DOT touring guide a must for bikers

Lately I’ve felt a little guilty about spending less and less time on my bicycle. During the past couple of years, it seems I’ve drifted toward sea kayaking as a means of seeing new places and meeting new friends.

It’s not that I’ve given up on biking; it’s just that there are only so many hours in the day. But I resolve to spend more time with my two-wheeled friend and to that end I’ll steer you to a good source of information on 618 miles of new bicycle routes in Maine. Actually, the routes have been there for years, but the Maine Department of Transportation recently put together a great guide for anyone interested in touring throughout the state by bike.

In addition to the 618 miles which are Maine’s part of the East Coast Greenway (Calais to Key West, Fla.), there are descriptions for 21 scenic bike tours for cyclists of all levels ranging from 20 miles to a little more than 100 miles. These all begin and end in the same location so you won’t have to worry about juggling cars.

Those of us who ride (or who have in the past) are aware of what we might spend on bikes and bike-related travel, but few of us may know how much we’ve dropped as a group in Maine. The amount is staggering to me – $36 million in 1999, according to the DOT. Broken down, it is $16.2 million for food and groceries, $9.6 million on transportation, $8.5 million for retail and service spending and $2 million for lodging, according to DOT figures.

To get a feel for the spending habits of bicyclists, the DOT commissioned a study by Wilbur Smith Associates of Portland. It revealed that the average biker comes from higher-income households and is middle-aged. Those on self-guided tours spend on average $55 per day, while those on guided tours spend $115 per day. The total economic impact of all this (direct spending, indirect impact and the multiplier impacts), according to the DOT, is about $66.8 million annually. That should give anyone a new respect for bicyclists who too often are regarded as nuisances on the road.

But I digress. You can check out the DOT’s Web site and read more about this, as well as check out the five sections of the East Coast Greenway described in detail. Before you go to their site, however, download a copy of Adobe Acrobat reader so you’ll be able to read these descriptions.

Then go to www.exploremaine.org/bike and check out the trail descriptions. There’s a reminder on the site that you should have an odometer on your bike when you head out, because you’ll find that directions are given down to the tenth of a mile.

John Balicki, DOT’s pedestrian and bicycle coordinator, has put a load of work into coordinating and putting this information up for public consumption. Each trail segment has an introduction listing special features, road conditions, services available and cautionary notes. Then you get complete instructions on where to begin the ride. Directions are given in exact mileage and there are informational notes interspersed.

And best of all, the guide is free for the viewing. If you’re looking for an excellent source of bicycle tour routes, check out the DOT’s Web site.

If you’re not wired yet, you can call Balicki at 287-6600 and ask for a hard copy.

While you’re thinking about bike routes, check out Cynthia Mascott’s “The Official Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Guidebook” (Globe Pequot Press, $14.95). This is a guide of rail-bed conversions to bike trails in the six New England states. Here in Maine we’re not blessed with many routes, but there are five trails (Jay-Farmington; LaGrange; Solon-Bingham; South Portland Greenbelt and Woodabogan rail-trail along the Carrabassett River. In addition, there are three others with brief descriptions: the Aroostook Valley Trail and Bangor-Aroostook Trail, the Calais waterfront walkway, and a planned Old Narrow Gauge Volunteer Trail in Randolph. There are also planned conversions on a line between Westbrook and Fryeburg, an 18-mile trail in Fort Kent and a 47-mile trail from Kittery to South Portland.

This is a handy guide to have in your bike library, especially if you’re planning trips this summer around New England. You’ll find dozens of possibilities. Best of all, most rail-trails are pancake-flat so you won’t be hearing moans and groans from the peanut gallery about hills.

Does your family like to boat, bike, camp or hike? L.L. Bean’s Outdoor Family Fun Expo might be something to check out from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, June 23-24, in Freeport and at White’s Beach in Brunswick. Activities for the day include kayak and canoe demonstrations, a portable rock-climbing wall, Tyrolean traverse ropes course, in-line skating, a trials bike riding demonstration with four-time national champion J.J. Gregorowicz, and a launch party of Fresh Samantha’s new L.L. Bean Juice, Razzle Berry Kids Sip.

This free event should be a good opportunity to meet product vendors, look at the newest gear and learn where to find the best family camping, boating and biking this summer.

You’ll have the opportunity to learn how to pack a backpack, paddle a canoe or kayak, dress for the outdoors, select a bike, get wilderness survival tips, learn how to properly clean your mountain bike and much more. There will be special prices on boats for the event and numerous giveaways and offers.

Call Kelly Golden Somers at 552-7967 for more information.

And speaking of L.L. Bean, don’t forget to register for the 20th annual Atlantic Coast Sea Kayak Symposium to be held July 13-15 at Maine Maritime Academy in Castine. If you kayak and have never been to this event, you owe it to yourself to attend. It’s like going to kayaker’s heaven.

This year’s speakers include John Viehman of Backpacker Magazine and “Anyplace Wild” fame; and Chris Duff, known for his solo kayak trips around the British Isles, New Zealand’s South Island and the Eastern United States. Last year he won the National Outdoor Book Award for “On Celtic Tides,” his account of a circumnavigation of Ireland.

Call the Outdoor Discovery School at 1-888-552-3261 for more information or to register.

Jeff Strout’s column is published on Thursdays. He can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.