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Mark | 4 Jul 2003 22:26
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Portland-Thomsaton Maine

Rick asked  "Does anyone have a suggestion for a good route from Portland to Thomaston?"

Rick

Although I have never ridden Portland to Thomaston, I do live in Maine, between Portland and Thomaston and
would suggest the following route:

>From the train station take the road out to congress st (I think that it is Sewell) - Turn Left on Congress (rt
22) and go 1/4 mile to the junction with rt 9 - this is going to be the worst 1/4 mile of the trip.  Turn Right at
the junction with Rt 9 - there is a Shaws grocery store at the corner here where you may want to stock up if you
need to do that.  Take Rt 9 about 30 miles to Lisbon Falls - after about 5 miles you will be clear of Portland,
and the ride will be relatively rural.  You really want to avoid rt 1 between Portland and Freeport - lots of
crazy tourists in SUVs who make it really scary!

>From Lisbon Falls, take rt 201 to Brunswick, and then Rt 24 to Bath.  From Bath to Thomaston you could take Rt
1, it is less busy here, but the traffic does move quickly. 

If you wanted to avoid Rt 1, and had the time for a few extra miles, then from Lisbon Falls, take Rt 125 to
Bowdoinham, Rt 24 to Gardiner, Rt 126 to Jefferson, Rt 32 to Waldoboro, (stop at Moodys diner - It's a Maine
Landmark.) Rt 220 to Friendship, Rt 97 to Rt 1, and then a mile down Rt 1 to Thomaston.

Rt 1 will have fewer hills, more and faster cars, and will get you there quicker.

Mark
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Mark | 4 Jul 2003 22:08
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Re: Portland-Thomaston route


Although I have never ridden Portland to Thomaston, I do live in Maine, between Portland and Thomaston and
would suggest the following route:

 From the train station take the road out to congress st (I think that it is Sewell) - Turn Left on Congress (rt
22) and go 1/4 mile to the junction with rt 9 - this is going to be the worst 1/4 mile of the trip.  Turn Right at
the junction with Rt 9 - there is a grocery store at the corner here where you may want to stock up if you need to
do that.  Take Rt 9 about 30 miles to Lisbon Falls - after about 5 miles you will be clear of Portland, and the
ride will be relatively rural.  You really want to avoid rt 1 between Portland and Freeport - lots of crazy
tourists in SUVs who make it really scary!

Does anyone have a suggestion for a good route from Portland to Thomaston?

I'll be taking the train from Boston to Portland and then riding up to the 

St. George Peninsula.

A couple of years ago, I rode back from the Peninsula to Boxborough, MA 

(west of Boston) and used the Adventure Cycling maps. They were very good 

in Maine (although they seemed to choose hillier inland routes), but they 

were AWFUL for New Hampshire.

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Mark | 1 Jul 2003 12:37
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Re: Computers


        I'm looking for a new bike computer and have found the selection worse 

than ever.  Perhaps someone here can tell me about one I don't know about.

Peter

I went through a similar exercise a few months ago, with the same requirements.  I ended up with the Cat Eye
Astrale.  It worked fine for about 500 miles, then I was out riding on a fine misty-rainy day, and the display
locked up.  It was able to be reset, and worked fine for a few hundred more miles, then again it locked up - then
a third time.  Each time, you can reset the unit and get it working again, but this is a royal PITA and it
eliminates the usefulness of the odometer.  I have contacted Cat Eye, and they have offered to
repair/replace the unit, and it is en route to them.  In the mean time, I bought a new computer - the newer
version of the Astrale and it seems to be working fine, but only as a couple hundred miles on it so far.

Mark

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Mark | 30 Jul 2003 20:31
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Re: How many speeds are enough?


When 9sp came out there were a lot of folks saying that the

chains were too narrow, chains would break, yada yada.   That

seems to have quieted down since there has not been any 

evidence of incidence of chain problems being any higher with

9sp than with 5,6,7,8 sp drivetrains.  

Just anecdotal evidence here - but I have three bikes - the one that I bought new in 1976 has the original
freewheel, original chainrings, and needs new chains less frequently than the other two - it is mostly a
foul weather bike now, so the drivetrain sees more than it's fair share of nastiness.  Periodically, (I'd
guess about every 3-500 miles) I take the chain off, clean it in kerosene,  soak it in chainsaw bar oil, hang
it up to 'drip dry' and put it back on the bike.  

The next one is about 10 years old, Shimano XR-100, 7 speed cogs, which are now in need of replacing.  Chains
wear out on that bike about every 3000 miles.  Chain gets cleaned about every 200 miles, and lubed with a
teflon lubricant every 100 miles or so.

I have a new bike this year, which has Campy Veloce chainrings and 9 speed cassette - the bike has 1300 miles on
it, and when I checked the chain today it had stretched by more than 0.5% - I expect that I will be replacing
the chain before the bike has 2000 miles on it.  This chain has also been cleaned about every 200 miles, and I
have been using Pedros Ice Wax on it, although I like the teflon lubricant (finish line) better and will be
using that from now on.

No major problems with any of the drivetrains, just an observation that it seems the more cogs, the shorter
the chain life.
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Mark | 24 Jul 2003 16:32
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Touring in Nova Scotia


Jeff wrote:

My wife and I would like to do a week unsupported tour in Nova Scotia,

>Sept. 6-14, 2003. We hail from Ann Arbor, MI and are interested in

>starting and ending points that would bring us near railroad or airline

>hubs on the inbound and outbound legs, as well as interesting/scenic

>routes to fill our week. We would prefer to predominantly camp.

One thing that you might want to consider is flying into Portland, Maine, and taking the

ferry from Portland to Yarmouth Nova Scotia. 

Mark

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Mark | 25 Jul 2003 11:48
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Re: Right turn signal.


At 11:23 PM 7/24/03 -0700, you wrote:

Something else to think about.  What does the bent left arm look like

when the cyclist is down on the drops?  Without sitting up, I doubt if

most people would be able to comfortably swing their arm up high

My bike is set up with front wheel braking coming from the right lever - 

I do this mainly because I like to have my right hand, on the handlebar and brake 

when I am turning, and I signal all turns with my left arm.  I always sit up prior

to turning for a variety of reasons - it allows me to see what is going on better

than I can in the drops - and turning is a time when you want to know what is

going on, and it makes me more visible to the SUV drivers who are on their phones.

I often do turn my turn signal into a wave, just to acknowledge a driver who yields.

I don't find that my arm is out there for so long as to get tired, but then I don't do

a lot of urban riding where turning is a more frequent maneuver.

Mark

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Mark | 24 Jul 2003 13:01
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Re:Cycling as a sport


At 01:30 AM 7/24/03 -0700, you wrote:

Of course

   It is _not_ a sport. at least not for us tourers. I was extremely

surprized to see cycling branded as a sport when I arrived in the US.

To me cycling is just something we do. like taking a walk, working in

the backyard garden, going for a hike. umm, now... that makes me pause

a bit. Is hiking also branded as a {quot}sport{quot} ? I suspect, yes.

                               Sujay.

Sujay

Here in the US, we have a hard time distinguishing the difference between sport and recreation.

Note the designation of vehicles such as the Jeep Cherokee as 'Sport Utility Vehicles' - what sport

are they used for?  They are certainly used as support vehicles for a variety of recreational activities,

including cycling - but Sport?  Of course the moniker 'Recreational Vehicle' had already been used 

for something that was similarly inappropriately named.  - I consider my bike, loaded with panniers to

be a Recreational Vehicle more than a Sport Utility Vehicle, but most Americans see things otherwise.
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Gmane