Day 4 Eastern Rail Trail

Today was departure day, so the ride was planned to be a short seventeen miles. We started pedaling around 9:15am with a temperature of 59 degrees and winds out of the west at 10mph with gusts of 18mph. There were times when we were riding into the wind and uphill and I wished I had been on my own bike with electronic shifting. That said, it was still a fun ride.

We rode an out and back section through the Scarborough Marsh. I thought we would see more water birds, but we only saw a few egrets off in the distance. An information sign along the trail indicated that harbor seals can sometimes be spotted in the marsh. They swim up the Dunstan River to feed on fish such as herring and mackerel.

The next out and back was to Prouts Neck Cliff Walk near the waterfront. It is a 1.1 mile walk along the ocean. Unfortunately, when the ride leader arrived at the trailhead it was closed due to erosion/trail damage. So we headed back to the Inn to end our ride. The temperature had warmed up to 65 and the winds remained constant from the morning. We said our farewells to ride leaders Dave & Wayne and fellow riders: Regina, Phil, Mary Beth, Janet and Gary.

If you like to bicycle, but not a crazy amount of miles, and enjoy inn based rides, give Discovery Tours a look. This ride was a fun long weekend with beautiful scenery.

Scarborough Marsh

The start of Day 4, the final day of this vacation bike ride.

Alan on the trail through the marsh. The trail was hard packed gravel/dirt/sand.

The trail varied from tree covered, to open areas.

When the Cliff Walk was nixed due to closure, the turn around point became the Prouts Neck Country Club.

Our rental bikes: Alan’s in the foreground was a Specialized Sirrus and mine in the rear was a Trek FX.

Day 3 Kennebunk to Biddeford Pool

We started the day with breakfast at the Shade on Higgins Beach, then took a short shuttle ride to Kennebunk. The weather was sunny and 60 degrees with winds out of the west at 12mph and gusts of 23mph. Our ride began down the Mousam River Valley toward the coastline and then to Kennebunkport.

Most of the day’s ride was along the Maine coastline. We stopped at a few beaches along the way. At one stop, we could see the Bush Family summer residence in the distance. Several photos are below. While the ocean was on our right near the end of the ride, Bitteford Pool was on our left. The “pool” is a large tidal pool located south of mouth of the Saco River.

Lunch was supposed to be in Biddeford Pool, however when we arrived at the designated cafe/general store, it had stopped serving meals after Labor Day. Our fantastic guides (David and Wayne) found an alternate location in Scarborough, ME on the shuttle ride back to Portland. The restaurant, Ken’s Place, has been in business since 1927. The quality of the food demonstrated why it was possible to maintain loyal customers.

We cycled 24 miles today. The temperature warmed up to 65 and the wind stayed out of the west with same morning speeds/gusts. Lucky for us, we didn’t head west very often!

“Anchor to Winward Monument” in memory of George HW Bush. The home in the background, at the tip of the peninsula, belongs to the Bush family in Kennebunkport. The location is known as Walker’s Point -or - the “Summer Whitehouse” when George HW Bush was president. We didn’t get much closer on our ride.

The plaque co-located with the Anchor Memorial for George HW Bush.

Five of our seven riders posing with the Bush compound in the background.

Lobster cages stacked near our SAG stop.

Alan climbing a small hill near Bitteford Pool.

The view after coming over the hill.

We stopped along the beach to watch some local surfers. If you look closely, you can see a surfer as they ride a wave.

The “pool” of Bitteford Pool is in the background. Located south of the mouth of the Saco River it was a coincidence that earlier in the week, we were at my nephew’s home along the Saco River.

The end of today’s ride.

The lunch location for today’s ride: Ken’s Place. Alan and I each had a baked haddock sandwich; the sandwiches were delicious.

Day 2 Higgins Beach to Lighthouses

Today was our tour group’s lighthouse ride and little did we know it was also the day for the 21st Annual Maine Lighthouse Ride. That ride benefited the Eastern Trail Alliance and had mileage of 25, 40, 65 or 100 miles. Our group with Discovery Tours did 32 miles. Considering how many stops we made today, it was the perfect mileage.

Discovery Tours typically does Inn to Inn tours, however this ride is based out of one inn and we are shuttled as needed. Today we started and ended at the inn.

When we started this morning around 9:00am, the temperature was 63 and winds were out of the north at 8mph. No fog today and that was nice! Much of the ride early on was on the road, however having the large group of riders with the other event meant many cars had stayed off the roads. We stopped at five lighthouses throughout the ride.

We had lunch at the Bite Into Maine food truck. It is said to have the best lobster rolls and it was not an exaggeration!

After the lunch stop we had a stretch of trail riding, including a small section of the East Coast Greenway route. We ended the ride about 2:15pm with a temperature of 73 and the winds had shifted to the SSE at 4mph and gusts of 8mph. That means it was a perfect afternoon for riding!

Most of the riders opted to go into downtown Portland for dinner, however we ate at the Inn so we could have an evening stroll along the beach.

Portland Head Light at Fort Williams Park.

Alan and I at Kettle Cove State Park.

Eastern of two lighthouses at Cape Elizabeth.

The second lighthouse at Cape Elizabeth.

The view from Cape Elizabeth.

Lunch stop.

THE best lobster roll.

Portland Head Light in the distance.

Fort Preble; part of a former military facility in South Portland.

Bug Light was erected in 1875 that was inspired by the Choragic Monument near the Acropolis in Athens. It’s unique style sets it apart from any other lighthouse in the world.

Close up of Bug Light.

The bottom sign on the pole, of two trees, is the designation for the East Coast Greenway route (north/south along the eastern seaboard of the U.S.).

Our group of riders along the trail.

Lobster scampi…yum!!

Sunset walk along the beach.

Day 1 Portland and Peaks Island

We left Saco this morning and headed to Portland for the start of the ride. We had spent the prior 2.5 days with my nephew Brian and his wife Kate. We spent a day at the beach with them and an evening by a campfire.

After checking in with the tour guides and picking up our rental bikes, we had a short bike ride through Portland to the ferry that we took to Peaks Island. There are only seven riders. Four of the riders are on E-bikes and Alan and I are pedaling. In the Netherlands they would say we are on muscle bikes because we use our muscles to power the bikes. This is Alan‘s first multi-day ride.

The weather was chilly, foggy and windy most of the day. At least for us current Floridians temperatures in the low to mid 60’s is chilly. The winds were out of the East at 10 mph with gusts up to 17mph.

We had an option to visit a maritime museum, but we opted to keep pedaling. We made it around the island pretty quickly (about 5 miles), and headed for a seafood lunch at the Island Lobster Company. I had a lobster roll and Alan had a scallop roll. Both were delicious!

We thought there were three ferry times (as did our guides) so thinking we had time to spare, we started to go around the island a second time. We ran into one of the guides who let us know we had plenty of time. As it turns out, there were only to two ferry times, and now we had 1.5 hours to burn. Thus, we rode around the island two more times (for a total of three) and had a beer to finish the wait.

When we went back to Portland we still had another five mile loop around the bay. We finished with 15 minutes to spare for the shuttle back to the hotel. We rode 25 miles total. This tour is not like others I’ve done in the past. Less miles, more leisurely.

Tonight we had dinner at The Good Table as part of the ride package.

Arriving via ferry to Peaks Island.

The seven cyclists on this ride, (L to R): Janet, Gary, Mary Beth, Phil, Regina, Alan and I.

While waiting for the ferry, we had a cardamom pistachio cookie…yum.

Alan and I at the start of the ride.

Along the Atlantic Coastline.

Enjoying a local brew while waiting for the ferry.

On the ferry ride back from Peaks Island.

Alan riding along the perimeter of the bay on a mostly paved trail. There were sections that were gravel.

Sculpture along the bay.

Higgins Beach Inn where we are staying three nights.