With Friday night's snowstorm on the way, I thought it would be a nice time to think about something hopefully warmer, dryer and more fun to do!

Yesterday, the Bicycle Coalition of Maine announced what will be their first big bike ride.  "BikeMaine", the 2013 Inaugural Ride will take place over a period of seven days beginning on Saturday September 7th in Orono.  The 400 mile trek will consist of 350 riders peddling 60-72 miles per day.  The ride will travel from Orono to Ellsworth, then to Bar Harbor, Castine, Belfast and up to the tours end at Dover - Foxcroft.

This year, the ride will begin with 350 eager participants, in the following years of the ride the Coalition would like to see that number expand to 2,000 riders.

According to the Coalition's executive director Nancy Grant, the ride's mission will be "to showcase the fantastic biking that we have in Maine, and realize the tremendous economic potential of bicycle tourism in Maine".

This will not be a ride for the novice, it will include rides of up to 72 miles per day, and of course the peddlers will have to conquer Maine's sometimes challenging terrain.

 

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Ride.Bike.org photo

The tour is being called "a 400 mile celebration of Maine", as 50% of the participants will be from out of state.  Each rider will pay a fee of $875, and the package will include camping facilities, meals and  entertainment.  The Bicycle Coalition of Maine's mission is to "make Maine better for biking", and 40% of the entry fee will go towards just that, the other 60% will be investing back into the "host communities" of BikeMaine.

Below is a video of the Bicycle Coalition of Maine's annual Lobster Ride & Roll.

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