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Trailman's |
Jumping off Ocean Ave. along Fall Brook remains a great exit from the streets. The short, steep, little uphill to Murray Street is deceptive and takes momentum to climb. At the end of Murray, Extra Credit is only Half Credit after the construction of an elderly housing complex, and much of the woods off Canco Road are now the "The Woods at Canco". Do you think the developer had any idea that Canco is short for "can company"? One of Portland's nicest little strips of woods now is now occupied by an assisted-living elderly housing community for the elderly within walking distance of absolutely zero retail establishments, nowhere near any stores, theaters or public facilities. Is it any wonder we have become a polluting car culture?
The "development" at least connects to the end of Murray Street with a tar walkway (click photo) that will lead you near - but not to - the remainder of trails through there. Don't get fooled by another tar pathway that winds through the woods leading you out to a nearby side street. The "real" trail begins, sadly, between the two trees with the flat rock in between that makes for a great jump, at the far back end of the complex, not designated with any sort of established entrance. It continues through a low, rootsy section before skirting the pond and crossing the now-dry-and-rocky stream bed. Then find your way out behind another condo development and onto Read Street. There's also a hidden middle trail that does peek out to Canco Road, and will loop you to the back of the same condo farm. The path is almost invisible right now with leaf cover and little usage. There remains a moderate chunk of woods here, but what can we do to protect it? It's a matter of time before another project moves in and nature moves out. Where's all that "Land for Maine's Future" money when we need it in Portland?
If you head east, toward Tamarlane, this smaller section of trail is still intact. Be sure to shoot the hidden left heading downhill just after the rootiest part; it's the better piece of trail. From there, good luck crossing Washington Ave. and onto the trails sort of behind Allspeed Bicycle.
Lots of new housing development has taken its toll on the Ledgewood system. It's miserable to see that you can now drive a car up to Elephant Rock, which was well-hidden in thick woods less than ten years ago. A nice dip-in-the-radon swimming pool blasted into ledge replaces the start of the great expert route. And the person who bought a 10-acre lot of woods in there has put up wooden rail fences and installed several video cameras that are hooked up to motion detectors and his computer. Don't move! Smile! Too bad that area's best expert trail is now considered high-security back yard. What's the deal?
It appears the "official" trail through that area is now accessed near the end of the Alden's Walk development, to the left of Andover College off Washington Ave.
Behind Motor Vehicle on Canco Road is all good, just a bit wet in places. Squeeze by the fence to the enlarged parking cage to access the trail. At the junction, you bear left to get to Rocky Hill, but going right brings on the trails leading you toward Allen Ave. Recent flooding has rutted out the approach to the small stream, but it's already wearing in nicely. It's only a tad wet at the low point. Lots of roots await you on the hillside. They've benefited somewhat from the recent downpours as loose sand has filled in some of the rough spots. Ride the exposed root and rock if you enter or exit via Harvard Street, where a fallen tree ripped a hole in the ground.
Shooting the paper streets to Allen Ave. when you graduate from Harvard is still happening. The way is leaf-covered, straight, fast and dry. These are super off-road routes that lets you bypass Washington Ave. completely en route to Allen Ave. and beyond.
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Jump off road at the tracks on Forest Ave. near its intersection with Ocean Ave. and follow the grass path onto Irving Street. At the dead end of Irving, you'll find the tiny trails behind Baxter Elementary School. Exit up to and across the tracks to get to Baxter Woods, which is the best street-free shortcut to Evergreen Cemetery and points beyond. The main routes through Baxter are walking tame, but heading downhill on one is a high-speed thrill all the way to the trail head on Forest Ave. Just keep an eye out for dogs and their walkers. Some secondary routes have sprouted, but be careful about overdoing the woods tromping, as it's a small area with soft terrain.
Don't those car fumes on Forest Ave. make you want to puke? Help do something about it! Commute by bike!!
The inroad at the back of the Evergreen Cemetery is a mess of mud and wood chips from city tractor equipment moving around. The lower, central trail is only a bit moist from recent rain. The upper, expert trail is an awesome stretch with lots of rock face, boulders and dip-and-ups to negotiate, and its several steep downhills to the lower trail are a blast. The route from the central trail to the power line is clear of fallen trees and is a great ride. The roots along the section prior to the pole line are a good reason to go full-suspension. Watch out for the hole at the "T" in the trail, where it looks like an underground drainage pipe has rusted through.
On the cut-thru to Warren Ave., the stream crossing has a pallet for a bridge in place, which make it actually harder to cross. Anyway, it's hard-packed sand under the water. The trail is well-worn through the field and up to the train tracks.
Behind the pond at Evergreen (click photo) is absolute tree root heaven. The section heading to the Bishop Street Trail Head is outrageous with roots and a challenging, rough ride! Whoa, watch out for that huge gopher hole! It's sunken in and steep but there's room to go around it. A major brush pile near the Bishop Street exit was cleaned up by the University of New England last year, but it's baaaack! A new path on the left, several yards before the major brush pile, snakes thru woods and avoids a dismount.
Sandy Road off Morrill's Corner isn't tight singletrack and is fairly flat, but it's a great stretch! Several whoop-de-do's along Sandy are fun at speed. Toward the end, it's the better trail taking the singletrack veering right that bypasses the sick mud section. The bypass is quite rootsy in places. The trail ends behind a polluting stone company in Riverside Industrial Park, a convenient place to hit the road for a few miles to the Blackstrap Hill area of West Falmouth, if you're out for the day.
Taking the cut-across from Sandy Road over the tracks to the Portland Arts & Technology High School (PATHS) campus is a great route if you want to start looping back into town. It's a bit moist right now but the overgrowth is minimal. Part of this trail has been recently widened by some unclear clear cutting, but the turn that brings you to the back of PATHS has returned to prominence. Dip through the low point and you head uphill to the beginning of the fields behind the school. Looks like some woods mashing to the side of the PATHS campus has begun, right off Allen Avenue. Perhaps another development making inroads?
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Blueberry Hill off Presumpscot Street is the same good little warm-up climb. There's just a patch of mud and it's a little limby at the start. The curving, uphill section is challenging and demands low gear as it steepens. Going left at the crest of the hill takes you through a nice, short section returning downhill toward the street; going straight over the hill brings you to Ocean Ave., but it's usually wicked bushy. Go right, before the crest onto a hidden singletrack path and you're headed for stardom. Along here, a big downer detours you right and then back to the footbridge.
From Ocean Ave. to The Dump is good climbing and singletrack, too. The three-tier mini-climb at the beginning is feeling solid. If you keep on straight, it's a challenging, tight, downhill singletrack to the former dump that's in great shape right now. A hairpin left after the climb, before the quarry fence, is a nice rabbit trail that's holding up well. This route takes you across a stretch of pole line and through some challenging sections before depositing you at the dump via a steep, rocky downhill. Lean back!
Going right when you reach the dump road is a steady climb and then there's a great, fast, dirt downhill as reward. The dirt has loosened due to some recent ripping from tractor treads, and I'm wondering what's up for the old pile of landfill. I saw an earth mover on top of the mound last time out. Sliding the corner left after the downhill brings you 'round the dump road into the usual orange puddles. A hidden right along here connects to a nice stream crossing, which now has a rock bridge that makes the great, rocky up on the other side less challenging. You ascend along a pole line section going through Portland/Falmouth to Ledgewood Drive that has its wet spots and go-rounds depending on conditions.
Staying on the dump road, just watch out for the mucky orange and green water on the west side that's a constant seep from the landfill heap of buried rusty metal and all. Before you reach the muck, going right across the plywood "bridge" (click photo) and through the short wooded section is a nice stretch. A fallen tree that looks like a lightning victim blocks the nice, little downhill approaching those slippery clay puddles.
If you bear left through the grassy field, beware of paths that "look like" they may be better routes through here, and stick to the same old ways. Overgrowth has filled as the wetness has dried out. At the far end of the field, turning right is the fast way out to Ray Street. Going left brings on the tricky trails that exit you further down the same street. A downed tree makes you detour left if you don't want to dismount, but watch out for the buried debris that looks like a flat-tire maker!
Heading straight and bypassing the grassy field hooks you up with Indiana Ave. in the Monopoly section of Portland with all those streets named for states. A hidden shortcut off Florida Ave. brings you near the back of L.L. Bean's Northport facility.
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You better check out the trails off Ledgewood Drive in Falmouth real soon because they're goin' fast! Urban Sprawl has eaten up yet another sacred tract of local wilderness. There are about four new cul de sac-type developments within less than mile on Ledgewood Drive now! And they've tarred up a good strip into the new lots! Welcome to the neighborhood! Have you noticed there are no sidewalks on Ledgewood Drive, and a heck of a lot of residential development? Fortunately, even with all the woods depletion, there are some nice trails. The housing forces you onto the power line for a bit longer, but there's a nice woods trail on the edge of extinction on the side of the pole line opposite most of the development, which does a semi-circle back to the same pole line if you keep bearing the right way. Then you can cut in and still hit the trails behind the new housing.
The Presumpscot River Trail (click photo) off outer Allen Ave. is super-fly with lots of new singletrack sections away from the river bank opening up. It reminds me a little bit of the Ledgewood area before it got chewed up by people coming to Maine to enjoy "the way life should be," but isn't... Lots of tough uphills and tight trails make this area a lot of fun. And it's great woods that are a priority to see preserved! The Eel Weir Dam area is looking great, but it is dangerous. Some of the steep, off-camber sections of trail have eroded away and there's little to no horizontal grab in places. Remember, always fall uphill! The stream crossings are always slippery when wet. Near the portage section by the fence near the dam, a few fallen trees have turned it into a totally different trail! Extra challenges have been added to an already difficult stretch. Be aware that many of the log obstacles will not clear your big sprocket. A few clay puddles await you when you enter or exit along the fence by the dam.
Heading westerly along the river is a beautiful stretch, and the land is protected by the Falmouth Conservation Trust, while you're in Falmouth, that is. It would be nice if the Portland side was protected by Portland Trails, but then again, I don't really want to see any more tar and tameness in the woods. Almost the entire stretch is ridable, and you can explore the new uphill routes away from the river bank that will take you out to the Summit Street vicinity or back down to the riverside. Your choice! When you cross under the Maine Turnpike along the river, the singletrack all the way to Route 26/100 is quite flat and fast-going.
If you exit this area earlier, take the usually-slick uphill out of the woods through a field bordering Alice Street.
Hey, just think! If the old S.D. Warren/Sappi paper mill in Westbrook is dismantled as planned, what a great recreational gateway the Presumpscot could once again become! Perhaps a Mountain Bike Park at the site of the old Riverside Trolley Park, with areas for BMX and trials riding, while the cross-country trails could pass through... It is possible! Just one small bridge over the river before the Riverside Golf Course and another further downstream hooks up the Presumpscot area with the trails of Pride's Corner and Blackstrap... Or with the cooperation of the city-owned golf course, things could go even smoother...
Pride's Corner seems like it's on the edge of being developed to death. The woods behind the parking lot appear to be history real soon (click photo). The Pride's Loop is still doable but I wonder for how much longer. It's much better riding than the past few seasons as many of the intentionally-laid trees across the trails have, for the most part, been removed or circumvented by new, small sections of trail. But the look and feel of the deep woods is just about gone, except maybe directly along the river running through the area. They've clear-cut down to the river and the old cemetery is gone!! Someone has removed an old family burial plot! That snaky, pine tree-lined section was definitely one of the most beautiful stretches of singletrack in Greater Portland.
If you take the old route after the now-gone cemetery, down the steep, clay drop to the river, you will find that the bridge is missing, but a large tree remains that you can walk across with your bike in hand if you're careful! Alternately, you can take a right and find a new bridge further along, or go left and cross the river at the right spot that will show itself to you.
There are a few small mud holes along the river, one of the few wet spots I've seen anywhere in all this dryness. The uphill climb away from the river bank is still a great challenge, and it gets steeper near the top! Head onward through the small sand pit and you'll hook up with the pole line trail that continues the Pride's Loop.
At least the pipeline project didn't destroy hardly any of the trail along this section! It runs along the side of the pole line that was little-used by mountain bikers, keeping the cool up-and-downhills intact! Refrigerator Hill (click photo) has packed down after being rutted out severely and is now a more manageable- though still difficult - climb. Be aware that the bridge as you approach the hill has a huge missing section in the middle that you could ride into easily...
The Three Sisters climb on the other side of 302 and Duck Pond Rd. is super-challenging at the beginning, with what seems like lots more loose rock than last season. A test of skill, balance, concentration and endurance, this climb is awesome.
Further back in history, does anybody remember the other family graveyard, near the end of the first trail on the right after climbing The Three Sisters? The trail that used to come out near the water tank? I think someone bulldozed that over, too! What do you think?
The beginning section of the downhill from the crest of the Three Sisters to the Pride's Corner parking lot has been cleared of many intentional tree barriers and is still pretty darn decent! Tricycle Corner is hanging tough and the route goes on nicely across a tar way and through the larger sand pit area. Unfortunately, as things level out when you approach the woods behind the Pride's Corner lot, much clear-cutting has made this once-dark wooded section a mess. On my ride with Matt CroMoly on August 4, we came across two surveyors apparently preparing the land for subdivision, as urban sprawl spreads its ugly disease.
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The super-long downhill to the Piscataqua River off Blackstrap is as screaming as ever. This must be just about the longest continuous downhill in Greater Portland! It's rocky, it's dangerous, and its awesome! The bridge crossings are a bit spooky but doable at speed. It's dried out along the turnpike here and there, and the water pit under the turnpike is barely wet. Some sections of hilly singletrack farther along - off Route 26/100 - have been shot to hell by skidders, as more of rural West Falmouth begins its convert to sprawling suburbia. A swamp - during rainy spells - greets you as you cross Route 26/100 out of the skidder mess to continue the journey. Definitely an increase in wetness since the arrival of many new house lots in the vicinity...
The trails still live thanks to our best friends the snowmobilers around the West Falmouth/Cumberland area, but some more stupid developments are starting to screw things up...
Further on the outskirts of Greater Portland, the ol' Windham Tower climb at Atherton Hill (click photo), off Babbidge Road, is a great challenge! Was informed recently that the fire tower itself has been dismantled! Atherton Hill is straight up, straight off, with no time for warm-up if this is your starting point. It gets steeper and is super-rocky as you ascend. A right turn into the woods about 2/3 of the way up brings you to the top in a roundabout fashion. Then you can shred the steepest downhill on the return, minding the huge rocks and drop-offs as you go... Another trail from the top heads easterly all the way to Blackstrap Road, leaving approximately four miles of tarmac between you and the foot of Atherton.
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