Shakedown Cruise

29 May 2012 -

The Memorial Day Weekend saw the “shakedown cruise” of USS Twoddles.  (USS stands for Urban Sojourning Sloop and Twoddles is the bike’s name.  Catchy isn’t it?)  We loaded Twoddles and the trailer (still looking to name that) with just about everything we will need for our trip this summer and headed out for an overnight camping excursion, by way of the Eastern Trail from South Portland to its end in Kennebunk.  We then rode the trail back up to Old Orchard Beach and set up camp at Ne’re Beach Campground.  Sure was a great day for a fully loaded, forty-mile plus ride.

Unlike our first foray with the trailer that ended in damage to Twoodles, this trip went smoothly, or smoothly enough to make us think that by the time June 19 comes around we will be ready to go.  As with any planning process we did realize, after we left the house, that we should add a couple of things to our packing list, like cards and a cribbage board, vitamins, and extra toiletries.  Nothing earth shattering of course, just things you think of.

The decision to ride the Trail down to Kennebunk and back to OOB was made for two reasons.  First, to make sure we could get the bike and trailer through all those dang stanchions that keep the motor vehicles out.  Well, in Biddeford, they are so close together at the re-entry point on West Cole Road that on the way back up we had to find an alternative, which ended up being from the parking lot of SMMC; much easier than trying to move the STOP sign out of the way at the other point.  This is not to say that we didn’t have a few minor scrapes.  The trailer now sports a small blot of cute yellow paint on its wheel frame.  The second reason of course was to get the riding experience and break our bottoms in to the seat time that is going to be required this summer.

As it happened, our ride and stopover in OOB coincided with Janine’s, Nola’s sister, birthday party.  We walked from the campground to JJ’s Eatery II down by the beach to take part in the festivities and had a lot of fun as well as some great food, especially since that meant that Rick didn’t have to cook.

Needless to say we were both tired after the ride and heat of the day, so as the sun went down, so did we.  The night went pretty well, though we are considering changing our sleeping pads for a regular air mattress, depending on weight and such.  However, a campground is not always quiet and in OOB on a Saturday night the noise level around 1:00 a.m., when the bars start closing down, gets a bit louder.  If you want the whole story, ask us the next time you see us.

Sunday dawned bright and seasonable, so we ate a hearty breakfast, packed up our gear and headed back to Portland.  After Saturday’s temps in the 80’s, this ride was a whole lot more comfortable, at least for everything but our bottoms.  Gel padding only goes so far. J

One of the major pieces of information we did gather over these two days is that we really need to pay attention to our food intake.  Neither of us ate what we should have on Saturday, so we were a bit underpowered at the end of the ride.  Water wasn’t an issue, we just have to plan better for snacks and lunch than we did.  But that’s what the weekend was all about, and we still plan on making the trip.  So stay tuned for more updates.

Northern NE Weekend

We only did a few miles of bike riding this weekend as it was full of graduation, confirmation, and birthday parties – each in a different New England state (NH, MA, & VT respectively).  However, all the driving we did do gave us some valuable information prior to embarking on our summer bike trip.

As anyone who has planned a trip of any length will confirm, information and logistics is an important part of the planning process.  We understand this as well, so while in Vermont helping our friend Dan celebrate his birthday, we scoped out a couple of the roads we were planning to take in June.  I say “were planning” because it appears that they are not really bike-able roads.  In fact, one of them isn’t really a road as much as a game path or snowmobile trail.  Interesting how Google works, isn’t it?

Anyway, we are lucky to know this now because it would have made for a very long day trying to find an alternate route to Rutland/Proctor by way of who knows what.  As it is, we will be staying on the numbered roads mostly, hoping they have at least some kind of shoulder.

A tremendous amount of rebuilt road stretches across Vermont these days.  Crossing the many small brooks and streams now, we can only imagine their roaring ferocity during the storm known as Irene.  Great divots of hillside were washed away by the raging waters making me think it’s not unlike the scooping soft ice cream from a container, but on a much vaster scale.  We look forward to taking our time and meandering through this wonderful state and marveling at the power of Mother Nature and the tenacity of mankind.

Mother's Day Weekend Rides

Sunday, May 13, we decided to strap the trailer onto the tandem and take the "rig" back on the Eastern Trail.  We needed to practice getting the trailer to fit through the poles put up so motorized vehicles cannot go on the trail.  Today was quite successful!  We never pulled the trailer off the tandem and only bumped the trailer on the side a few times, but in a very minor way, so no harm, no foul.  We went down the Eastern Trail to where it goes around I-195.  There we turned around and headed home.  While we were resting, prior to heading north again, we made friends with a couple who ride a recumbent tandem.  They were telling us of their travels and encouraging us to use organizations like Adventure Cycling for help with maps and campgrounds.  We exchanged contact information and headed back north.  One thing we've realized, especially after these past two days, we need to be sure to take better breaks and fuel up more frequently.  Today we did 35.5 miles on two bananas, an apple, and some Doritos.  Not the best diet plan!  Of course, the trip back over the Casco Bay Bridge via our Chevy Aveo with Becca & Davey D for some Red's Ice Cream was faster and more filling (perhaps a bit less nutritious, however!).

Saturday, May 12, we headed down to Back Bay Bicycle to purchase some new, improved bicycle shorts.  What a difference!  With improved gel padding, we headed west on Route 302 to South Windham.  We enjoyed the minor detour off Rt 302 onto Duck Pond Road, then off 302 onto Pope Road.  We took Pope Road to Route 202 and headed back down Route 237.  This took us right to Beal's Ice Cream!  Imagine that!  What a treat to stop for a double dip prior to heading home through Westbrook.  Our total mileage was 28.5 miles.