Orny's Cycling Journal

Today was not a training ride. Today was an expedition.

My friend Bill and I drove up to Lovell, Maine, where we set off on the well-known Evans Notch loop ride. After a couple respectable hills, we rode at a casual pace through Fryeburg Harbor, the source of the Saco River, and then turned north onto Route 113, the heart of the ride. Bill tagged along with me to the fabulous bakery in Stow, then continued on until we hit the New Hampshire state line, 15 miles into the loop. At that point, Bill wisely turned back; he's not as deep-fried as I am.

It was about then that the mountains we'd seen started to dominate the horizon. After passing back into Maine, the road went into the White Mountain National Forest, and signs began warning that the road ahead was closed in the winter because it was too steep to be plowed. I passed over a little stream and had a brief rest at Brickett Place, a small historical building at the foot of the pass.

As they say, it was all uphill from there: I gained 1000 feet of vertical height over a mile and a half of distance. It was the first hill that ever challenged me, the first hill I've ever stopped on. I suspect that was more due to duration than incline, because it really didn't seem any steeper than Great Blue Hill (and on average, I don't think it is; it's just longer). At the top is a turnoff with a scenic overlook, where I stopped and watched a tourist drop their camera down a steep slope. Just around the next corner was the true height of land, where the Saco and Androscoggin watersheds diverge. It's also where you get dwarfed by the cliffs of the Royce Terrace, which tower straight up another thousand feet above you. It was breathtaking.

The benefit of climbing the steep side of Evans Notch is that you get a longer coast down the shallower other side. The eight-mile slope dumped me in Gilead, where I crossed over the Androscoggin via a single-lane bridge with a marvelous view. Next it was on to Bethel, where I had a bit of a rest halfway through the ride. Then south to Hunts Corner, where I struggled over my second mountain pass of the day: the 2-mile, 500-foot ridge between Cummings and Lovejoy Mountains. On the long downhill into Waterford, I hit a new personal top speed: 42.7 mph.

After a Gatorade refill at Waterford's convenience store, I was on the home stretch. I stopped briefly at Keewaydin Dam in East Stoneham, before the final run down to Lovell. Unfortunately, there were four really big rollers in North Lovell, which were a little more than I wanted to deal with at the end of a long ride. But they were negotiated, and I finally returned to the car with a sense of personal victory and joy. Seventy miles at an average 14.5 mph, taking just shy of 5 hours, through two states and two mountain passes. It was absolutely gorgeous, and a ride I heartily encourage for the well-conditioned rider.

Photos can be seen on my Cycling Photos page. A SKI Magazine article (decribing the ride in the opposite direction) can be seen here. A description, photos, map, and cue sheet (starting in Bethel) can be obtained here.