Portland To Quebec Loop

[Paid2Ride]

Saturday was a perfect Maine day for a ride. Sunny,high 80"s, endless blue sky and not much traffic where I was headed. Took Rt.26 up to the western mountains of Maine on great scenic two lane roads. The road led through Grafton Notch State Park with mountains on both sides for great views. This road sneaks into New Hampshire for more farm/woods/lake/ scenery connecting with Rt. 16 which glides into the Rangely Lakes area in Maine. Still heading north and on to Rt. 27 with curving roads and more mountain views ending in Coburn Gore on the border of Quebec, Canada. There were no lines, no waiting at Customs; I was asked a few questions and welcomed to ride on. Rolling Hills and farmland with great roads made a 60 mile sortie into another country [all the signage in Quebec is in French]

feel like I was on a journey. I re-entered Customs at Jackman,Maine after a twenty minute car line-up and was enjoying more "Highland Views". This area is a remote section of Maine but Rt. 201 has great sweeping roads and views.

The last 150 miles had Moose Warnings signs up because this area is full of them. I finally spotted a large calf crossing about a 100 yards ahead of me while I was cruising at about 80mph; I dropped the speed quickly beacuse they travel in pairs at times. Safely through I kept my eyes open the rest of the trip for the big guys hanging out on the edge of the road where they tend to hang getting away from black flies.

All day long I was passing m/c's and 95 % were wavers;including HD's !! Heading soutrh I switched to Rt.2 in Skowhegan and dropped to Rt.27 which followed more lake views. This area has more m/v's and people hence more traffic. I headed to the Capitol,Augusta,and followed Rt.201 again to Freeport and jumped onto Rt. 1 and 88 which brought me back to Portland.

I left at 8:00am and got back at 7:00pm; 11 hours of great backroads on a summer day in Maine. I wore a mesh jacket and pants with Sidi boots and stayed cool all day long. No problem with traffic for 497 miles;at the last 3 miles a woman blows a stop sign and almost t-boned me. Brakes/Horn/Hand Gestures by me and I made it home safely. A GREAT DAY!!!!!!

 

[ChrisW]

while I was cruising at about 80mph;

tisk tisk tisk P2R.

I think I saw you on 16 near the border of ME / NH. I was headed the other way. We were on 3 VFR's, 2 red, 1 yellow. You wear a yellow perf. jacket?

Sorry if I didn't wave, I was a bit busy at the moment if I remember correctly. B)

We had camped that Fri night at Cathedral pines on rte 27 just north of Eustis.

 

[Paid2Ride]

Ahem, I meant cruising exactly at 65mph of course. Yup, that was me; I wear a mesh yellow jacket and I did pass a bunch of bikes that day. I think I remember you guys just cornering on a fairly sharp corner. A couple of you waved;you must have been the third in line? Great day. As the bumper sticker quotes "Getting useless in Eustis" I hope you had a good weekend; I should have brought my suit that day; I passed a ton of great swimming holes.

 

[FJReady]

Paid,

You mentioned a lot of my favorite riding roads. I love the Jackman- Greenville , Rangeley area. Rangely to Errol too.

I was up that way on Friday going from Bethel up through Grafton Notch, Dixville Notch then Colebrook, south on Rt3 to 105 west into VT. Crossed into Canada near Richmond(?) Rt 1349 in Quebec, I think. Our destination was Montreal. Spent the night at hotel downtown Montreal- ate and drank too much. Headed south toward Plattsburg Saturday morning, turned west to Malone NY then south to Saranac Lake. That piece of road (rt30) from Malone to Saranac was awesome. Except for a couple cagers which were quickly dismissed, it was a woody sportin' piece of asphalt.

We rode through Lake Placid and saw boat loads of real helthy looking triathletes and worked our way east again (rt 9N is also a pissa road) to Westport area. Wound our way down the west side of Lake Champlain. Spent the night in Northampton MA. AN excellent day of riding. Weather was perfect as you know.

Next day we did a short tour around Massachusetts hill towns before heading back to northeastern Mass (home) About 950 miles for the weekend. Had a great time.

Anxious to get back to the Rangely area. Camping out at Moosehead Lake being lulled to sleep by the loons is wonderful.

FJReady

 

[twowheelnut]

Anxious to get back to the Rangely area. Camping out at Moosehead Lake being lulled to sleep by the loons is wonderful.

...and awoken by these fookin' deer flies! Damn, I hate those little buggers! :angry:

Don't forget to checkout Mooselookmeguntic Lake. Not as touristy as Moosehead...

 

[FJReady]

If you can get your blood alchohol level above 0.2, the deer flies will leave you alone. Just ask my brother.

 

[wheatonFJR]

@P2R:

Thanks for the report. Sounds like a great ride.

I will be in Maine for portions of the 13th and 14th of September. I will be looking at your route, and incorporating part of it if I can. I will be coming up from VT (white rvr jxn) on the 13th, and heading down the coast on the 15th.

Thanks again for the write up. I looked at the atlas and that ride looks awesome! Only thing better would have been a picture or two!

@FJReady: does your brother do .20 while on the bike? is your brother still alive?

 

[twowheelnut]

@wheaton,

If you can, don't miss the 'Airline'. Woot!

 

[wheatonFJR]

@twn: say wot?

 

[twowheelnut]

The Airline

Diggit, man, SR 9. Bangor to Calais. Oh yeah, baby! Little or no state or local fuzz. Beautiful road for 'flyin'!

 

[Paid2Ride]

FJReady, You hit some other areas I like to loop through. Colebrook/Dixville Notch/||Rt. 100 in Vermont /Saranac and Lake |Placid areas are all geat riding areas. I either do a very long day or have stayed in Burlington overnight to stretch the ride. Another geat ride in northern Maine is Rt. 11 above Millinocket off I-95 at Sherman Station to the extreme tip of the state at Fort Kent and the Canadian Border. It is classified as an official scenic roadway in Maine. From above here you can catch a ferry across the St, Lawrence River and cruise back towards Quebec City.

 

[OrangevaleFJR]

The last time I was in Portland I dropped by a little bar for a quick drink. I ended up having a bucket of steamers and a lobster. I have only been there once, but I miss Portland and Jay's on the water. Hell of a juke box too...great old blues selection.

Watch out for moose.