Acadia National Park - Spring Riding.

[singlecross]

Hi all... I thought I'd post a heads up that Acadia National Park will be opening the Park Loop road one month later than normal due to decreasing budgets. Road normally opens on April 15 but this year will be opening on May 19. We Locals ride the Loop Road in the window from when the snow clears (usually April 1st or so) until the road opens to auto traffic... usually 2 weeks. This year that window has been stretched to 6 weeks. If you have ever thought about coming to Acadia to ride your bike, or wanted to ride a beautiful road through a National Park with NO auto traffic... now is the time. The gravel Carriage Roads will be open as well providing a near infinite number of mixed surface ride options through the Park all with no auto traffic. Come on up and enjoy some amazing, quiet Spring riding with me!

Best,
singlecross

[gdw]

Sweet, you'll have the roads and black flies all to yourselves. :banana:

[druptight]

Good riding up there! Do you know when they close them in the fall? I'm planning a September ride from Portsmouth, NH to Bar Harbor over 3 days. Can't wait!

[MattTuck]

Nice! Is the road to cadillac free of snow already? That's a great ride, either from bar harbor up to the summit, or after doing Park Loop.

[skijoring]

Good riding up there! Do you know when they close them in the fall? I'm planning a September ride from Portsmouth, NH to Bar Harbor over 3 days. Can't wait!

Pretty sure they close the loop road sometime in October.

[skijoring]

Hi all... I thought I'd post a heads up that Acadia National Park will be opening the Park Loop road one month later than normal due to decreasing budgets. Road normally opens on April 15 but this year will be opening on May 19. We Locals ride the Loop Road in the window from when the snow clears (usually April 1st or so) until the road opens to auto traffic... usually 2 weeks. This year that window has been stretched to 6 weeks. If you have ever thought about coming to Acadia to ride your bike, or wanted to ride a beautiful road through a National Park with NO auto traffic... now is the time. The gravel Carriage Roads will be open as well providing a near infinite number of mixed surface ride options through the Park all with no auto traffic. Come on up and enjoy some amazing, quiet Spring riding with me!

Best,
singlecross

Right on, Adam. We'll be up in June 16-21! Do you still run that cafe?

[roguedog]

Man, this is good stuff to know. One of the places I think would be great to visit and ride. Didn't know they closed the roads to autos during certain times of the year.

[moose8]

Acadia is an awesome place to ride a bike. Another fun variant that involves about another two hours of driving is after doing Acadia spend another day or two and drive to Lubec and then ride over the bridge to Campobello and explore the island's dirt roads and visit the Roosevelt museum. You need to remember a passport - last time I did it the border guard grilled me on the way back in when all I had was a tiny saddle bag and he had seen me cross a few hours before. Man, I'm getting excited about riding this summer.

[roydyates]

Sweet, you'll have the roads and black flies all to yourselves. :banana:

I've never been attacked by blackflies in acadia. However, I go in July and August. Do blackflies have a spring season?

[gdw]

Yes, typically black fly season can run from mid April to the end of May and the park has or did have them. They are less common near the coast because of the breeze but more noticeable and obnoxious in the woods.

[singlecross]

Hopefully I can still ride faster than a blackfly... but maybe that will become my litmus test of when to stop riding altogether.;)

singlecross

[rounder]

What kind of gearing do you need to ride up Cadillac Mountain.

[victoryfactory]

What kind of gearing do you need to ride up Cadillac Mountain.

For most road riders, Cadillac can be done in "normal" gearing.
say about 39x27 I need 34x27 it's a beautiful climb around 1500'
on a newly repaved road. Compact gearing wold be ideal.
The climb is a spur off the main park road
which is about a 27 mile loop.

This from tourofcalifornia.org website. :
Category 4: Usually less than 2 miles in length. Climbs of 250 to 500 feet in elevation gain.

Category 3: Between 2 and 3 miles in length. Climbs of 500 to 1,500 feet in elevation gain.

Category 2: Between 3 and 6 miles in length. Climbs of 1,500 to 3,000 feet in elevation gain.

Category 1: Between 6 and 12 miles in length. Climbs of 3,000 to 5,000 feet in elevation gain.

Hors Catégorie (HC) or Above/Beyond Category: Usually more than 12 miles in length or with grades often exceeding 10 percent. Climbs of 5,000+ feet in elevation gain.

So Cadillac would be a cat3..

on another note, I just have to say it makes me crazy that every time
the govt (Fed or state) has a budget fight the first thing they do is
shut down the parks. Sheesh. Why don't they cut their own pay?

See you in Acadia. I'll be the fat old slow guy with the biggest smile on his face.

VF

[singlecross]

Cadillac is a 3 mile climb at a very steady 5% grade. Normal road gearing is fine for most with a low of 39-25. Compact would obviously make things easier with a low of 34-27. YMMV.

singlecross

[rounder]

Thanks, I have been there a number of times but never on a bike. You can see forever. I saw a Model A Ford drive up the mountain one time.

I always wondered what kept the big boulder that is on top of the mountain from rolling down.

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . is often more of a problem than the grade. That and coping with the auto traffic. Lots of folks, especially on the way down, who drive at a snail's pace to enjoy the view, or who just suddenly slam to a near stop, pull out unexpectedly from pull-off areas, etc.

I've been to Acadia/Mount Desert Island at least 20 times and some of the best riding is on some of the back roads. There are also a few spots in the carriage road system that could be considered back roads--the upper loop around Sergeant is mostly very lightly traveled and offers some spectacular view inland. At times I've stop to enjoy the view and sunshine for almost an hour and only one or two other riders have come by.

PM me and I can tell you more.

BBD