Excited to be on the road and cycling NEW ENGLAND!!
Cycling in Northern Maine felt like an extension to the Maritimes in Canada – fishing villages, sailboats, pine trees, granite rocks, the Atlantic Ocean and super friendly people. From the border we started cycling New England by cycling down route 1 (for the most part). We asked to pitch our tent on people’s land when needed. Occasionally we got invited in, other times we were given gifts, like a dozen farm eggs.
The random acts of kindness from people totally blows my mind – coming from Canada where people are known for their friendly and kind nature, to the US, where you really hear a mixture of things – it was hard to know what to expect.
Like a lot of cycling destinations, it’s the people and the random experiences that are the highlights. Personally I found the cycling in Maine very repetitive and a bit boring. This could be from staying in Nova Scotia over winter, with it’s similar environment or just readjusting to spending so much time off the bike. Either way I found the highlight in Maine to be the people we met.
Don’t trust the maps of Maine!
One thing we discovered about Maine is that google maps and other map apps don’t always accurately show the roads. Actually, I found the maps less reliable in Maine, compared to some other countries we’ve cycled through – like Uzbekistan! We were recommended to take a short cut – this short cut actually added several kilometres and hills on our trip.
This “shortcut” we took eventually lead us onto a truck route. The smell of gin and tonic from the overtaking trucks filled the air again. Like seriously, what the hell is that smell? Are the truck drivers gin lovers, or are they running off gin fuel? I guess it’s better than black smoke, exhaust fumes, but it does make me crave gin and tonics, which is probably not a good idea at 9am on a Wednesday morning.
Eventually, we arrived into Portland
Our Warmshowers’ host cancelled on us last minute, so we continued on cycling to find somewhere to camp. Unfortunately, this is where the urban sprawl began! We cycled on for another 40km, without finding anywhere to camp. We ended up staying in a motel – the most disgusting place I’ve probably stayed! The smell of stale smoke stained our clothes for weeks after. So gross – this is my only regret of the trip so far!
And we continued cycling New England into New Hampshire
We continued cycling through the sprawl of hotels, resorts and motels until we hit Portsmouth in New Hampshire. Portsmouth was a pretty awesome city. We spent the day there then camped in the office of another warmshowers’ host.
We were in and out of New Hampshire in a heart beat! The only true discovery other than Portsmouth being a pretty awesome town, was the cheap booze! If you’re in New Hampshire then it’s worth boozing it up before you leave!
Salem: The home of history and witches
The next state on the cycle agenda was Massachusetts! Since I studied the play, “The Crucible
Salem was a pretty awesome town. One of the oldest European settlements in North America. It definitely was touristy and their were a lot of tacky witchcraft shops scattered all over the town, but it was still worth the detour.
Boston: Finally some rest days!
After spending the morning in Salem, we continued on to Boston, where we finally got a few days break off the bike. Cycling into Boston wasn’t exactly fun. The city sprawled a fair bit, but once we found a city bike path, we were all good!
One thing that became immediately apparent in Boston was the aggressive drivers. Even with all the bike paths and cyclists on the road, driving in Boston was stressful and not really that much fun. Sure, if you can stick to a bike path, it might be fine, but stray from that and you’re risking your neck.
To sum up Boston: food, beer, walking, more food, more beer, couchsurfing company and good music! We had an awesome time in Boston!
The Sam Adams free brewery tour with free beer was definitely a highlight and I highly recommend checking it out if you’re in the city! It’s a bit out of the way, but definitely worth it – they even have a bike path that leads pretty much to the brewery door! We also got to listen to some local music, walked the freedom trail, paid a visit to Harvard University (because we’re pretty smart) and visited the Fine Arts Museum (free on Wed evenings – and really impressive). Boston also had an awesome selection of vegetarian and vegan joints, so we were two very happy cyclists.
Cycling Western Massachusetts
From Boston we decided to take our couchsurfers’ advice and catch the commuter train to Worcester. Apparently the road from Boston to Worcester is pretty dangerous, and it was raining, so we didn’t need much convincing. From Worcester we cycled to Belchertown. After getting out of the Worcester town centre, the cycle actually was awesome! Lots of hill climbs, but amazing views and beautiful scenery!
We spent that night with a warmshowers’ family in Belchertown – amazing family, with the friendliest dog ever. I was actually tempted to steal their awesome dog – I think she would have loved cycling New England with us haha.
The following day was probably one of our favourite cycle days in the USA – awesome cycle paths, amazing scenery and yes, more hills! We camped next to a state park near the New York border. The campsite was beautiful, and so peaceful. Due to the bad and very unpredictable weather we ended staying with people a lot more than usual (mostly people took pity on us and invited us in to stay). In almost 1 month this was only the forth time we set up our tent! Crazy!
The following day we cycled to the New York state border! Finally, we had come to an end of cycling in New England! Next we were to cycle the “mythical” Erie Canal Bike Trail.