The Clifford Park is an urban trail system located near downtown Biddeford. Hiking or walking the length of the black trail loop is just over 1.5 miles. There is an extensive number of cross-trails and care should be taken to follow the correct path.
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Mid Coast NEMBA will be hosting the Ragged Mountain Fat Tire Festival this weekend. Adrenaline fueled down hill, lift rides at the snow bowl camping and fat tire fun to be had over two days.
There will be a film screening at 8pm of Pedal Driven and Life Cycles at the Camden Opera House.
Pedal-Driven: The Official Trailer from Howell at the Moon Productions on Vimeo.
Life Cycles OFFICIAL Trailer from Life Cycles on Vimeo.
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The award-winning mountain bike documentary Ride The Divide will make its Maine premiere at 7:30 p.m., Oct. 19 at the Frontier Cafe & Cinema in Brunswick.
Maine’s only finisher of the Tour Divide Race, Stephen Gleasner of Appleton, will speak after the film.
Teaser Matthew Lee from Ride The Divide on Vimeo.
Ride The Divide is an inspiring journey about the world’s toughest mountain bike race, which traverses over 2700 miles along the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains. The film weaves the story of three characters’ experiences with immense mountain beauty and small-town culture as they attempt to pedal from Banff, Canada to a small, dusty crossing on the Mexican border. Mike, a 40-year old family man who uses this challenge to chart a new course in life; Matthew, a leader in extreme endurance racing who’s competing for his 5th time; and Mary, the ?rst female rider to race this route, will set out to accomplish what very few have been able to. Over the course of a few weeks they’ll attempt to climb over 200,000 vertical feet over the Rocky Mountains. That’s the equivalent of ascending Mount Everest from sea level seven times. They’ll experience mental breakdowns, treacherous snow, hellacious blisters, and total fatigue. Above all, they’ll race with no support – at times in total isolation. The tests of endurance and the accomplished moments throughout Ride the Divide prompt us to re?ect on our inner desires to live life to the fullest.
Upcoming screenings around New England:
October 18 7:30 PM | Northampton, MA Pleasant Street Theater
October 19 7:30 PM | Brunswick, ME Frontier Cafe & Cinema
October 20 7:30 PM | Waltham, MA Embassy Cinema
October 24 7:30 PM | Lake Placid, NY The Palace
October 26 7:30 PM | Burlington, VT Billings Theater University of VT
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Mountain bikes are designed to meet very different criteria from a street racer. A bike with steep head angle and shorter wheelbase handles more quickly than one with larger angles and a longer wheelbase. Wide tires and long travel suspension are designed to take rougher terrain.
Combine all those characteristics with your desired type of riding and you can arrive at the mountain bike you want.
Many people follow Shore Road in Cape Elizabeth to see the ocean and visit Fort Williams State Park. However, there is a small gem of preserved land with an easy trail and many vernal pools along this road and only a short distance from the better known state park. Robinson Woods, part of the Cape Elizabeth Land Trust (C.E.L.T.) has 87 acres of fairly level packed dirt path that winds its way around a nice a loop where you can smell the ocean while checking out the local flora and fauna and hopefully catch a glimpse of wildlife. There is a self-guided tour book available at the entrance, please be sure to return it for others to enjoy.
Open dawn to dusk, no fee, hiking, bird watching, dogs allowed on leash and under total voice control, mountain biking, no trash, no toilet.
For more information: http://www.capelandtrust.org/
To get there: From RT 77 take a left on to Shore Rd toward Portland Head Light/Fort Williams State Park. Trail access on Left just after Pond Cove on Right. The sign above on this post will be visible. There are also trail entrances at Dyer Road and Rock Crest Drive.
While not a Portland Trail trip for us, this was an exploratory trip as our dog had minor surgery and we decided to find some trails less traveled; Robinson Woods turned out to be just what we were looking for. We dedicided to take the boundry trail on this 1.4 mile loop trail. Most of the trail is packed dirt, fairly level, and a few small bridges to help you over vernal pools. We saw many old trees of different varieties and found the trail marked well with white blazes as well as signs with the greenbelt where the paths overlap. The website says that there are deer, owls, fisher and woodpeckers residing in Robinson Woods as well as Eider Ducks that raise young near the protective waters. There is also fresh water that goes through the woods and is a tributary to the ocean at Pond Cove.
Notes: During our visit in July 2008, we found the trail to be quite nice and we only saw two people walking a dog so there was a lot of solitude. However the misquitoes were of a different hybrid breed that we have never encountered before. We both sprayed ourselves down before entering the woods and came out with many a swollen bite on us. Even our poor dog was “bugged”. One of my favorite moments though, was rounding the path on the way back parallel to Shore Road and smelling the ocean. With the proper bug spray, I would think this would be a fabulous place to take children and take the self guided tour to educate them about the local flora and fauna. We didn’t see the book until we were on our way out, but next time I would certainly take it along as there are many well marked spots along the trail and I would like to know what they are.
Have you been here? Send us a comment and tell us about your experience.
