burlington to portland

jimmymd

my son is trying to convince me to ride with him from burlington vermont to portland maine. at least he has enough sense to wait until after the winter. any recomendations on routes or any other pertinent information?

Miles2go

Hey Jimmy!

Go for it!!

Back in 2005 my wife and I took 24 days and rode from Burlington to Bar Harbor ME and back again, over two different routes. You can check out what there is of that gallery here: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/BurlToBar

I'm not much into giving route advise because things can change so much in a year's time. If I lived out there though it would be different. One thing I bet hasn't changed is the frost heave laden backroads. Make sure your wheels are in sound condition. Also there are some steep hills out there. I'm used to climbing mountains and in fact, that's our favorite kind of touring. I couldn't find any 10-20 mile climbs out there but there are some short pitches that will test even the lowest of gearing.

Two other things I can tell you is to be prepared for heavy rain and make sure you've budgeted for all the great ice cream stands/shops along the way. Outstanding!

Cheers,

Ron
www.fullyloadedtouring.com