Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Touring
Reload this Page >

Route suggestion for Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine

Notices
Touring Have a dream to ride a bike across your state, across the country, or around the world? Self-contained or fully supported? Trade ideas, adventures, and more in our bicycle touring forum.

Route suggestion for Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine

Old 05-17-12, 10:33 PM
  #1  
ham
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Canada
Posts: 138
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 22 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Route suggestion for Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine

I'm trying to get from Montreal QC to Portland ME, and then back to Montreal via a different route as quickly as possible, so the fewer the hills the better.

Montreal to Portland
Portland to Montreal

Any suggestions/recommendations?
ham is offline  
Old 05-17-12, 11:32 PM
  #2  
Bikepacker67
Banned
 
Bikepacker67's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Ogopogo's shoreline
Posts: 4,082

Bikes: LHT, Kona Smoke

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times in 3 Posts
It's been a while since I pedaled New England, but the Kangamangus highway in NH, and Rt 5 in VT comes to mind.
Very pretty place to tour.
Bikepacker67 is offline  
Old 05-18-12, 12:00 AM
  #3  
Cyclebum
Senior Member
 
Cyclebum's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: NE Tx
Posts: 2,766

Bikes: Tour Easy, Linear USS, Lightening Thunderbolt, custom DF, Raleigh hybrid, Felt time trial

Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Check out suggestions by plotting routes on www.ridewithgps.com for elevation profiles. Stick with US highways to avoid grades >6% most of the time.
Cyclebum is offline  
Old 05-18-12, 03:19 AM
  #4  
martianone
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Northern VT
Posts: 2,200

Bikes: recumbent & upright

Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 73 Post(s)
Liked 40 Times in 31 Posts
i live in the NEK of VT, the route to montgomery is fine. Rt 58 out of montgomery soon becomes a dirt road and it is quite hilly. where rt58 crosses rt 100 is the base of Lowell mtn - it is a three mile climb to the top - then a really mean down hill - 100 kph on a bike. barton hill road is mostly not paved & hilly as well -- suggest in irasburg staying on rt 58 (left, then a steep hill) to lake region road, turn rt on to lake region rd, about 4 km mostly down hill to rt 5, then another right on to rt 5 into barton. barton , south a long crystal lake is nice- then heading toward burke is hilly. i haven't ridden on rt 114 much beyond burke or east of there - cannot comment on the road, however it is a hilly area. hard to transverse this area and not have some hills.
martianone is offline  
Old 05-18-12, 08:53 AM
  #5  
indyfabz
Senior Member
 
indyfabz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 38,963
Mentioned: 210 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18269 Post(s)
Liked 15,185 Times in 7,172 Posts
+1 on Kangamagus Highway in NH. Pretty ride.

Your route to Portland goes near Lake Carmi State Park. Nice place if you need a place to camp.
indyfabz is offline  
Old 05-18-12, 09:09 AM
  #6  
late
Senior Member
 
late's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Southern Maine
Posts: 8,932
Mentioned: 129 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 12161 Post(s)
Liked 1,475 Times in 1,088 Posts
113 is lousy for bikes. I have ridden part of it, not again.

Take 153 south out of Conway to Rte 25 (we always go through a pretty little town called Freedom NH).

I wouldn't ride 302 either.. there are a bunch of backroads you can take up to Norway. I've ridden them, Blackstrap to Babbige to Dutton Hill to N. Raymond

From Norway you can go W 116

Btw, I love the Kancamangus, but check the elevation gain, it's mountainy, not hilly.
late is offline  
Old 05-18-12, 09:33 AM
  #7  
bikemig 
Senior Member
 
bikemig's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Middle Earth (aka IA)
Posts: 20,505

Bikes: A bunch of old bikes and a few new ones

Mentioned: 178 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5876 Post(s)
Liked 3,445 Times in 2,066 Posts
Also check out the adventure cycling maps of the region. I used their maps when touring in the area and thought that the roads they picked out were, by and large, pretty reasonable. But local knowledge is always best. By the way, while my memories of the Kancamangus were that it was beautiful and not too bad, I thought the hills around Norway were actually pretty demanding!
bikemig is offline  
Old 05-19-12, 07:07 AM
  #8  
late
Senior Member
 
late's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Southern Maine
Posts: 8,932
Mentioned: 129 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 12161 Post(s)
Liked 1,475 Times in 1,088 Posts
Ham,
are you still there?
late is offline  
Old 05-19-12, 07:49 AM
  #9  
raybo
Bike touring webrarian
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: San Francisco, CA
Posts: 2,068

Bikes: I tour on a Waterford Adventurecycle. It is a fabulous touring bike.

Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 119 Post(s)
Liked 91 Times in 50 Posts
I rode on 113 out of Conway and it was a "never again" kind of road to me. It was a busy highway but had an ample shoulder, as I recall. Once I was past the outskirts of Conway, which go on a bit, the traffic died out. I followed 113/302 to Fryeburg, then 5 to 93 to 37 to 118 into Norway, where I are at a fabulous Vegan restaurant! You can read about that day's ride and see dozens of photos in my journal for that day. You can also see my tour tracks at trackmytour.com.

I found riding this part of Maine to be lots of short but steep rolling hills. It looked flat on google! I remember being very tired after this ride.

I am not a local and there are, indeed, lots of local roads that I didn't think about taking as I had no detailed map of the area. As I recall, some of the are dirt roads and I wanted to stay on pavement. For the most part, the roads I rode either had shoulders or were sparsely traveled. Regardless of what roads you ride, you'll likely be surrounded by forest all day.

I also rode the Kancamagus Hwy. It is climbing but through a beautiful National Park. I wouldn't ride through this area without doing it and I did it in the rain!

Last edited by raybo; 05-19-12 at 07:58 AM.
raybo is offline  
Old 05-20-12, 06:50 AM
  #10  
late
Senior Member
 
late's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Southern Maine
Posts: 8,932
Mentioned: 129 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 12161 Post(s)
Liked 1,475 Times in 1,088 Posts
Originally Posted by raybo

I rode on 113 out of Conway and it was a "never again" kind of road to me. It was a busy highway but had an ample shoulder, as I recall. Once I was past the outskirts of Conway, which go on a bit, the traffic died out. I followed 113/302 to Fryeburg, then 5 to 93 to 37 to 118 into Norway, where I are at a fabulous Vegan restaurant! You can read about that day's ride and see dozens of photos in my journal for that day. You can also see my tour tracks at trackmytour.com.

I found riding this part of Maine to be lots of short but steep rolling hills. It looked flat on google! I remember being very tired after this ride.

I am not a local and there are, indeed, lots of local roads that I didn't think about taking as I had no detailed map of the area. As I recall, some of the are dirt roads and I wanted to stay on pavement. For the most part, the roads I rode either had shoulders or were sparsely traveled. Regardless of what roads you ride, you'll likely be surrounded by forest all day.

I also rode the Kancamagus Hwy. It is climbing but through a beautiful National Park. I wouldn't ride through this area without doing it and I did it in the rain!
We did a tour up that way a few years ago, and I think we ate at the same place in Norway. Was it also a health food store?
late is offline  
Related Topics
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
biggerkahuna
Pacific Northwest
11
09-04-17 09:41 AM
baobao
General Cycling Discussion
3
05-24-16 07:20 PM
gadgetglim
Road Cycling
3
06-16-10 03:00 AM
JMallez
Texas
24
06-04-10 08:32 AM

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.