SEBAGO — The first rest stop gave a glimpse of what lay ahead for the cyclists participating in the second annual BikeMaine event last week. And if the far-reaching views of Sebago Lake were any indication, “BikeMaine 2014: Pedaling the Waterways” would be memorable for more than a few out-of-stater riders.
“This is gorgeous. It really is. I wanted to see Maine. And this is beautiful,” said David Schlobach, 54, of Brick, New Jersey, as he looked out on Sebago Lake – and talked about his two epic cross-country rides.
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To learn more about BikeMaine 2014 and view a map of this year’s course, visit ride.bikemaine.org.
Of the 275 riders who participated, more than half – 163 – were from outside Maine. They included riders from Austria, Japan, New Zealand and Canada. Thirty-one states were represented, including seven riders from Florida, nine from Washington and 10 from Oregon.
The BikeMaine tour, which concluded Saturday, covered 348 miles of terrain over seven days of riding. It cost riders $875 to participate in the fully supported tour that included 18 meals, technical support and overnight stays at camping villages complete with showers and nightly entertainment.
The ride, run by the Bicycle Coalition of Maine, is a fundraiser for bike-advocacy work that aims to grow awareness of cycling opportunities in Maine. It started last year with the intent of mimicking rides sponsored by bike-advocacy groups in Colorado, Ohio, Oregon, Washington and other states. But Maine’s was not meant to be a carbon copy of popular tours such as the Ride The Rockies tour, which draws up to 4,000 applicants for a lottery that allows 2,000 to ride a fully supported tour across Colorado.
Instead, BikeMaine was meant to be small-scale and, in the spirit of Vacationland, friendly.
“I’ve done tours in Oregon, Virginia, Utah, North Carolina. I like this. It’s smaller. Those bigger rides, you meet riders you may never see again,” said Jim Serne, 65, of Raleigh, North Carolina, who rides 6,000 miles a year.
“I’ll be back. And I might bring friends.”
Out-of-state riders said they liked the water views, the warm welcome in small towns and exploring back roads with riders they came to know well.
Alan Huguley, 61, of Kensington, Maryland, has cycled tours in many other states, including Virginia, North Carolina and Ohio, where a Midwest tour draws 3,000 riders. Huguley liked the communal feel of Maine’s ride.
“This is pretty similar to those other tours, but smaller – and the views. I like the rivers and lakes,” Huguley said. “I was totally shocked by the size of Sebago Lake. I did not expect it to be this big.”
Glen Engles, 51, of Atlanta, is what you might call a bike-tour bagger. Since Engles dropped 60 pounds four years ago by riding his bike, he has done two tours a year. He was slated to do New York’s bicycle tour this year, but got sick. So he was a last-minute addition to the BikeMaine tour. He said he will return to ride here again, after he’s knocked off a few more states.
“This is more breathtaking than I thought,” Engles said.
The scores of waterways the tour passed included Sebago Lake, Cobbosseecontee Lake in Winthrop, Great Pond in Belgrade, the Kennebec River in Gardiner and the Atlantic Ocean in Boothbay.
Paul Guthrie of Kalamazoo, Michigan, who rides 3,600 miles a year, said Maine’s natural beauty can rival that of his home state. He said BikeMaine’s tour was similar to the one in Michigan, and yet had its own distinct appeal.
“It’s very well organized, and the people are very friendly. This will be quite different when we see the ocean. I’m looking forward to that,” Guthrie said.
Mainers on the ride felt the same way.
A number of them also did the ride last year, and they said what drew them back were the beautiful, back roads they had never seen, let alone ridden.
“I’ve lived in Maine my whole life. The ride last year took me to places I had never been. From Dover-Foxcroft to Belfast we rode some of the most beautiful back-country roads,” said Dick Trafton, 65, of Auburn.
“Last year the riders from out of state didn’t know what to expect. They think of Maine as rocky coast and the ocean. But the country roads were just lovely. It was a part of Maine I was not familiar with.”
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