Not everyone wants to take a map and go out into the woods by themselves. Here are some resources for biking with others in the greater-Portland/southern-Maine region.

So you can ride a bike, but are new to mountain biking?

If you’re interested in riding with others, but aren’t yet ready to join a “regular ride” the Bike Coalition of Maine offers an Off-Road Biking Education Program and the Portland Gear Hub offers a MTB Skill Builder Series for different levels, taught by PMBIA-certified instructors.

Ready to ride with a group?

The New England Mountain Bike Association website is a good way to keep an eye on what’s happening regionally. They have three chapters where many greater-Portland riders keep in touch on Facebook:
Greater Portland (GPNEMBA) on Facebook
Bath-Brunswick-Topsham (Six Rivers NEMBA) on Facebook
Central Maine (CeMeNEMBA) on Facebook

Shop rides

Local bike shops Allspeed Cyclery & Snow, Cyclemania, Ernie’s Cycle Shop and Gorham Bike and Ski all have weekly “shop rides” that are open to the public.

Many shops also offer classes. Check their sites or keep an eye on their Facebook pages:

Informal Groups

207MTB – Maine Mountain Biking! is an active Facebook group started in May of 2019 and at a year old, has more than 1,300 members. Join for ride coordination or general mountain biking info and community.

Rage on Portland (don’t worry, they’re not angry) is a local group that’s been gathering for decades and currently at 1,100+ members. They usually get together for Tuesday night rides in the Portland area as well as other occasional rides. Join the group for notifications.

Single Track Sisters is a women-only group that meets usually three nights throughout the summer—beginner rides on Mondays, advanced rides on Wednesdays, and intermediate rides on Thursdays.

Dirt Divas is a women’s group that rides Monday nights in the Central Maine area, and other rides ad hoc.

MOAC-MTB is a small spinoff from the Maine Outdoor Adventure Club that rides on Tuesday nights in locations ranging from Kennebunkport to Poland.

Race/Fun Series for Kids

  • The Youth Cycle Project offers an after-school biking program for Falmouth and Yarmouth (grades 2-4), a kids’ biking program for “Minis” (K-1), beginner bike clinics (age 6+, including adults), day camps at the West Side Trail in Yarmouth (weekly, by ages), and the popular My Bike series (age 3-18).
  • The Southern Maine Mountain Biking Syndicate welcomes kids in junior hight and high school. In 2019 year long-standing school-based teams like Gould, Kents Hill, Camden Hills and Hebron will be joined by Syndicate teams in southern Maine, Bangor, Lewiston/Auburn, Brunswick, and possibly Scarborough to form a full Maine-based race league. The Syndicate meets for weekly rides through the summer. At the end of August they start racing, but during the summer, kids can just show up.
  • The Community Bicycle Center is a non-profit in Biddeford that runs programs for kids 8 to 18. The “Kids Bike Factory” allows kids to learn basic repair skills and then put them to use offering repair services to the public. At the Bike Factory, kids have an opportunity to earn a bike they have repaired, and also to set goals for fixing and restoring donated bikes to sell at the Bicycle Coalition of Maine’s Great Bike Swap in April. Kids can drop in Wednesdays through the summer for mountain bike rides from 1 to 4.

Looking to get your hands dirty?

A great way to ease into a group is to volunteer for trail work. You’ll be building or maintaining trails alongside like-minded people who can give suggestions or might invite you to join them on a ride. Maybe you’ll come back the next day and ride the trails you’ve just improved.

GPNEMBA, Six Rivers NEMBA and CeMeNEMBA frequently post trail work days.

Volunteers are always welcomed by the stewards of the land we’re riding, such as: