New England clam chowder group ride

[SIZE=24pt]UPDATE 3-13-10[/SIZE] This ride will be May 21-23, ride starts at 0900 from the Kittery Trading Post in Kittery, ME. This is a three day event, but will be segmented for those who can only make a single day ride to try to accomodate as many people as possible.

Day 1: Leave Kittery Trading Post at 0900 and ride ends in Freeport, dinner planned for the Harasseeket Lunch and Lobster, Co. I'll be staying at the Casco Bay Inn.

Day 2: Breakfast at Mae's Cafe and Bakery in Bath at @ 0800, stop point to be determined in either Rockland/Camden area or push on to Bar Harbor- need folks to post their preference! I think day two will be a full day of riding and vote to stop before Bar Harbor.... just sayin'.

Day 3: Riding Acadia Nat. Park and the island. If staying overnight on either Saturday or Sunday, the Bar Harbor Motel gets the nod.

Will update this first post as we go along with the official information to make it easier. Hope this helps! I can't wait!

Well,

I'm always up for a good group ride. Unfortunately, like many others on this forum, sometimes getting the time to do such rides can be hard to come by due to a multitude of factors. So, just getting the ball rolling on the discussion seems to be the first step. Obviously, considerations include, but are not limited to: timing, location, length of ride, starting and end points, and I'm sure a whole bunch of other things that I haven't even thought of yet.

So, with that said, let me start this thing! Personally, for me, I don't mind heading up this thing unless someone else feels very strongly about it and wants to spearhead this effort.

My own poll thoughts:

1. Timing: Late spring/early summer works for me, though I'm certainly not tied to that timeframe. My weekends are split between work and my kids, so would require some pre-planning (yes, this much pre-planning for me is required :dribble: ).

I'd also be fine with a weekday ride, whether a day long or multi-day ride.

2. Location: Starting and stop points would depend on whether this would be a single day ride such as Cota's Ride to the Rock or a multi-day event. This could also depend on where it would be most advantageous for the majority of riders to meet. I'd be happy with either a single day or multi-day ride! (More days=more chowder!!!) For those that would prefer a single day ride, perhaps each year we could change the venue based on a poll or draw internet straws.

Remember, this is meant to start a brainstorm for all interested riders and supposed to be fun! Hopefully, it doesn't turn into a light drizzle. So, post up your ideas, suggestions, preferences and any other questions about this ride. We have all winter to get this thing done right, so no excuses!

Best to all,

DOL

YAY ! I'm in = Plan A

I work part-time and right now, we're flush with nurses so time off shouldn't be a problem - spring or fall. I DO prefer to travel before - or after - the family vanloads hit the road. No kids here to schedule around.

It's a multi-day ride for the Canuckians = more FUN!

re: starting point, it's all about The Ride for me so I just need to know when and where.

Keep in mind that CFR is June 21-24. And NAFO is .......

THANKS for doing this! Great idea

ps - there must be some good fish & chips stands along the coast. To shake it up a bit B)

The geography works ... count me in!

Never could pass up a good bowl of chowder, I'm in

DE OPPRESSO LIBER said:

Well,
I'm always up for a good group ride. Unfortunately, like many others on this forum, sometimes getting the time to do such rides can be hard to come by due to a multitude of factors. So, just getting the ball rolling on the discussion seems to be the first step. Obviously, considerations include, but are not limited to: timing, location, length of ride, starting and end points, and I'm sure a whole bunch of other things that I haven't even thought of yet.

So, with that said, let me start this thing! Personally, for me, I don't mind heading up this thing unless someone else feels very strongly about it and wants to spearhead this effort.

My own poll thoughts:

1. Timing: Late spring/early summer works for me, though I'm certainly not tied to that timeframe. My weekends are split between work and my kids, so would require some pre-planning (yes, this much pre-planning for me is required :dribble: ).

I'd also be fine with a weekday ride, whether a day long or multi-day ride.

2. Location: Starting and stop points would depend on whether this would be a single day ride such as Cota's Ride to the Rock or a multi-day event. This could also depend on where it would be most advantageous for the majority of riders to meet. I'd be happy with either a single day or multi-day ride! (More days=more chowder!!!) For those that would prefer a single day ride, perhaps each year we could change the venue based on a poll or draw internet straws.

Remember, this is meant to start a brainstorm for all interested riders and supposed to be fun! Hopefully, it doesn't turn into a light drizzle. So, post up your ideas, suggestions, preferences and any other questions about this ride. We have all winter to get this thing done right, so no excuses!

Best to all,

DOL

Click to expand...

Add #3: Restaruant nomination: as if you didn't already know . . . Alisson's in Kennebunkport, Maine!

I'm in.

Don't have time right now to propose all that I have to suggest.

A spring chowda run sounds like the bomb diggety!!

Sign me up.

My thoughts are to make this a chowda Run to sevaral places. We can do a loop and vote on the best at the end of the run.

My brainstorm thoughts.

Dave

Single day ride: Plan a touring route with the restaraunt of choice as the featured stop of the day somewhere in the middle of the ride. One restaraunt pick means good reason to repeat the ride to a different spot the next year! Multiple restaraunts (more than just lunch and dinner)might be too much of a good thing IMHO.

Multi-day ride: Affords more incentive for others from further off to attend. Can sample more offerrings! Can see more parts of New England. For those who could only attend one day, they'd have multiple choice!

More to come......

OK, polls closed! MEM is leading a multi-day ride every day going to Alisson's starting and ending conveniently at my house! :yahoo:

DE OPPRESSO LIBER said:

Single day ride: Plan a touring route with the restaraunt of choice as the featured stop of the day somewhere in the middle of the ride. One restaraunt pick means good reason to repeat the ride to a different spot the next year! Multiple restaraunts (more than just lunch and dinner)might be too much of a good thing IMHO.
Multi-day ride: Affords more incentive for others from further off to attend. Can sample more offerrings! Can see more parts of New England. For those who could only attend one day, they'd have multiple choice!

More to come......

OK, polls closed! MEM is leading a multi-day ride every day going to Alisson's starting and ending conveniently at my house! :yahoo:

Click to expand...

Good poll. You're like me. I do my best work on committees of one or two!

See y'all at DE OPP's place! Sometime in 2010 .....

So, where's the poll? I came here to vote on something...anything. B)

Anyway, I like chowda. I say schedule something with a date. time, and place and I will come of I can. Multi-day gatherings are a lot of fun, but also require a bigger commitment of time and money. Throw in a lobsta or two and I would have a hard time resisting. [knife and fork smiley goes here]

It depends....what type of chowder are we riding to?

New England

Mistakenly thought by some to be the only type of chowder....

Manhattan

Referred to as vegetable/tomato soup by many....

Rhode Island

Looks like something akin to a mud puddle but doesn't taste bad....

[SIZE=8pt]Now sit back and watch as this thread deteriorates into a "which chowder is chowder" thread....[/SIZE]

TheAxeman said:

It depends....what type of chowder are we riding to?
New England

Mistakenly thought by some to be the only type of chowder....

Manhattan

Referred to as vegetable/tomato soup by many....

Rhode Island

Looks like something akin to a mud puddle but doesn't taste bad....

[SIZE=8pt]Now sit back and watch as this thread deteriorates into a "which chowder is chowder" thread....[/SIZE]

Click to expand...

Smoked chowda of course! Mattapoisette Chowder house in MA, my favorite! :cheffsmiley:

TheAxeman said:

It depends....what type of chowder are we riding to?
New England

Mistakenly thought by some to be the only type of chowder....

Manhattan

Referred to as vegetable/tomato soup by many....

Rhode Island

Looks like something akin to a mud puddle but doesn't taste bad....

[SIZE=8pt]Now sit back and watch as this thread deteriorates into a "which chowder is chowder" thread....[/SIZE]

Click to expand...

Nice fine print, Chris! I'm ok with that as long as it don't end up in NERPT! And, BTW, you're right. NECC IS the only chowder!

Along with "chowder" categories, we could include a "fried" category, a "lobster" category, a "fish" category, and God only knows what else we can come up with! Maybe we'll even have to throw in a dessert category, but that could get broken down into too many categories as well. Therefore, I say ice cream! :clapping:

Geezer said:

So, where's the poll? I came here to vote on something...anything. B)

Click to expand...

Sorry, Geez, poll's closed! MEM made all the decisions, now it's just time to ride! See you there! (Insert James Brown: "Uhh, I feel good! Na, na ,na ,na ,nah!)

08FJR4ME said:

Smoked chowda of course! Mattapoisette Chowder house in MA, my favorite! :cheffsmiley:

Click to expand...

Yum-oh. That sounds great Dave. :thumbsup:

Will that be on your Cape Cod group ride that you keep promising to organize?

TheAxeman said:

It depends....what type of chowder are we riding to?
New England

Mistakenly thought by some to be the only type of chowder....

Manhattan

Referred to as vegetable/tomato soup by many....

Rhode Island

Looks like something akin to a mud puddle but doesn't taste bad....

[SIZE=8pt]Now sit back and watch as this thread deteriorates into a "which chowder is chowder" thread....[/SIZE]

Click to expand...

Hey!! What do you think we are? A bunch of chowderheads?

Well in my case at least, you'd be right. :lol:

For the traditional, Yankee purist, there is only one true "New England Clam Chowder", and that is the thinner style with no roux or other thickening agent to make it thick and creamy. But many folks prefer the heavier mouth feel of the modernized deal, which is why this is the only style you can get from a can. :glare: Voting for "the best" will be skewed depending on your preference. But I can appreciate both categories.

I prefer to think of the Manhattan style as more of a clam stew, rather than a chowder. And I do love a good fish stew, both the cream style and tomato base. Maybe the best that I have had of the latter ilk was the Low Country stew that they served (gratis) between holes on the back nine at one of the great old golf courses in Myrtle beach. Can't remember which one it was (played a bunch), but the old black gent serving it would top it off with increasing amounts of Sherry, depending on how heavily you tipped him...

The other item that many New Englanders will spend exorbitant time on is seeking out is the best Lobstah Roll. I've never been a huge fan of them and much prefer a plain boiled lobster, but other than getting them fresh at the dock, it's pretty hard to screw one up. Still, any kind of lobstah is always a treat.

To me, fried clams are the other thing, in addition to chowder, worth seeking out. The clams do need to be fresh and there is a pretty wide variation in batters and preparation techniques. One of our regular haunts for clams is Billy's Chowder House, out on the salt marsh in Wells, ME. Very laid back place, but some of the best clams I've ever had, even compared to the more famous places in Ipswich, MA.

I've been leading a coastal ride for some time, perhaps we could roll this together with the Good Eats.

My ride really needs to be done before Memorial day or after Labor Day due to los turistas and resultant traffic. The ride starts in Salisbury, hits Rye Harbor St Park, New Castle, Cape Needick (Nubble Light), York, Perkins Cove and Kennebunkport. Perkins Cove has Good Eats, KenneBushport, err, Kennebunkport has the previously mentioned most excellent NECC plus we know a *wonderful* lobster place out on a scenic fishing pier. Over the years I've done a lot of proper lobstha crackin' training for groups of Midwest flatlanders on that pier. To finally kill finish off the the wretched, hedonistic gluttony Kennebunkport has a Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop.

Nubble Light





Perkins Cove



Welcome to Kennebunkport.

I agree on the timing of the ride, Alan. Traffic gets pretty sticky along the coast in the height of the tourista season. Not unmanageable, just considerably slows things down when you're talking about trying to put in miles on a touring ride. Not as much of a big deal if you're just trying to get from point A to B, but I was thinking of trying to see some sights and cover a reasonable amount of distance along with having a planned stop for seafood, wherever that may be. Nubble light was certainly one of the points, it's the most photographed lighthouses in New England I'm told. Also a nice place to scuba dive, BTDT. Perhaps if you'd care to "host" a "Northern" leg, we could incorporate this into your ride plan?

Dave's smoked chowder sounds scrumptious, too! Perhaps we could break it up if it turns out to be a multi-day ride into a northern, central, and southern leg? Would also afford more single day rides for those who can't commit to multiple days as well as covering more ground/food samples.

I'm loving everyone's ideas so far, keep up the good work! :drinks:

As to most photographed, this is yet another area that people spend great amounts of energy arguing over. Nubble might very well win due to it's being so far to the South. Portland Head Light is also quite pretty and gets it's share of shots.



Another personal fav is the Pemaquid Point light up near Damariscotta, though that is much further east. We used to summer vacation just up the road from there at a place called Moxie Cove in Round Pond.



Here's a link to a great web site, which I lifted the above 2 pictures from.

If anyone is interested, I have a POI file for your GPS that has most of the lighthouses on the North American continent (a total of 1092) geo-located. It's amazing how many there are inland, along the Great Lakes. I can post the file up somewhere if there is any interest.

I had previously considered trying to organize a lighthouse tour of just the Maine coast. One big problem is there are a lot of them, so it would take about month, what with all the little coves and inlets you have to navigate to find many of them. But no Maine coast ride is complete without at least one lighthouse.

PS - I will volunteer to lead a group ride to all of the lighthouses on the New Hampshire coast!!

There are only two, one is out in the isle of Shoals (and is unreachable by bike, only by boat) and the other is at the entrance to Portsmouth Harbor.

It would be a short ride.

Ah Yes the snow jus starts to fly and we are allready planning next seasons rides :yahoo: All suggestions so far are a big :yahoo: for me as we spend alot of time near the BIG pond! This might turn out to be a ride to a full on New England Clam bake by spring! :yahoo: