25 Bicycle Tours in Maine: Coastal and Inland Rides from Kittery to Caribou Paperback – May 17, 1998

I got the book to help plan some bike trips Downeast and found the book really helpful and accurate in its descriptions of difficulty, and so on. I appreciated the mention of landmarks and highlights to look for. My only caveat (and why I gave 4 rather than 5 stars) is that road conditions have changed since 1998 when the book was published. (I used to live in Maine so I could see the changes.) We were there in peak tourist season, July. There is more traffic now, even as far north as Machias, and not only on Route 1. Due to frost heaves and construction, some of the roads were crappy--bumpy, with broken or no shoulders. Because of this we drove some of the loops before committing to whether to bike them. Some of the more enjoyable rides we took were local roads from where we were staying, which often ended up at the water's edge where fishing/lobster boats came in. These roads weren't loops but they were quiet and we often saw deer and local life. Happy exploring! Maine is gorgeous. I would bet going in September would be ideal, as tourists would have gone home by then.

Love this book .Planning trips for this summer .

Great help to plan bike routes in Maine. Four stars because it's not been revised in 13 years or so - but not much changes in Maine. I bought it used and it was helpful to plan some day trips in July 2014. Most of the routes are kind of short (25-30-35) but a few are longer. I rode in only a few of the areas but even where I wanted a longer route, it was a helpful start. Also check out the ExploreMaine.org website - Maine tourism department has a lot of fully routed rides with descriptions and turn by turn directions.

I have enjoyed Howard Stone's bike books for Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and as a new resident of Maine am delighted to have an opportunity to enjoy his rides in my new state. As always, Howard's ride descriptions and directions are very thorough and accurate. I especially appreciate the consistency with which he rates the difficulty of the rides. As an avid, but strictly recreational, cyclist, I found this to be an excellent book.