Maine to New Hampshire: Week 1, East Coast River Relay

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Niles Barnes (left), director of Greenway programs, and volunteer Jacob Dolan prepare to set off on Day 1 of the River Relay, Calais to Machias, Maine.

Day 1

Niles Barnes and Jacob Dolan are riding the Greenway between our events in Maine. Here they get ready to start things in Calais after a ceremony at Wabanaki Culture Center.

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Molly Henry, the Greenway's New England coordinator, finds blueberries just off the route.

Day 2

Molly Henry, our New England coordinator, finds blueberries on the ride just outside of Machias, Maine, headed for Ellsworth.

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Executive Director Dennis Markatos-Soriano takes to the stage at American Folk Festival on the Bangor Waterfront in Maine to bring greetings from the East Coast River Relay.

Day 3

We talk all day with visitors to our table at the American Folk Festival on the Bangor Waterfront in Maine, and Dennis gives a few welcomes from the stage.

Day 4

A hilly day's ride from Bangor to Augusta with some amazing views along the ridges — who knew Maine has mountains? Niles and Jacob got in 84 miles — and we won't count how many flats.

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Paddling on the Androscoggin River in Brunswick, Maine, during the East Coast River Relay in August 2017.

Day 5

Four cyclists ride from Augusta to Brunswick, Maine, where we host a late-afternoon paddle on the Androscoggin. Jacob reports, "Terrific weather for a 75-mile ride along the Kennebec and Androscroggin Rivers. We climbed just over 4,000 feet today, so not too bad. The route was lovely with several great greenway stretches along the rivers."

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Mary Beth Powell, our River Relay program manager, shows off our Subaru "Relay mobile" while Alan Fitton, our sag driver, hangs a bike on the rack.

Day 6

Mary Beth Powell, our River Relay program manager, and Molly got in a quick paddle first thing this morning, then Niles and Molly and Jacob biked from Brunswick to Portland, Maine. "This was a beautiful stretch of the trail," Jacob notes, with wild turkey sightings and another blueberry stop. "Rolling toward Portland, the little bedroom communities begin to connect so that you pedal through a charming array of little towns and past some stunning waterfront homes. Once we made it to Portland over some lovely bridges, the Greenway curled around the water, keeping us agog with great views and sharing the trails with so many other users even at mid-morning on a Tuesday."

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Molly Henry and Carole Brush, executive director of the Eastern Trail Alliance, a partner, greet attendees at the Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center for a walk.

Day 7

Our team attended a community meeting last night on improvements to the Cousins River Bridge on Rt. 1, part of our route. Early this morning, we greeted 30 bird watchers and hikers at the Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center to take a walk through the marsh with partners the Eastern Trail Alliance, Maine Audubon, and Friends of Scarborough Marsh.

Read more River Relay trip updates

 

25 years, 50 rivers, 1 Greenway: To celebrate our 25th anniversary, we're hosting a 3,000-mile, 68-day birthday party — the East Coast River Relay. The series of public events began August 24 in Calais, Maine, and follows the Greenway to end in Key West, Florida on October 30. 

Together, let's grow the Greenway

Recent record-setting funding for design and construction goes directly to building the East Coast Greenway - as it should. The East Coast Greenway Alliance needs your support to continue our advocacy work that is fueling completion of the Greenway. The Alliance has a sustained track record of turning every dollar donated to our nonprofit into $100 in public infrastructure investment. Invest today and support the growth of the East Coast Greenway from Maine to Florida.

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