bikingandbaking: photo of my road bike with a tag reading "51" on it (Default)
This page has some additional information about the RUSA 600k Permanent version of White Mountain Getaway.

The route is designed to start and finish near both a hotel and some 24-hour stores; the hotel is used for the brevet version of the route. There is also a free parking lot on Hill Street meant for commuters/carpoolers; overnight parking is allowed. If starting in Portland, running in the reverse direction and using the Woburn hotel as an overnight might make sense. Or run in the normal direction -- there is a hotel near the route around mile 104, or stop somewhat earlier in Concord (many options).

It begins officially in a slightly odd little spot; the intersection of the Tri-community bikeway (a rail trail) and the old boarded-up gates of the former Kraft Gelatin plant. (Eventually some developer will probably do something with this land, and this odd point of local interest may go away, but enjoy it for now. Coyotes have been seen on the bike path in the night, as have other more common city fauna. The start is also reasonably close (~3 miles) to the Anderson Woburn Transportation center, and several other hotels in that area.

There are four sections of unpaved road or trail on this route:

1. A 2.5 mile section on Old Shaker Road at mile 89.8, which can be avoided by taking a right School Street to a left on North Village Road to a left on Lesmerises Rd to a left on Clough Pond Rd and a right back onto Old Shaker (where it becomes pavement again), adding about 2.8 miles. This is the roughest dirt of all of the sections, at least when it was last checked for brevet usage.

2 & 3. The two sections of unpaved bike path between Scarborough and Saco, and then Arundel to Kennebunkport. (The second can actually be made larger by getting back on the bike path sooner.) Most of the smaller streets that parallel the bike path in this area are reasonably pleasant; Route 1 is not, Route 9A is great. This section mostly follows the East Coast Greenway route until you reach South Berwick, minus a few shortcuts. Lots of pretty roads.

4. A very short stretch (.5 miles) on Sheep Road at mile 312. This is well-packed, very smooth. It can be avoided by adding some mileage by taking Snell Rd to 155 slightly north of where the recommended route joins 155.

The stretch between Dover and Woburn may have nothing open depending on time of day; plan accordingly, and there is an ATM at the turn onto Broad Street just before the Dunkin Donuts control, if you need a paper proof of passage during the night.
bikingandbaking: photo of my road bike in front of a statue of an apple (baldwin monument)
This is the information post for my Shadows Over Innsmouth free-route 200k permanent, RUSA Permanent 3608.

This is based on the route for the New England Randonneurs Overnight 200k, but starting in West Medford rather than Lexington. The name is in honor of its night origins -- The Shadow over Innsmouth is an H.P. Lovecraft story whose actual content has little to do with the ride (alas, it's mostly an allegorical screed against interracial marriage masked as a horror story), but I wanted to evoke the quiet darkness of seaside New England. (Innsmouth is a ficticious coastal village in the story, located somewhere between Ipswich and Newburyport, so it would be directly on-route if it existed.) In the daytime, of course, the coast is much transformed -- ice cream and lobster shacks and tons of other riders on the roads.

More route details (and a few pictures when I get them uploaded )
Detailed rules and free-route alternatives )

If you're interested in riding this route, please email me from the link on the RUSA page for the permanent; I do not always check comments here as quickly as I do my email. I will be happy to help you with any questions and information on parking if driving to the start.
bikingandbaking: photo of my road bike in front of a statue of an apple (baldwin monument)
This is the information page for my 118-km (~74mi) Permanent Populaire (RUSA Route #3389) from West Medford to Ipswich and back.

Route map and GPS file on RideWithGPS, (also available to ride in the reverse direction).

More details, including some pictures and control information... )

If you're interested in riding this route, please email me from the link on the RUSA page for the permanent; I do not always check comments here as quickly as I do my email. I will be happy to help you with any questions and information on parking if driving to the start.

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