stow Store:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/13070790

Brownfield Tour: Haleytown Road and Sam Brown's Hill. 10:00 am B/2.5/20

Thursday, October 21, 2021

This is a good ride for a mostly sunny crisp fall day. The ride covers almost all of the pleasant biking roads in Brownfield, Maine. Starting out of the Maine Visitor's Center, the ride goes south into the sun on Haleytown Road, then turns left on Hampshire and goes into the village of Brownfield, bearing left onto Main Street, Route 160. Head out to do the climb of Lord's Hill if you like, or return by Pig Street for some nice flat riding. Heading back on 160 and then Hampshire, bear left on good pavement towards Sam Brown's Hill for more good views. 

Start at the Maine Visitor's Center on Route 302, just over the border in Fryeburg, Maine.

Ready to ride at 10:00 am

Distance is about 20 miles. Make it 30 by adding Lord's Hill loop.

Add 8 more miles by riding the bike path from the Visitor's Center out and back.

Map for the 30 mile option including Lord's Hill loop: https://ridewithgps.com/routes/30577803

Bear Notch Road 10:00 am

Thursday, October 14, 2021

I can’t be at the ride this Thursday so Ellin put the plan together and posted. I just returned home to be able to now post this on this blog! Sorry for the confusion!

Celebrate the foliage and views on Bear Notch Road!

Here is Ellin’s description:

Location: We will meet at the far end of the Attitash parking lot at 10:00 a.m. CODE B/2/25

Organizers: Marianne Borowski, Ellin Booras

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Let's take advantage of the reduced mid week traffic and head to Bear Notch! This will be a glorious foliage ride! We will meet at the far end of Attitash Parking lot at 10:00 a.m.. The route takes us up Bear Notch Road to the height of land. There, we will enjoy the beautiful views and take some pictures! We will merrily descend to Bartlett and cross over to River Street and ride along the river, enjoy a snack break, and head back to our cars.
The pace will be mellow, and the joy will be in the journey as well as the destination!
Hope to see you on this classic "leaf peeper" ride!

The Andover Ride

 Thursday, October 7, 2020

Looks like Thursday's weather will be a mid October gift!  Let's take advantage of it and do the Andover Ride. 

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 within 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 perfect town green with gazebo for lunching. There has been port potty there.

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 wham,  you get a 50 miler)

Lunch: Bring your own, I don't think there are any options for food in Andover anymore.

Starting Time: 9:30 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/Dunkin Donuts 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 8:15 am, otherwise meet everyone in Bethel at Davis Park.

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 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 (almost exact, the one below has an extra 2 miles that are not included in Thursday's ride) click the link:

https://ridewithgps.com/trips/25168624