New England clam chowder group ride

[DE OPPRESSO LIBER]

Well, well, well..........I've been wanting to do the Maine 400 for two years and look what weekend it is taking place https://www.maine400.com/ . Decisions, decisions.................... <_< Canadian FJR

Maybe you can convince them to just ride with us instead? Yeah, that's a bummer.

 

[Charlie Hoss]

Charlie! Hey hey! Glad to hear from you and Sull! My oldest boy Tim says to say hi to you and the Missus!

I'm only a bit surprised that the Weathervane restaurants weren't mentioned. They have locations in Kittery, South Portland, Belfast, and Brewer. I think the food is excellent and reasonable. Yeah, it's a regional chain and perhaps not as quaint as some of the others mentioned.

The Weathervane's that I have been exposed to have all been less than appetizing, in fact, just downright awful. Must be the location!

I think Freeport might be congested and the motels may be tight. Brunswick is a few minutes up the road if we need more rooms.

You're right, Charlie. I'm thinking it shouldn't be too crowded as it is still before the prime tourista season, but Brunswick is a good, nearby place to find haven if'n folks can't find rooms. Do you have any favorite eatery in that general area for dinner/breakfast or both Charlie?

Having traveled DownEast about a hundred times, I found that points east of Mt Desert Island are not as interesting as the many places heading up there from the south. I'd be inclined to take more side roads and end the ride in the Bar Harbor area. Just sayin'. It's a looong ride to Eastport and not much to see on Rte1 unless you take the side roads down the many peninsulas. But like I said, I've got nothing but time. BTW, there is no slab anywhere near Eastport. It's either Rte1 back to the west or up to Calais and nearly 2 hrs on Rte 9 to Bangor to pick up I-95. (I thought I read that Eastport was part of the master plan.)

Good to know, Charlie! Like I said, the closest I've come to travelling these roads are by looking at a map! If there's enough interest from the group in heading all the way to Easport just to say they've been there, then that's fine. If the majority would rather take more side trips down all of the many peninsulas, this can be mapped out as well. I'm certainly fine if the group wants to split into subgroups for the third day of riding to do their own exploring as well.

I know my way around this state a little bit (just a little) and might suggest a few short scenic routes just off the planned route.

Don't be shy, pardner! Whatchya got?

CJ,

Hello to you and Tim. Thanks for all your efforts, and others, in putting this together. I'm glad this will be in my back yard and hope I can help out. I'm looking forward to seeing you and hopefully Tim again. We had a great time riding with you guys last time in NH.

No wife yet, still a GF. But that's OK.

We really like the Weathervane restaurants in ME. They have by far the best deal on excellent jumbo shrimp. We've never had a bad meal there and we nearly always go to the one in Waterville after the WTVL gun shows. It must be the locations.

I'd have to give some thought to the restaurant situation around Brunswick. There are plenty, just none in particular come to mind. This spring I'll ride down and take some notes.

I like the routes you have planned out up to Biddeford. Perhaps we could duck over to Old Orchard Beach and Pine Point. Several seafood restaurants there. I was thinking we could buzz around Cape Elizabeth and see the Two Lights and Portland headlight, then maybe a quick ride along the Portland waterfront . Then a quick diversion on 88 in Falmouth Foreside back to rte 1. I don't think these little side trips would take too much time. I get the feeling that this ride is more to see Maine than for the "ride" as in Tail of the Dragon.

It would be a shame not to skip down to Harpswell and Baileys Island either the 1st day or the next. Not sure what you have planned out for the 2nd and 3rd days, but we shouldn't miss the Boothbay Harbor area. If time permits, a ride to Popham Beach and/or Reid State Park would provide nice views of the sand beaches and ocean. Fort Popham is a cool place to stop while we're there. I'm thinking we could do that on the first day and then double back to Bath, Brunswick, or, if everyone insists, back to Freeport. It's not far.

The second day should probably take us to near Bar Harbor so that we could spend enough time there. The planned route up rte 1 will prolly take us to most of the places I have in mind with just a couple of easy diversions. Bar Harbor is THE place to be in Maine. If you've never been there, you'll see what I mean. It can easily eat up a half day with no messing around. Let's wait till the rest of the Master Plan is rolled out and we can take it from there. Speaking of the Dragon, if we could get them to close off the Loop Road in Acadia National Park, we would have our own Dragon right there!

For you old geezers and geezettes about my age, if you're 62 or older you can get a lifetime pass to all the National Parks for only $10. You can get it right at the park entrance.

 

[Iris]

Jim and I are "in".

It's hard to read through all the threads in this post to figure out when and where....but here's how I see it:

It's a three day trip that starts at 9:00am on Friday May 21st from Kittery. Am I reading this right?

-Iris

 

[Fred W]

By George, I think you've got it!

Should be fun.

 

[DE OPPRESSO LIBER]

It's a three day trip that starts at 9:00am on Friday May 21st from Kittery. Am I reading this right? -Iris

You got it! Looking forward to seeing you guys!

I get the feeling that this ride is more to see Maine than for the "ride" as in Tail of the Dragon.

That's about right, Charlie. Meet and greet, ride, and Seafood!

It would be a shame not to skip down to Harpswell and Baileys Island either the 1st day or the next. Not sure what you have planned out for the 2nd and 3rd days, but we shouldn't miss the Boothbay Harbor area. If time permits, a ride to Popham Beach and/or Reid State Park would provide nice views of the sand beaches and ocean. Fort Popham is a cool place to stop while we're there. I'm thinking we could do that on the first day and then double back to Bath, Brunswick, or, if everyone insists, back to Freeport. It's not far.
The second day should probably take us to near Bar Harbor so that we could spend enough time there. The planned route up rte 1 will prolly take us to most of the places I have in mind with just a couple of easy diversions. Bar Harbor is THE place to be in Maine. If you've never been there, you'll see what I mean. It can easily eat up a half day with no messing around. Let's wait till the rest of the Master Plan is rolled out and we can take it from there. Speaking of the Dragon, if we could get them to close off the Loop Road in Acadia National Park, we would have our own Dragon right there!

The only problems that I see with driving to the tips of the many fingers or points, is that it eats up alot of time and we'd be travelling the same routes twice, to and fro. I was playing around with Google maps for some time and just doing a few of the points would take like 6 hours even just to get to Bar Harbor! Let me give you and example:

https://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source....738586&z=9

I'm more than happy to go along with whatever the group wants to do/see, hell, I'd even let someone take point and lead this thing! Having a bunch of technical problems in just trying to put this together, and it's just difficult not being able to have all of the tools I need to do this thing the right way. I'm having to half-*** it on my end since I don't have Mapsource available to me right now and don't see it getting fixed in the near future. That said, I'm relying on Fred's help to get the maps posted up into a .gpx file so that everyone can download it. Thanks, Fred, for helping me with everything that you have already done to make this thing get off the ground . . . .

 

[DE OPPRESSO LIBER]

For planning purposes, I will start a new thread once and only once the final maps have been finalized and put into .gpx format or other appropriate forms with Fred's help. This thread will contain all of the necessary information such as official start and stop points for each leg. It has already been settled that the ride will begin at 0900 in Kittery Maine at the Kittery Trading Post.

Until then, my hope for the current thread is to act as a communication point for folks to continue the discussion as to their wants/desires for this ride, such as points of interest they'd like to see, food, etc. (This is a forum, right?!)

Thank you to everyone who have shown interest in this ride and have contributed your input, and especially to those who have helped me to put this thing together (you know who you are .

 

[FJReady]

Warning, If you go into Kittery Trading Post, best leave your wallet outside. That place has alot of neat stuff that you'll want. On the other hand we could buy some guns, ammo and a couple canoes and go lobster hunting up and down the Maine coast.

 

[cota95]

By George, I think you've got it!
Should be fun.

I didn't have anything to do with it but I will be there for the first day at least.

 

[DE OPPRESSO LIBER]

By George, I think you've got it!
Should be fun.

I didn't have anything to do with it but I will be there for the first day at least.

George,

Will you be staying overnight in the Freeport area or riding back home or your place in NH? Travelling two up? Ive made a few emails to a few hotels without a reply yet looking for possible group discounts.

 

[DE OPPRESSO LIBER]

The Casco Bay Inn has given me a quote for ten dollars off the regular rate for a group discount, so $77 double occupancy. After a little further investigation, I've decided that Idyll Motor Lodge might not be the best place to stay, YMMV.

Will keep y'all posted on further developments!

Just so I can get a rough estimate on numbers, can you PLEASE post a reply so I can get a count on those folks who are either a definite "go" for this ride and what days you'll be riding, or the those strongly attempting to make it. Thanks in advance!

 

[cota95]

By George, I think you've got it!
Should be fun.

I didn't have anything to do with it but I will be there for the first day at least.

George,

Will you be staying overnight in the Freeport area or riding back home or your place in NH? Travelling two up? Ive made a few emails to a few hotels without a reply yet looking for possible group discounts.

We will be staying overnight Friday and we will be on seperate bikes.

 

[S76]

Hope and I will be getting into Kittery Thursday so she can fill the shopping void in her life. We will ride all three days. Maybe splitting off at noon on Sunday. (?)

Are you working a hotel deal for Kittery? Or just grab something?

Thanks for your work on this. Sounds like fun!

 

[DE OPPRESSO LIBER]

Hope and I will be getting into Kittery Thursday so she can fill the shopping void in her life. We will ride all three days. Maybe splitting off at noon on Sunday. (?)
Are you working a hotel deal for Kittery? Or just grab something?

Thanks for your work on this. Sounds like fun!

Sweet!

I actually hadn't looked at lodging for Kittery, but I certainly will add it to my list of things to do; however, people are free to stay where/how they wish. I will be posting up the start and stop points for each day as well as times. As for lodging, I'll be looking at trying to find a reasonable place for a reasonable price. Again, it will be up to each individual to make their own reservations, but I'll post where the place I've picked out will be for those wishing to stay together as a group so that perhaps we can get a better rate.

Things are coming along!! :yahoo:

 

[DE OPPRESSO LIBER]

OK, I need to know! For day three, leaving from approximately the Rockland/Camden area, who wants to ride to Bar Harbor and spend the last day cruising Acadia Nat. Park and the surrounding area versus continuing on up to Eastport? I need to know for mapping routes, so if you all can chime in, I'd appreciate it!

My thought after careful consideration and from what a few have suggested, is to end the ride in Bar Harbor on Sunday afternoon/eve and spend the third day doing Acadia..... but again, we'll take a look at what y'all think, so POST UP!

 

[Fred W]

I think you may already be counting me in, but I'll be riding in to KTP (2-up) on Friday AM.

We'll be staying and going wherever the group does Fri, Sat, Sun.

And it's A-OK with me if we wind it up in the Mt Desert / Bar Harbor area.

 

[TheAxeman]

I'll be riding solo and will do the 3 day tour also. I'm good for Bar Harbor but will bail if the group is heading to Eastport. You may want to try the Bar Harbor Motel for lodging. Its right down the street from the entrance to Acadia. I've stayed there a couple of times and its a nice little place. You can park right outside your door and the free shuttle bus into town stops right outside the hotel every 1/2 hour or so. That way people can go into town and imbibe a couple of beers without worrying about driving. :drinks:

 

[Fred W]

+1 - I've also stayed at the Bar Harbor, and there are lots of eating and drinking establishments within walking range. It isn't the cheapest in the area, but sometimes you pay a little more to be closer to the bars.

 

[S76]

I like ending in Bah Hah Bah.

 

[Iris]

+1 for Bar Harbor.

+another 1 (for Jim)

 

[Fred W]

Seems almost consensual...

:blink: