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...
One of the key draws to Bradbury Mountain State Park was the fact that we could camp, and then ride right from the campground. That's pretty cool!
It IS a bit ambitious to call this a "mountain." Even the Maine Geological Society describes this as "a small, inconspicuous hill, less than 500 feet high." But, the park has about 800 acres and just under 19 miles of mountain bike trails, making it a popular destination for the greater Portland and Freeport area riders.
Overall, the area, despite having the 'mountain," in the park's name, was relatively flat. There were a few punchy hills, but other than the trail to the summit, no real climbs. What the park does have in abundance is twisty, turny, singletrack with lots and lots and lots and lots of roots.
I would have preferred my "plus" sized bike as opposed to my regular 29'er, to soften the blows, or even... a full suspension bike... well, no, that's crazy talk. Roof rack restrictions keep me to regular MTB tire widths tho.. However, Jean was quite happy on her Habit.
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| Jean cresting the summit of granite and pegmatite at Bradbury "Mountain." |
After that, we did what everyone does while in Freeport, visited LL Bean.
I've never really found anything that I thought was an amazing deal at the outlet store. I just don't really have the patience to sort through all of the racks of stuff. And the regular store is too overwhelming to me. I'm so much happier in small stores or online. The bike shop was good though, and I scored a good deal on some cycling shorts.
After supporting the local economy, it was time to head back to the campsite and chill.
We were going to head out for a quick morning ride, but thunder, lightning and heavy rains changed that plan. It was quite comforting to wake up to pouring rain and watching the weather from the dry interior of our camper. The days of scurrying about and trying to pack up wet tents, wet rain flies, wet tarps and wet everything else are over. The worst part was then having to set everything up to dry out at home...
Anyway, it was a short trip, but fun nonetheless. The campground was very good and the ranger was super helpful. Stay tuned for more Maine mountain biking coming soon. In the meantime, here are some more random photos:
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