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Explore Merrymeeting Bay Bike Tour Set For July 23
Bikers stop at one of the open farms and art studios during a previous Bowdoinham's Open Farm & Studio Day. Elyssa Cohen Photography
BOWDOINHAM — Bike riders of all experience levels can take part in the Explore Merrymeeting Bay Bike Tour, set for Sunday, July 23.
This free program provides riders with the option to take part in a guided 12- or 25-mile ride through open farms and art studios during Bowdoinham's Open Farm & Studio Day. The rides are sponsored by Merrymeeting Trailblazers and supported by Merrymeeting Wheelers and Kennebec Estuary Land Trust.
Both rides leave from Bowdoinham's Mailly Waterfront Park at 10 a.M. They will be paced for beginner or intermediate riders, with stops along the way to tour farms and view the work of local artists. Check out the routes for the ride at bowdoinham.Com.
Riders can also create their own ride and explore the farms and studios at their own pace, according to a news release from Ruth Indrick with the Kennebec Estuary Land Trust.
The bike ride is hosted by Merrymeeting Trailblazers.
Registration for the rides is not required, but it is appreciated for help with ride planning. To register, visit kennebecestuary.Org or call the trust at 207-442-8400.
Check out other upcoming area events!« Previous
Explore Mackinac Island's Forgotten Features With This Guided Bike Tour
MACKINAC ISLAND, MI - Everyone who loves Mackinac Island is familiar with its natural beauty icons like Arch Rock and Sugarloaf. But have you ever heard of Thimble Cave, or what about a place called Dousman's Distillery?
On Saturday, Aug. 5, all these island mysteries and more will be explained during a guided bike tour led by Kyle Bagnall, the park naturalist for Mackinac State Historic Parks. The adventure kicks off at 5:30 p.M.
RELATED: Fairy Arch, the Musical Well: Fascinating forgotten spots on Mackinac Island
The narrated tour will focus on long-lost or forgotten sites around the island. There will even be stories shared about places people might already know about - like the island's Skull Cave and Friendship's Altar - that paint these spots in a different light.
"This special bicycle tour highlights forgotten features which have faded from memory, no longer exist, or have simply been forgotten," Bagnall said. "Some people may know of old attractions such as Deer Park, Fairy Arch, or Scott's Cave, but few have listened for drowsy tinklings at Cow-Bell Point or drank sweet tunes from the Musical Well."
The two-hour tour will invite people to pedal along for about 7 miles. Riders will start at the Fort Mackinac Avenue of the Flags, just behind the fort on Huron Road. Want to participate? Make sure to bring a bike that's easy to ride, some water - and your adventurous spirit! The tour will finish at downtown's Marquette Park.
Ready to read more about some of Mackinac's favorite places?
How a Mackinac Island mansion's playhouse became Grand Hotel's fine dining showpiece
10 gorgeous trails that show off Mackinac Island's inner beauty
Is Lover's Leap the most bittersweet spot on Mackinac Island? Maybe not
How Grand Hotel's cupola lookout spot became a bar with Mackinac Island's best view
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Up-close With Lidl-Trek's Dazzling Custom Tour De France Femmes Bikes
At races such as the Tour de France Femmes, cycling brands are keen to attract the beady eyes of the press photographers and journalists snooping through the cavalcade of team buses and along the roadside.
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For the second edition of the Tour de France Femmes, which began last Sunday, plenty of the women's team bikes have been given a fresh lick of eye-catching paint. Not least, Lidl-Trek's. The team has given all of its riders' bikes custom paintwork, ranging from the conservative to the outrageous.
Courtesy of Trek's Project One customisation scheme, the bikes of Elisa Balsamo and Lizzie Deignan reflect the two ends of this spectrum.
Deignan's bike requires a bit of close inspection to realise what's going on with that blue finish and Balsamo's – well, you can't miss it.
Lizzie Deignan's Trek ÉmondaLizzie Deignan's 2023 Tour de France Femmes Trek Émonda. Matt Grayson
From a distance, Deignan's Trek Émonda looks as though it's painted in a fairly standard navy blue.
However, get closer and you see the climbing bike has a bluey-black base coat with a glistening lighter blue pattern over the top.
The frame has a glistening blue pattern. Matt Grayson
Deignan is running a Bontrager Aeolus RSL 51 TLR wheelset. Bontrager says the 51mm-deep rim of these wheels was designed using 3D modelling to create its fastest and most stable design.
The road bike wheelset uses RSL-level OCLV Carbon which, along with the rim profile, is said to deliver speed and versatility across conditions.
The bike has Bontrager Aeolus RSL 51 wheels fitted with Pirelli P-Zero Race TLR tyres. Matt Grayson
The tubeless-ready wheelset has an internal rim width of 23mm and is fitted with Pirelli P Zero Race TLR tubeless tyres, which are indeed set up tubeless.
We saw Deignan running these tyres on her winning Paris-Roubaix Femmes bike. But while she opted for 700x30mm tyres for the Hell of the North, she's gone for 700x28mm in the Tour de France Femmes.
Deignan is using a 2x drivetrain. Matt Grayson
The Brit has the stage profile on her one-piece cockpit. Matt Grayson
There are sprint shifters on the underside of the handlebar drop. Matt Grayson
Another difference between the Trek Domane Deignan rode into the Roubaix Velodrome and her Tour de France Femmes Domane SLR is it has a 2x rather than 1x SRAM Red drivetrain.
Given the prevalence of 1x drivetrains at the men's Tour de France – also used by the men's Lidl-Trek team – this more conventional setup might come as a surprise.
Maybe we'll see Deignan or others at the Tour de France Femmes switch between multiple bikes with different drivetrain choices, as Jonas Vingegaard did.
One small custom touch to Deignan's Émonda is it has sprint shifters located on the underside of the drops of her handlebar.
Elisa Balsamo's Trek MadoneElisa Balsamo's 2023 Tour de France Femmes Trek Madone. Matt Grayson
An oil slick on the road is a cyclist's worst nightmare. Have one on your bike, though, and you'll likely be the envy of many riders.
Elisa Balsamo's Trek Madone has one of the most eye-catching paintjobs we've seen on a pro bike.
Lidl–Trek rider Elisa Balsamo's Trek Madone seatpost hole. Matt Grayson
The paintjob is similar to the Chroma Ultra-Iridescent Madone SLR raced by fellow sprinter and Lidl-Trek rider Mads Pedersen in the men's Tour de France.
The paintwork helps pick out the aero bike frame's details, from the chunky bottom bracket area to the hole in the seatpost.
Balsamo is running a 52/39t SRAM Red crankset and Time pedals. Matt Grayson
There are sprint shifters on the inside of the handlebar drops. Matt Grayson
The oil slick paintjob changes to orange around the rear dropout. Matt Grayson
Like Deignan's, Balsamo's bike has Bontrager Aeolus RSL 51 TLR wheels wrapped in Pirelli P Zero Race TLR tyres and a 2x SRAM Red groupset.
Balsamo also has sprint shifters, but these are located in the curve of the handlebar drop rather than on the bottom of the bar.
Deignan and Balsamo have also opted for different saddles from Bontrager's line-up. Deignan is using the Bontrager Ajna Pro, whereas Balsamo has chosen the Bontrager Aeolus Pro.
Balsamo is using the Bontrager Aeolus Pro saddle… Matt Grayson
…whereas Deignan is using the Bontrager Ajna Pro. Matt Grayson
The two riders' bikes also use the same Time pedals. The French brand has been owned by SRAM since 2021 and it was announced in January this year that it would return to professional road cycling.
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Time pedals were used for 11 consecutive Tour de France victories, from Pedro Delgado's 1988 triumph to Marco Pantani's 1998 victory.
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