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July, 2006
MTB report: Portland
By Deb Moulton
When I recently returned to Maine from living out west in the Rocky Mountains, my new challenge was finding mountain biking trails in the Portland area, there are no obvious mountains sticking up in the air to head toward, so I searched my new neighborhood and found some trails. As luck would have it, I ran into a group of riders who called themselves Maniacs/Rage on Portland.
It turned out they have their own web site www.ragemtb.com/mainiacs and that they meet most every Tuesday to ride the trail systems through out the Portland area. They welcome new riders and post rides throughout the week, in addition to the Tuesday evening treks.
This was a good thing, as I was informed by the local riders that most of the trails in the area do not have any formal maps of trailhead locations, or of the trails themselves. So I signed up to be on their e-mail list, introduced myself as someone who is new to the area and loves mountain biking (plus a list of other outdoor sports), and I checked out the Web site. The response I received was, "Great, /Cool, come to our rides."
One of the first rides I went on with the Rage Mainiacs was called the "River Trail," as it runs along the Presumpscot River. They gave detailed directions where to meet (out at the Shaw's Grocery Store off Washington Ave., back parking lot). When I arrived and introduced myself, they were all very enthusiastic about MTB and really nice. However, I quickly realize I was the only girl (which has continued to be much more often than not). Secondly, they all seemed to be fairly accomplished riders, and I was thinking, "I wonder what I am doing here?" The good news is that the group goes as fast as the slowest person. So if/when I found myself lagging behind, they tended to wait at the corners.
The next best news: the Rage Maniacs are basically non-competitive (though high levels of testosterone have been known to leak out). They have a lot of fun, laugh and do not take themselves too seriously.
Following are three of the most frequently used (and most fun) trails in the Portland area:
As for the River Trail, I would not recommend it for beginners. It is a fun trail with mostly single track, some really awesome steep ups and downs and skinny bridges. Some of the bridges I would call treacherous, and only skilled riders should try riding over them. I still walk some of the bridges, and will continue to, especially after sliding off of a low skinny bridge and landing on my head. My bike also landed on top of me (it caused more pain than I am willing to continually endure). Also, there are places where the trail comes so close to the river that it is possible to fall in.
When I have been out with groups on the River Trail, there is some crossing of roads and about two to three sections of trail depending on who leads. The trail is known in the summer for its abundance of Poison Ivy, and when the River Trail is wet, it becomes more difficult (check out the Jackass video on the Rage On website. This was filmed on the first River Trail ride I was on, and while I don't recommend repeating this stunt, it sure was funny).
Another cool ride is the Rage On Portland Urban Assault.
This one starts at Payson Park and goes through a series of trails and parks through and around Portland with some small road sections weaving through neighborhoods in the city. This ride ends up out by the Amtrak train station. From there we take the new bypass to the Dog Park below the Western Prom, follow the trail behind the dog park up the hill to the Western Prom and work our way to Congress Street. We go down Congress Street to Memorial Square, where it has been known for people to launch and/or ride down the stairs toward One City Center, then down more steps and weaving on down to Commercial Street. From there, riders can head out onto the pier and enjoy the view, as well as the salty fresh air. The ride then follows the Eastern Prom trail back to Payson Park, all in about an hour and a half..
One of the most frequently used trail systems is the Hinckley Loop. This begins at Hinckley Park in South Portland, or off of Sawyer Road on the Cape Elizabeth/South Portland line, which riders affectionately refer to as the "Hamster Trail Trailhead (named for the abundance of wood chips in the parking area). Most of this trail ride is on the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust Trail system. It is made up of single track, and what I would describe as old Jeep roads. It has a combination of some fairly technical areas and several good hill climbs that vary in steepness and length. There is a sweet single-plank bridge section that is about 50 feet long that is fun and challenging. There are also other bridges and stream crossings through the trail system. This ride can take up to two hours, depending on group size, speed and how much we stop to redo sections.
The Cape Land Trust Trails are well maintained, and go close to and through several housing developments.
At the end of this ride I recommend stopping at J.P. Thornton's on the corner of Broadway and Evans. Tom makes some of the best, most loaded pizzas and sandwiches that I have had since living in the Portland area. There is also a good wine and beer selection, plus they sell No Umbrella there!
Portland has an abundance of trails in the area, and I recommend joining some of the local rides with the Rage group, or several of the other groups listed below. This list by no means includes all bike shops and riding groups in the area.
Things to remember
The difficulty with keeping up on these trails is they continue to change. Housing developments have encroached and some of the trails run along private property, which is posted No Trespassing. Please respect the signs. The trails are shared with local communities so follow the rules of safe and friendly biking. Dogs, children and pedestrians have the right of way. It is in poor taste to run into (or over) people. Be polite. These are shared trails, with the emphasis on "shared."
Always wear your helmet. If you are from the Western United States, Eastern trails are very different. Eastern trails have rocks, leaves, roots and log obstacles. When wet, these obstacles become very slippery. When frozen, they're awesome.
It is worthwhile to hookup on group rides. You get to know new trails and meet some new people, some of which have been known to share a beer or two at the ride's end.
All Speed Bicycle and Ski
1041 Washington Ave, Portland, ME
Phone: 207-878-8741
Web site: www.Allspeed.com
Info: Allspeed has mountain bike rides on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 6 p.m., leaving from their shop. When I talked to the staff, they stated the rides are group dependant, but they also said they tend to be a faster group than some of the others in the area.
Southern Maine Cycling Club
Phone: 207-773-1700
Website: www.southernmainecyclingclub.org
Info: There is a Wednesday women's ride that will be starting up this year. See the club news section for the full weekly schedule from SMCC.
Cycle Mania
59 Federal St. Portland , Maine 04101
Phone: 207-774-2933
Web site: www.cyclemania1.com
Info: Wednesdays meet at the shop at 5:30 p.m. for weekly mountain bike rides. This is another group that is similar to Rage in terms of tempo and fun.
Email nick [at] noumbrella [dot] com with your questions, comments and concerns.
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