long bike trip

tweeker43 · Jun 10, 2004

over the july 4th week, i'm planning a trip from michigan, across canada, new york, vermont, to maine. i'd like suggestions in regards to camping, must-ride roads, good sites, and good eating.

good regional beer recommendations are very welcome as well.

i might go for the iron butt and make the trip out in one day, and make the scenic tour back.

so anyway, if people have suggestions, i'd love to hear them.

thanks,

Amkeer · Jun 10, 2004

A must see is Ogunquit, Maine! It's a beautiful seaside town! Must do's when you go there:

-Eat at Roberto's Italian
-Barnacle Billies at Perkins Cove
-Visit Perkins Cove
-Check out the rocky shoreline from Marginal Way
-The hotel that Steven King based the Shining on is there.

York Beach is nice and is south of Ogunquit. You can head up Route 1 and there is a ton of nice places after your stay at Ogunquit.

Moosehead is the Beer of choice for Mainers, along with Molson, Heineken and Lite.

Since you are 1 hour from Boston when you are there I would try to make it to Boston for the 4th of July! That will be something you will never forget, especially the fireworks at the Esplanade on the Charles River.

Daily Drives:
-2003 Toyota Tacoma PreRunner XtraCab, 2.7 Liter , Mobil 1 Synthetic SS 5w30.
ODO 8800 Miles.
-1995 Toyota 4-Runner 3.0 V6, Mobil 1 Synthetic SS 10w30.
ODO 90500 Miles.
http://community.webshots.com/user/amkeer

[ June 10, 2004, 09:16 PM: Message edited by: Amkeer ]

The_Jeff · Jun 10, 2004

The mosquitoes are pretty bad now. I'd finagle some sort of tent, and not just sleep under the stars.

Check out KOA campgrounds and other national outfits; they have maps and some sort of pass system.

Amkeer · Jun 10, 2004

Links:

http://www.ogunquit.com/about.cfm
http://www.ogunquit.org/info/ogunquit.cfm

Its all my old stomping grounds for the Summer.

Boston is Boston if you have never been there you need to go thats all I can say about that.

tweeker43 · Jun 10, 2004

i just ordered a new tent. although the mosquito is the state bird here in michigan, we wipe them out by the millions with our mosquito abatement program. some guy drives by your house with an old two-stroke bellowing exhaust fumes into the ditch. oddly effective.

amkeer, you may have changed my destination to ogunquit. i was originally shooting for bar harbor, but as i have no idea what i'm doing i'm pretty flexible.

Amkeer · Jun 10, 2004

3 campgrounds are in the link provided. Its a must see and give yourself at least 2 days there.

Robertos web site:

http://www.robertos.com/frameset1.cfm

Also scroll through his site. Pretty hilarious! He is by far the best, italian chef! I have yet to eat as good italian food in my 30 something years. As soon as I get done writing this I will be emailing him and see if I can get him to send me some Minestrone soup. Everything he makes is from scratch. Sauce is made starting in the early A.M. every day. The chicken marsala is excellent. The speghetti is fantastic! Anyway I worked there as a teenager washing dishes...Those were the days!

ex_MGB · Jun 11, 2004

I'd rather use the time to sea kayak the 350 mile long Maine Island Trail.

Bret Chase · Jun 12, 2004

A road you need to drive is Shore Rd from Cape Neddick to Ogunquit if you're into the twisties... it needs to be run late at night or you'll run into the back of some **** camper going 10mph. as for the rest of it, I'd skip it and go to Old Orchard Beach then head up to the Old Port in Portland, park the bike in the Fore St garage and just walk around. The Fuji Steakhouse on Exchange St is AWESOME if you like japanese food. I'd also hit Margarita's on Brown St, and $3 Dewey's on Commercial st. Ogunquit's fireworks are pretty good. The Steakhouse about 4 miles up Rt 1 in Wells is excellent. You might also want to check out Yum Mee's in Ogunquit... excellent chinese food.

hth,
Bret

I've spent 27 of my 30 years in this area... Graduated from Wells High School. Perkins cove isn't worth the fight through traffic to get there.

[ June 12, 2004, 06:37 PM: Message edited by: Bret Chase ]

Amkeer · Jun 12, 2004

Bret,

It sure is if you have never been to the area. You have spent 27-30 years so it seems insignificant to you, but to out of towners its good pics and a must see! The Marginal Way with the rocks and coast are spectacular in itself.

He is in the Seafood capital of the world and you are sending him to inland Japanese steakhouses.

You are a confused Mainer!

I travel all over the Country and Ogunquit is still my top 5 destination.

Pablo · Jun 12, 2004

One day? How many miles is that?? You are kidding, right.

Being a west coast weenie, and having visited Boston and Quebec only (on business) - I have not much conception of sites to see and distances...other than be prepared and don't forget the passport.

Bret Chase · Jun 12, 2004

inland? The Fuji is about 150 yards from Casco bay. I'm not confused at all.. I know good food.. if you want great seafood go to The Clam Shack, lower village, Kennebunk, or to Allison's across the bridge in K'port. I've yet to find any of the places in and around Perkins Cove to be worth the price they charge. marginal way is nice and all, but not sit through 2 hours of traffic to go a mile nice.

-Bret

-who's only got two weeks until he can move back out of this massively overpriced state. I can't wait.

tweeker43 · Jun 13, 2004

crap, now that i look at mapquest it's 810, so i'd need more miles. i don't plan on all interstate riding though, so it should go up a bit. my original trip plan was better than 1000. i was heading further north. these guys have talked me into ogunquit though.

for more iron butt info, check this out:

iron butt

be sure to read the rider reports from the iron butt rallies. they are fabulous. this trip will probably be more relaxed than that.

quote:

Originally posted by Pablo:
One day? How many miles is that?? You are kidding, right.

Being a west coast weenie, and having visited Boston and Quebec only (on business) - I have not much conception of sites to see and distances...other than be prepared and don't forget the passport.

Pablo · Jun 13, 2004

OK I guess not THAT far BUTT - You might need a 12 speed road bicycle for BunnBurner

Amkeer · Jun 13, 2004

Bret,

All the years I have gone there it has never been 2 hours traffic, maybe 15 minutes to 30 max. I was there last year and never had any trouble. You can park and walk which is recommended anyways. Robertos is very good food and is less than 1/2 mile from Perkins so yes your judgement is off.

[ June 13, 2004, 06:02 PM: Message edited by: Amkeer ]

tweeker43 · Jun 13, 2004

keep laughing pablo, and i'll change my destination to lynden wa.

holy crap, it's almost 2500 miles from caro to lynden. maybe next year.

i'm going to get to maine and see everything that i can see. my atlas is getting even more dog-eared by planning this trip.

[ June 13, 2004, 06:08 PM: Message edited by: tweeker43 ]

Bret Chase · Jun 13, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by Amkeer:
Bret,

All the years I have gone there it has never been 2 hours traffic, maybe 15 minutes to 30 max. I was there last year and never had any trouble. You can park and walk which is recommended anyways. Robertos is very good food and is less than 1/2 mile from Perkins so yes your judgement is off.

Fine... I'll take the word of the guy who lives in FLORIDA over the guy who lives and works in the area and very frequently has to drive through Ogunquit to do his job.

back to the topic... if you need more miles, head on up Rt 16 in NH to the N. Conway area. take the kancamagus hwy (rt112) between Conway and Lincoln.. it's simply awesome.. make sure to stop at the covered bridge and Sabbaday falls. Also, Bellini's in N.Conway on Seavey st is worth it's weight in gold.. best italian I've ever had. (makes Olive Garden look like the Italian chicken sandwich at burger king)

-Bret

Amkeer · Jun 13, 2004

A guy who is born in Mass., lived in Ogunquit during the Summer and moved to Florida. I spent 8 summers in Ogunquit and some vacations there, heck I would have gone there if I didn't plan a trip to Vegas and Grand Canyon.

Any popular destination spot is going to have some congestion. If it doesn't its not very popular!

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g40790-r2174858-Ogunquit_Maine.html

[ June 14, 2004, 08:55 AM: Message edited by: Amkeer ]

long bike trip

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