FINALLY, A CHANCE TO EXPERIENCE PORTLAND BY BICYCLE

After two consecutive days of rain, the sun came out on our second day off this week. It was time to explore Portland by bike. We noticed when we walked the Back Cove path last week that it connected to the Eastern Promenade, a biking and walking trail that runs along the eastern shore of the city and ends at the Portland waterfront. Since there was a large - and free - parking lot at Back Cove, we began our journey there, peddling partially around Back Cove, then picked up the Eastern Promenade bike trail. The trail is part of the East Coast Greenway, a trail that will one day link Calais, Maine, with Key West, Florida.

First stop was Eastern Park, which has a small beach. How would you compare this beach to the beaches in Florida, the Jersey Shore, or elsewhere? There is a small ferry in the upper left of the photo. While the sun was shining when we began our ride, it soon became an overcast day.

Here is a closer look at the ferry just after a truck had driven onto the ferry. The truck gives you some perspective of just how small this ferry is. There are over 100 islands off the southern Maine coast east of Portland, although only seven can be reached by ferry service. We don't know which island this ferry visited, as no signage was displayed near the boat ramp.

Out in the harbor, we noticed a large fort built on an island.  Fort Gorges was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during the civil war on Hog Island Ledge in Casco Bay at the entrance to Portland Harbor. It is similar in size and construction to Fort Sumter except that it is built of granite instead of brick. It was acquired by the city of Portland in 1960 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is now open to the public as a park, but is accessible only by private boat, so we won't have a chance to get out there.

Paul taking a break and enjoying the harbor scenery.

On our return from Portland, we traveled the rest of the Back Cove trail, for a total ride of 12 miles. Not bad for our first trip - but will we be stiff tomorrow?

Sometime during the summer, we hope to load our bikes on a ferry to travel to at least one of the islands off the Portland coast and explore the island by bike.