Mainly Maine

Back to Maine again? Yes, this is our third trip to Maine this summer (Acadia National Park and Bradbury Mountain State Park) as we try to get some use out of our travel trailer.  This trip was to Georgetown Island, sort of near Bath.

We didn't have a specific agenda in mind, and didn't even bring the mountain bikes! Our main plan was to hang out with our friends James & Jessica and just enjoy the Maine coast line.

As is almost always the case, we didn't get on the road as early as we had hoped on Friday morning but go to our destination without incident.

North Conway, NH

I really need to spend some more time riding in North Conway. The trails are awesome and I have a skinny younger brother who seems to enjoy reminding me that it's damn flat on my home trails.

Spending the majority of the time riding in the Boston area, I develop a false sense of security. I feel comfortable riding just about everything on my fully rigid single speed, and then when I occasionally hit some gnar in New Hampshire I start thinking about how I can get "just one more low gear" on my bike and how I can eek out a little more travel in the suspension.

The Quest for the Elusive Cassette

Had QUITE the journey to convert my wife's bike to a 1x10 with one of e13's extended range cogs and a Race Face wide/narrow chainring. I've done this on a few bikes already and the process only takes about an hour total...

I had done my research and ordered a 40t cog compatible with the Shimano cassette which was already on the bike. Upon the cog's arrival, I found that a special tool was required to remove the crank arms. D'oh! I have two huge Craftsman rolling tool chests full of bike tools, but I love needing one more special tool that only does one thing on one bike. Argh.

I headed up to Riverside Cycles, a local Cannondale dealer about 45 min away. They had the tool and had me on my way in only a couple of minutes, but that still took almost 2hrs. I did ask them to order one of the tools for me also. There's always room for more in my workshop. Read more...

Bradbury Mountain State Park, more Maine!

Back to Maine...

Our camping season started in Maine, and we had a good time so we went back for more.

This time, Bradbury Mountain State Park for mountain biking. It was relatively close so it served as a great little weekend get-away.

It's been several years since I rode the trails at Bradbury Mountain and I had forgotten what they were like. Perfect reason to refresh the memories...