Wheels #39

Brandon Gillard:

I see people out in the woods on hybrid bikes. I see kids on kids bikes. So the trails have really been created to welcome everybody. Not just kind of that hardcore mountain

Tom Bradbury:

bike population, but the feel of the town. Surprisingly, even though the native population is few is still remarkably the same. The people that have arrived really care for the community and they care for the way it looks and the feel of it. And it is neighborly.

Kevin Thomas:

This all really comes from an experience I had a few years ago on Islesborough where I had gone with my kids and wanted to explore the island. And I set out to explore it via car and realized I really wasn't seeing all the island, neither did I have time to walk it or run it. So I pulled my bike off my car and I biked around the island and was able to go down all these great dirt roads and down toward the beach. I was able to experience a lot more of the island than I would have ever been able to experience in a car or have time to on Foot.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

This is Dr. Lisa Belisle and you are listening to the Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and podcast show number 39, Wheels, which is airing for the first time on June 10, 2012. With me in the studio today, I have Genevieve Morgan, my co host and wellness editor for Maine Magazine. Hi Genevieve.

Genevieve Morgan:

Hi Lisa. Happy Bicycle Show Day.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Happy Bicycle Show Day. Well, isn't couldn't every day potentially be a bicycle show day?

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, I think that's what we're trying to get across to everybody.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, we talk a lot about health and wellness and we've had a running show. We've talked to the main Island Trails group, We've talked to the main Hudson Trails. I mean there's so much out there and we don't have to get around, necessarily by boat or on foot. We can also go on wheel.

Genevieve Morgan:

We're lucky that way that we live in a state where there are communities where we really can commute back and forth on two wheels, not four.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I used to commute back and forth from my house to my office in Yarmouth, and it was less than 2 miles. And, you know, on a day where it was rush hour, which in Yarmouth is not very often, it would be much quicker for me to just go right through on my bicycle, of course, following traffic rules. So there is that commuting aspect and there is that environmental aspect to being on a bike. There's also the sort of joy of being outside and the feeling of the wind in your hair.

Genevieve Morgan:

Well, and it's an interesting idea to think about integrating exercise, that the same person who might work all day in an office and go and take a spin class could just be commuting to work on their bike and getting the same benefits. I mean, as long as they're staying safe and wearing the right safety helmet. It's funny that we don't think of it like that.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

We don't think of it like that, and we don't think of the joy that it used to bring us when we were younger. I mean, people who like to ride bikes, they probably like to ride bikes starting from, you know, the age of five or six.

Genevieve Morgan:

Do you remember that feeling when you first were able to ride a bike, that sense of independence that you actually didn't have to get your parents to take you somewhere you could ride your bike?

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I remember that sense of independence. We already had several children in our family, and I was so happy to leave them all behind until I must admit, one day I decided to take my little sister on my bike with me. And at that time, we weren't wearing helmets and we took a spill, and boy, did my mom get mad because chewed up my poor little sister's leg. But I do. I was so happy to get away from, you know, the things, the ties that. That bound.

Genevieve Morgan:

Yeah. And I think that that's something that biking does in particular, because you have a sense of speed and you have air, and it's just. It's exhilarating. And I think when you become a runner that's as skilled as yourself, you can get that, but it's much easier on a bike. It's a real gateway to physical fitness. And many people who've had heart attacks, who've had weight problems, who've had different kinds of health challenges find their way back into some level of Fitness with biking. But of course, with biking, it helps to have outdoor space.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, I agree. And I know that I personally rehabbed from multiple knee injuries using biking and I recommend it to my patients who can't run and can't easily walk. So I know that from a health standpoint, a fitness standpoint, that's true. But I also know from getting into the outdoors, as you say standpoint, it's very important that when we are outside, we actually appreciate the space around us and we take the time to care for it and we bring fresh air into our lungs. There's so many health benefits of being outside.

Genevieve Morgan:

A rigorous bike ride burns, I think something between 700 and 800 calories per hour. So it's very aerobic, it's very invigorating and aerobic, and it is incredibly healthy cardiovascularly. I think running and swimming may be the only two sports that kind of match that. And it's also sometimes more fun because you're changing your venue and your vista the whole time.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And there are different ways to bike. You can go out on the road, you can go out on a mountain bike, you can go on different terrains and trails and you can go to different places. You could do the trek across Maine. There's so many different ways that you could integrate biking into your personal situation.

Genevieve Morgan:

And as a family.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Absolutely, as a family. So today we'll be talking with Brandon Gillard of the Kennebunkport Bicycle Company, Tom Bradbury of the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, and also Kevin Thomas, publisher of Maine Magazine Maine Home design and Author of the two most recent 48 Hours post in which he talks about biking.

Genevieve Morgan:

And he's also the producer of our

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

radio show and he happens to be the producer of our radio show. And Maine Magazine has always been a very generous sponsor of our show as well, because Maine Magazine recognizes that the best way to get people to love the state of Maine is to get them out there on wheel, on foot, whatever way works. So I'm looking forward to this show. It's going to be a lot of fun. The Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and podcast is pleased to be sponsored by the University of New England. And as part of their collaboration with us, we offer weekly our Wellness Innovation segment. This week's Wellness Innovation is hunter gatherers and horticulturists lifestyle linked to lower blood pressure. Hunter gatherers and forager horticulturists who live off the land and grow what they need to survive, have lower age related increases in blood pressure and less risk of atherosclerosis, according to two new studies in the American Heart association journal. Hypertension, High blood pressure and atherosclerosis, a disease in which arteries stiffen and fill with plaque increase with age in the United States and other countries, raising risk for heart attack, stroke, kidney disease and death. Age related increases in blood pressure have been observed in almost every population except among hunter gatherers, farmers and pastoralists. Lifestyle factors specific to hunter gatherers might explain the minimal increases in blood pressure, which include high physical activity, low stress levels and potentially protective diets high in fruits, vegetables and potassium and low in calories, salt and alcohol. For more information on this Wellness Innovation, visit Dr. Lisa.org for more information on the University of New England, visit une.edu.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

today in the studio with us today we have Brandon Gillard of the Kennebunkport Bicycle Company. I first met Brandon on the 48 Hours Kenny Bunkport, which is currently available in the Maine Magazine issue for June, and Brandon has a lot of interesting stories to tell, not just about Kenny Bunkport, but about biking and how to get into biking. So we thought we'd bring him in for our wheel show. Thanks for coming in.

Kevin Thomas:

Great.

Brandon Gillard:

Thanks for having me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Brandon, you took me on a ride along with Kevin Thomas from Maine Magazine out into the woods in Kennebunkport. I think this is a relatively new development that you've put into place because you're passionate about land preservation, so we're going to talk more about that with our next guest. But just tell me, why Kennebunkport? Why did you initially decide that this was an important place to be for you?

Brandon Gillard:

Well, I started working at the bike shop while in college, purchased it as I was graduating college and I've been a mountain biker my whole life and it always bothered me that we lived in such a beautiful area. There was a great network of woods in our area, but there were no trails. So I came from Western Mass. Where there were trails everywhere and young people and it was really vibrant outdoor community. And I moved to Maine and you think Maine is the most wooded state in the nation and we didn't have trails. So friends and I slowly started to build trails, some legal, some illegal, and ended up forming a partnership with the Kennebunk Point Conservation Trust and it's been a really valuable relationship for both of us ever since.

Genevieve Morgan:

There are a lot of road bikes in our area.

Brandon Gillard:

There are, there are a ton of road bikes. There's great road biking. We live in a great area for that. But again, being a mountain biker, I always wanted to kind of expand the mountain bike trails in the area.

Genevieve Morgan:

Just describe the difference really quickly for our listeners. Just what does a mountain bike look like compared to a road bike?

Brandon Gillard:

Even the term mountain bike is kind of misnomer. A lot of mountain bikes never see a mountain. There are more bicycles built for off road. So there's all kinds of different designs that really run the gamut between bikes with kind of a medium sized tire with kind of a semi aggressive tread to bikes with lots of suspension with really aggressive tires, depending on the kind of terrain that you're going to ride. So in our area, a lot of guys ride hardtail mountain bikes. They just have suspension in the front. They've got 29 inch wheels and two and a half inch tires. But I see people out in the woods on hybrid bikes. I see kids on kids bikes. So the trails have really been created to welcome everybody, not just kind of that hardcore mountain bike population.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

What was it about mountain biking specifically that caused you to become interested in that versus road biking?

Brandon Gillard:

I don't know. I think it's maybe the personalities and the folks involved. It's a very free spirited bunch. But the guys and women, it's a lot of women that we ride with that are very, very fit. They're very outdoor oriented. We like to go and have a beer after the ride. And it's really informal. The road biking seems to be a lot more of an aerobic exercise. It's much more structured and they wear really tight clothes which we don't wear.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So you went towards the non tight clothes fitting.

Brandon Gillard:

Yeah, not that a lot of the guys we ride with couldn't go on road rides and some of them even do. And I have in the past. It just kind of attracts a different crowd typically than the road bike crew.

Genevieve Morgan:

There's a different kind of thrill because the road bike is about speed, but the mountain bike is about terrain.

Brandon Gillard:

Exactly.

Genevieve Morgan:

Because I used to mountain bike in California and when I first came to Maine I didn't think there was mountain biking because there were no mountains. Just to your point.

Brandon Gillard:

Sure. Mountain biking I kind of describe as a combination of trail running and dancing. It's a really. It's difficult at times and it is what you make of it. Because if you're Going down a single track trail, if you're going really fast, obviously it's going to be very difficult. But if you're just poking along, it can be a really recreational exercise. That's just nice for getting out in the woods.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And when I was doing this, I found that it was about balance. There was a lot of balance. There was a lot of sort of agility and having to pay attention. And not that road biking wasn't, but there's rocks, there's trees, there's a little path, there's a big path. Is that hard for people to get used to?

Brandon Gillard:

Not necessarily. Again, if you're moving at a slower rate of speed, typically those things aren't very challenging for folks. The trails that we've built at the Conservation Trust, we're doing it very strategically in that we're building basic, easier trails on the perimeter, and off of that, we're kind of spidering or making lollipop trails off of that that are much more difficult. So we're using those basic kind of roads or double track for our maintenance roads. And if somebody gets hurt, they can be extracted via ATV on kind of the roads. But off of that, there's much more challenging single track trails. And that's really good, too, because it allows people to kind of work their way up into the sport if they'd like, and still be in the same area as some of the more advanced folks.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You had a very famous guest that you worked with who also has a home down in that area. Tell us about him and your experience, which was profiled in Maine Magazine not too long ago.

Brandon Gillard:

Several years ago, I was introduced to President George Bush while he was the President through the Secret Service. He was looking to mountain bike in Kennebunkport.

Genevieve Morgan:

And this is George W. Bush.

Brandon Gillard:

George W. The young one? Yep, 43, as we call him. So we started mountain biking out in Alfred, Maine, because it's a really large federal piece of land that they could kind of cordon off for him to ride on. But after he got out of office, he was much more flexible. So we've traveled around a little bit to mountain bike, and his favorite spot is actually in his backyard in Kennebunkport. So while he's here, which is typically four to five weeks a year, we'll ride about five out of seven days of the week.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And does he stick to the core trails? Does he go off in the more challenging terrain?

Brandon Gillard:

Oh, no, he definitely goes on kind of the most difficult trails we have. He's a really, really advanced mountain biker. He's extremely competitive and he's extraordinarily fit. The first time I rode with him, I was blown away that a 60 plus year old man was kicking my butt on a mountain bike. So we're pretty evenly matched now. But I really enjoy riding with him.

Genevieve Morgan:

For people who are going down to the Kennebunk Park Festival or going down to Kennebunk and want to rent a bike, can they do that from you?

Brandon Gillard:

They can do that from our shop. We have hybrid bikes, road bikes, kids bikes, mountain bikes, kind of everything under the sun involved with the mountain bike. I'd suggest them going out to Ocean Avenue and to Cape Porpoise out by the bushes. Place really nice road riding out there. If they wanted to take a mountain bike, I could give them a map, a helmet and point them in the right direction, which I'd suggest.

Genevieve Morgan:

And what is the etiquette of mountain biking?

Brandon Gillard:

Etiquette? I don't know. Treat people the way you want to be treated. Just kind of like in life. There's all kinds of rules of the trail and stuff, but a lot of them are just common sense. You don't want to fly up behind somebody hiking or somebody with a dog and spook them. You want to stay out of environmentally sensitive areas like swamps or really muddy areas and just be polite and courteous and take any trash you have with you.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I know that you moved your business from one place to another and then you've been expanding and things are going pretty well for you. Has this surprised you that people have embraced the biking type of world that you espouse?

Brandon Gillard:

Absolutely. For several years the business grew, but it wasn't by leaps and bounds by any means. But I really feel like there's a groundswell in our society, especially in Maine, of outdoor oriented, fitness oriented people that just want to get out and have fun with their friends and family. So it's a really good time to be in the bike business and it's a really good time to be in Kenny Bunkport as well, with all the expansion and growth and development of outdoor activities.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

How young and how old do you have people coming in as customers?

Brandon Gillard:

Oh, all ages really. I have a 9 year old daughter who loves mountain biking. I mountain bike with the president who's 65. There's a lot of guys that ride with us in their late 50s and I see people out there in their 70s. That's the great thing about mountain biking is that you can really be any age, pretty much any fitness level, and you can make of it what you want it to be. It doesn't have to be flying over roots and rocks and crashing and getting bloody. Road bikers always give us a hard time and say, oh, you guys are crazy, you're crazy. I say what? I top out at about 10 miles an hour and you guys are going 30 in this cars and pavement and everything else. If we tip over, we land in dirt into a tree. So it's a really fun, family oriented activity that I encourage everybody to try.

Genevieve Morgan:

So aside from a helmet, I assume that's mandatory, right? Is there any other gear beside the bike and the helmet?

Brandon Gillard:

Yeah, I'd suggest bike shorts, padded bike shorts to keep your bottom comfortable, wicking clothing, some gloves and maybe cycling shoes and pedals if you get a little bit more advanced. Obviously hydration is key nutrition, so probably some kind of hydration pack with some food and water in it as well. And ideally people should be able to fix their own bikes if they're in the woods. But with this modern age with cell phones, people don't always have to do that. So they can just call somebody if

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

they have to talk to us about equipment. I know that there's a broad range of prices on bikes. Do people have to buy very expensive bikes in order to go mountain biking?

Brandon Gillard:

Absolutely not. I see people out in the woods having a really good time on old $300 beat up marins by Sammy Hagar. But there's also really advanced really high end mountain bikes, just like anything else, just like skis or golf clubs. There's people that get really into it and spend a lot of money to comfortably enjoy mountain biking. I'd say an initial bicycle investment of about $500 or so and probably another one to $200 in gear after that. A lot of the more advanced guys have no problem spending 2, 3, 4, $8,000 on bicycles. But again, that's their form of recreation. It's their passion and that's what they do.

Genevieve Morgan:

The thing I like about mountain biking is that sense of play that you get. I think that when you ride a road bike that feels A little bit more. Like you said, like exercise or work or you're getting from one destination to another. I feel like when I'm on a mountain bike, it's more like it was when I was a kid and I would pop up the curb or go across the grass. There's a joy in it.

Brandon Gillard:

Yeah, that's really well said. And I guess I don't really think about that very often, but that's probably what I enjoy about mountain biking the most. Being a kid and riding around and having absolutely no destination. We often go in circles and have a great time and do a trail, a different direction or at a different speed or hit a different jump. But I really enjoy that sense of adventure and. And the peacefulness you get in the woods and also the camaraderie you get with your friends out in the woods.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I would agree with that. That sense of joy. There's also somewhat of a sense of terror at times. My experience was. But it's fun. It's very interesting. It kind of pushes your edges, especially if you're a little bit older. How do you deal with people and their sense of terror?

Brandon Gillard:

That's a good question. I don't know if I take a beginner out mountain biking, which I often do as part of our guided tours through the bike shop, I just try to go slow. I try to talk to them. I try to help them relax. And I would by no means take them on some of the more difficult terrain or kind of the expert trails, but just I try to tell them that they need to make of it what they want it to be. They don't have to be flying. There's no expectations, and let's just go out and have fun and ride bikes.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And I can attest to that because I know I have. I think that I had been out mountain biking. Well, exactly zero times.

Brandon Gillard:

You did great, though. You did great.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Okay, thank you. But you brought us on a very appropriate trail. It was just challenging enough, so I didn't feel like you were babying me, but it wasn't so hard that I felt like I was going to die. And you stopped often, and I think that that sort of guidance that you have available to your customers is very useful as well, as it's a beautiful trail system. It really is. And you spend a lot of time working with volunteers on that.

Brandon Gillard:

Yep. There's a core group of us of about four or five that get the majority of the work done. We also have trail weekends, or we'll reach out to people via text or email. Or phone as we need help on bigger projects. To date, there's about 15 miles of trails out there and about four years ago there was about two miles of trails. And that's really four or five people doing all that.

Genevieve Morgan:

One of the things that keeps people from exercising is being overweight. Is that a consideration with a beginner who wants to bike because, for instance, they might not be able to run because it's painful on their knees, but they might bike, which can be a great gateway to physical fitness.

Brandon Gillard:

There's a tremendous amount of our customers that come in to try either mountain biking or road biking or just around town kind of biking that are sent to us by physicians because cycling is such a low impact activity. I wouldn't be overly concerned about somebody being overweight in mountain biking. Again, it's so low impact, it's easy to do and it doesn't leave you with joint pains or anything else.

Genevieve Morgan:

And you're not going to break the bike.

Brandon Gillard:

And you're not going to break the bike. These bikes are rated to handle a lot of pressure, a lot of weight, jumps, etc. Obviously, if you go out and buy a hundred dollar big box store bicycle, it's probably not going to be the best thing for you. You're not going to enjoy yourself. But I'd go into a local bike shop, establish a relationship with somebody that works there, and they'll pick a bike that is strong enough for your size and is capable of handling what you want to do with it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

We've talked about the trails in the Kennebunkport Kennebunk area. What are some of your other favorite trails in Maine or elsewhere?

Brandon Gillard:

My old stomping grounds in Western Mass. Are a lot of fun. There's a lot of places out west that are really nice. Moab, Utah, actually in the Las Vegas area, there's some great trails as well. They're very different than New England mountain biking. Mount Agameticus in York is really nice. Bradbury Mountain in Pownall was really nice. A little crowded, but that's nice. But I really don't leave my backyard all that much. It's hard to when you have such phenomenal trails two miles from your house and don't even have to get a car. So those are really my favorite trails.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So you don't find. Well, let me rephrase this. So you find enough variety in the trails in your own backyard as the seasons change so that it's constantly new for you.

Brandon Gillard:

Yeah. And also there's a sense of pride about riding your own Trails and seeing people out there, families, everybody from different walks of life. And when they recognize you, they'll say thank you or just see them enjoying it. There's a whole other side of the joy of mountain biking that I get by riding my trails and seeing other people enjoying them.

Genevieve Morgan:

Has your experience with the store integrated into your personal life? Do you use bikes more to commute

Brandon Gillard:

and yeah, you know, like a lot of small business people, I got into my business because it was my passion, not because I had an MBA or I wanted to make millions of dollars. I like people, I like bicycles. I'm a very family oriented person. My kids and my family help me a lot in my business. And yeah, so it's definitely. I'm like the bike guy in Kenny Bunkport, which is a little hard when you're trying to go grocery shopping sometimes on a Sunday afternoon. But I really enjoy it. I love our community. It's very small, it's very tight knit. We don't lock our doors, we don't lock our cars. It's a great place to live and to share our love and passion of cycling with the community.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And it's a fun contrast because a lot of people think of Kennebungport as beaches, as water, as ocean. And you're bringing them sort of back into the woods.

Brandon Gillard:

Absolutely. Yeah. But a lot of times we do a ride Wednesday night where we'll hit a bunch of the different trails. We'll stop at the ramp for a beer or two, take a look at the ocean and head back into the woods again. So that variance of having that variety of the terrain and our landscape is what makes our area so special. And again, the access to outdoors, to be able to go on a mountain bike ride and then in two miles take a dip in the ocean is a lot of fun too.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Any last thoughts for our listeners who might be thinking about taking up? Whether it's mountain biking or road biking or.

Brandon Gillard:

Yeah, I wouldn't be intimidated. I wouldn't be afraid to try it. I'd encourage you to go to your local bike shop and support them and ask them what local trails are. I'd also encourage them, if you're into mountain biking, to support your local trail or conservation group because they do a lot, a lot for outdoor recreation.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, thanks for coming in and talking to us. We've been speaking with Brandon Gillard of the Kennebunkport Bicycle Company. Where can people learn more about your store?

Brandon Gillard:

Check us out on Facebook. Or you can go to kennebunkportbicycle.com alright guys, thanks for having me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

On today's Dr. Lisa Radio Hour and podcast. Our theme is Wheels. And we spent time previously with Brandon Gillard of the Kennebunkport Bicycle Company, who led us into a conversation that we're going to have next with Tom Bradbury of the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust. Tom Bradbury is the executive director of the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust and has worked closely with Brandon to develop an extensive series of trails right in the Kennebunkport area. So thanks for coming in.

Tom Bradbury:

Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Tom, you and I were talking before we got on air about your house in Cape Porpoise and the fact that you're living in a place where your grandfather, or maybe a great grandfather, somebody way, way back, way, way back, way, way back used to live. Tell me about that.

Tom Bradbury:

Well, we live in the same neighborhood. My mother grew up about 200 yards toward the center of town, and then her father grew up 200 yards on the other direction. She kind of migrated right into the middle, which was where I was born. So we move about at the same pace as continental shift. We figure it's about one foot per year.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So your family should be in the

Tom Bradbury:

200 years we've been around there, we've moved about 200ft.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So in another few thousand years, maybe you'll be up to Portland.

Tom Bradbury:

Or if we survive that long, we may or may not because we tend to shift right back to where we started out.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, so is this the reason why you were interested in developing the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, the sense of belonging?

Tom Bradbury:

Absolutely. I mean, we in the late 80s, a lot of properties started to be threatened And a lot of those properties were places that we really loved, places that we played on. And a lot of us couldn't stand to see them being lost for people's enjoyment. And so we started purchasing them, and a lot of others were donated to us. And it was originally going to be like one island, and then another one came up and, well, maybe we should do another island. And then the beach had some opportunities, so we thought we'd get that. So we went from three properties to now we're approaching 100 transactions in that course of time. So our goal was to set aside those places that were made up of, those places that made the essential character of our community and places that people could access different recreational opportunities, places where people could play on and scenic vistas.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Describe the essential character. What is the essential character of Kenny Bunk, Kennebunkport, Cape Porpoise, which is, I know the suburb that you sort of live in.

Tom Bradbury:

It's a rural main town, and the town that I grew up in was even more rural than it is today. And it had its islands and it has its lobstering harbor, and the harbor still remains a working lobsterman's harbor. And it has a local beach, and it also has a fairly large amount of woodlands that most people don't associate with the town. And so what we've tried to do is take a good representative sample of all of those and have them available for the next generation.

Genevieve Morgan:

Have you found in your purchasing of these lands a tension between places that people want to remain forever wild and places that people can recreate on? Because I know that with easements and those kinds of places, transactions, sometimes that is a tension.

Tom Bradbury:

We've had remarkable support. In fact, the property that Brandon talked about, in terms of the trails for biking, a good portion of that was given to us by the citizens of Kennebunkport. That was known as the town forest, and it was taken over by the town for lack of paying taxes after the 1947 fire. And maybe 10 years ago now, we approached the town and asked them if they wouldn't consider giving it to the trust so that we could spend some time trying to enhance it, improve access and create something special from it. And it was an over 80% vote to donate 600 acres of townland to the Conservation Trust. So I think that's pretty remarkable support.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Tell me what types of things your organization does for the community. We talked about land, but from what I understand, there are community things that are going on all the time that are promoted by the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust.

Tom Bradbury:

When we started out, we asked the community to support us in order to purchase properties or to gather properties. And so we use the community to create a collection of special places. And now we're trying to use those special places to build the community. And so we've put aside just a vast collection of. Vast is too big a term. A wide selection of properties that really represent the whole community so that people can go to the islands and picnic. There are islands that are used for camping. The local beach is a good portion of that we own. And we own wooded lands that both serve as recreational hiking, biking type areas, but also as wildlife corridors.

Genevieve Morgan:

Our show is about wheels, bicycles, and one of the things that biking does is kind of keep urban sprawl to a minimum. Do you find that open space helps contain communities in a good sense and that really localize them? When you're talking about the wildlife corridors, I mean, there's sort of a greenbelt effect that starts to happen. Is that correct?

Tom Bradbury:

That's right. And one of the early on in the 80s, one of the thoughts we were working, there was a development boom going on at the time. And so there were a lot of initiatives in a lot of different ways that tried to keep the town as close to what it was as we could. And politically, one of the things that was tried was through zoning. And oftentimes the intent or the idea was that maybe if we created larger house lots for properties, that this would keep density down. And what it in fact did was spread people out and be counterproductive. And what the trust has tried to do is buy contiguous pieces of property so that there are kind of common areas for people and places that everyone can enjoy. And it has a side effect, I think, in terms of building community in that one of the things that separates people a lot of time is that as new people with new values perhaps move into a place, there's a tendency for them to reflect values from where they came from. And some of these are nobody's fault or not even ill will. It's just the way it is. And so you're apt to get like places where that were traditional recreational areas all of a sudden have no trespassing signs or this path that was always used is no longer available to people. So in one sense, what we're doing in terms of protecting those common areas makes it a lot easier to adopt new people to the town because they're not taking anything away from anybody. They're just joining us and hopefully joining us in our efforts to further protect what they thought enough of to move to.

Genevieve Morgan:

Which is the essence of conservation.

Tom Bradbury:

Exactly.

Genevieve Morgan:

Preserving that traditional use.

Kevin Thomas:

Right.

Tom Bradbury:

And it also helps in building community, because if they're not posing a threat to what is or what will be, then it's a lot easier for people to adopt into the culture of the town.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I've spent time in Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Cape Porpoise. And I do have this sense it's a very unique place. It's a blend of people who have come from away, people who have lived there a very long time. But there is a sense of caring for one another. Do you think that this sense of caring for one another and actually knowing your neighbors, whether they live there for part of the time, part of the year, or full time, do you think that that has helped you with the Kennebunkport Conservation Project?

Tom Bradbury:

No question. I think those that move there, they love seeing it as a working fishing harbor, and they love the access to special places, and they love the opportunity to be able to bike or hike or. Or enjoy the community. And so they come knowing what it is and appreciating what they've moved to. And that makes it that much easier to attract them to what we're trying to do.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Describe some of the changes that you've seen in your lifetime to this area. You've lived there your entire life, correct?

Tom Bradbury:

Yes.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So tell me some of the changes, good and bad, that you've seen.

Tom Bradbury:

The largest changes probably are the wealth that's come to the community. When I grew up, it was a small fishing village, and it had a busy summer, as all of Maine does. So there were a lot more people in the summer. But at Labor Day past noon, the streets were empty and the businesses would close and they'd hold parties after season, parties on Labor Day. And that doesn't happen anymore because the season continues to extend right through Christmas now and starts up earlier. And the homes were typically fishermen, working families for the most part in my part of the town. And you could tell the difference between a fishing family and a new family to town because the picture window would be faced over the COVID when somebody new to the town came, whereas before it was facing the street, because when the lobstermen came home, they didn't need to look out on the water. They'd been there all day long. Today, there are a lot more picture windows overlooking the harbor. But. But the feel of the town, surprisingly, even though the native population is few, is still remarkably the same. Just because of what you talked about, the people that have arrived really care for the community, and they care for the way it looks and the feel of it, and it is neighborly.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

What were some of your favorite activities? Did you bike when you were younger, or what were some of your favorite Kennebunkport area activities?

Tom Bradbury:

My biking was a Schwinn with baseball cards with clothespins attached to the wheels,

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

so they made that nice noise for effect.

Tom Bradbury:

Yes, Brandon would love it, but we were. It was a much different dynamic because when I grew up, our parents would say, leave the house and I don't want to see you until suppertime. And so we were. We were on our own all day long. And so we played a lot of sports and we did a lot of exploring. So we were on the islands a lot, and we were in the back cove and we were in the woods, and we were using our imaginations a lot for all of our activities. So that fostered the love of the places that we later tried to protect.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And do you feel that love of place is something that you're now offering to the next generation with the work that you're doing?

Tom Bradbury:

That's what we're trying to do, and that's probably the most important thing we will do now, because what's happening today is really almost the opposite of that. There's very little free time now. It's structured play and structured activities and not as much or far less exploration than before. And one of the concerns from the environmental side is that if you don't love a place and know a place, then there's no incentive for protecting it later on. And we were motivated by the fact that these places might be lost, but now that they're protected and in a trust, they don't have that threat to face. So it's going to be strictly love of place that will motivate the next generation to take over what we've protected and to carry it forward. So getting kids and people in general onto the properties we think is essential.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Have you spent time on the bike trails yourself? On a bike?

Tom Bradbury:

Not on a bike, but on the trails. Significant amount of time, I guess. And we thought that was just a fabulous partnership because they had a. Everything we do is based on volunteers, so we have a staff of two, and the rest of it is people that are willing to spend their free time helping us with different projects. And the trails are a perfect example of what can be done when people take up an interest in it and chip in. Because it's nearly 10 miles of trails in that one property now that were all constructed by volunteers, and they're over there today. They're typically there four or five days a week, working mostly mornings, but having fun, creating something that's very special, that's enjoyed by a lot of people.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So from what you're saying, it's not just about the money that you need to raise to buy the land. It's also about creating caretakers, a community of caretakers for the land itself.

Tom Bradbury:

I think the caretakers are apt to be more challenging than the money. Of all of the lots that we've protected, I think we might have purchased 15 or 20 of them and the rest would donated. Because what you talked about earlier, in terms of sense of community, people love the place that they grew up and they want others to share that love with them. And so a surprising number of properties were given to us just out of that. And obviously fundraising is a part of. Part of the business side of it, but that only allows us to protect the property. It doesn't get us the trails or the access or the involvement with people that brings life to the organization.

Genevieve Morgan:

And what you've done in your collaboration with Brandon is a great example of how open space preserved can actually serve as a. A beacon for a younger generation to come in, establish a business practice. And I'm always interested in Kenny Bunkport, how even though the fishing community has its challenges now, the ethos, that sort of Maine individual work ethic is very alive and well and people are very independent and entrepreneurial. And by creating a community where people want to live, you then have this intergenerational energy that exists and the trust.

Tom Bradbury:

And it's also intercultural energy as well. I think it's fun to see that the organization attracts the local lobstermen, the local businessmen, the people that have retired here recently. And it provides something common that they all can identify with and enjoy. And again, I think it adds in creating a community. And what we're trying to do now, in addition to that are children's programs that bring them to a lot of places that we own to start them off early, knowing what their hometown is all about and giving them a sense of place. And so often kids are kind of. They're always on the go. And too often there are multi family. Instances where they may not know exactly where home is. And what we're trying to do is foster a spirit of knowing that this is your hometown, this is where you're from, and hopefully the values will, will flow out of that.

Genevieve Morgan:

They'll open up a business there someday.

Tom Bradbury:

I hope so.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Tom where can people find out more about the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust?

Tom Bradbury:

You can go onto our website, kporttrust.org and you can email me@tomctoffice.com and we'd be happy to send out materials and any information that we can provide.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, thank you so much for coming in and talking to us today about the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust and the work you've been doing and the work you've been doing in collaboration with Brandon Gillard of the Kennebunkport Bicycle Company. We appreciate your time.

Tom Bradbury:

Great. Thank you very much.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

on today's show, we've been talking about the subject of wheels, where you get around in the outside, you get around the state of Maine. And the perfect person to talk to on this subject is Kevin Thomas, who is the publisher of Maine Magazine and Maine Home and Design and author of both the June and July 48 hours Maine pieces in which he describes his biking around Maine. So thanks for being here, Kevin.

Kevin Thomas:

Glad to be here. Thank you for asking me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And I have with me Genevieve Morgan, who, as you know, writes for your magazine.

Kevin Thomas:

We love Jen.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, I love Jen, too. And one of the reasons I love Jen is that she's able to take this really broad view of wellness. I also like the fact that Maine magazine has taken a very broad view view of wellness. 48 Hours Main has done just that. You've sort of sent people out into the world to become more, well, that way.

Kevin Thomas:

We have. We decided that it would be a great experience for our staff to get out into the marketplace and experience the town on their own rather than interpret that through a writer.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Tell me about your biking experiences in Kennebunkport and in Acadia, which is described in the upcoming articles.

Kevin Thomas:

Well, I've only been on two of the 48 hour excursions and on both of those excursions I wanted to do something physical that some of the other participants maybe hadn't done in the past. And our first 48 hours for myself was in Kennebungport and we teamed up with Brendan Gillard from Kennebungport Bicycle who took us out to the Conservation Trust land.

Genevieve Morgan:

And Acadia is very mountainous compared to Kennebunkport. So how is that?

Kevin Thomas:

Acadia was fantastic. We rode the carriage roads in Acadia. We had to ride the roads, the asphalt roads, for ways to get to them. But that experience was amazing. It was 12 foot wide, graveled, well maintained roads. It was more mountainous, but it also was much wider than the very narrow trails and the boulders that we're climbing on in Kennebunkport.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So people can read about the Kennebunkport one in the June issue, which is out on the stands now and then the bar harbor 48 hours, which will be out on the stands in July.

Kevin Thomas:

That is correct.

Genevieve Morgan:

And interestingly, the carriage trails in Acadia were built by the Rockefellers before there were cars allowed on Mount Desert Island. So there's the reason for the wideness. And bike riding has really taken the park by storm. I visit Acadia a lot in the summer. And the difference between the hikers and the bikers, biking is for far more popular now than it used to be. So in your article, will people find out where they can bike in Acadia?

Kevin Thomas:

Well, they will find out one of the places they can bike. There's so many that I wasn't able to do it during all the trails during our trip. But there was a route around mountain that we took that was absolutely gorgeous and we saw a lot of Acadia from that.

Genevieve Morgan:

How arduous was it for you?

Kevin Thomas:

Well, the return was somewhat tough. We rode to Northeast harbor which was two and a half hours and stopped and took a break there and then had to get the bikes back by 4:30. So the return back two hours was a sprint and my thighs were burning. But it was a great way to see Acadia. This all really comes from an experience I had a few years ago on Islesborough where I had gone with my kids and wanted to explore the island. And I set out to explore it via car and realized I really wasn't seeing all the island, neither did I have time to walk it or run it. So I pulled my bike off my car and I biked around the island and was able to go down all these great dirt roads and down toward the beach. I was able to experience a lot more of the island than I would have ever been able to experience in a car or have time to on foot.

Genevieve Morgan:

So for our listeners out there, regardless of their fitness level, going out and grabbing a bike or taking the bike out of the garage or renting one at the local bike shop can be a great alternative to exploring their community.

Kevin Thomas:

Absolutely. I think that for me it was a return back to my childhood days where we pulled the bike out of the garage so to go visit our friends. And it was a casual, great experience. Sometimes we all get caught up with needing to take a 50 mile bike ride and get the exercise and we forget about the opportunity to get some great exercise, but also enjoy the scenery. And that's what I'd encourage everybody to do, regardless of fitness level.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Speaking of 50 mile bike rides, you've also done the Trek Across Maine, correct?

Kevin Thomas:

I did do the Trek Across Maine. That was several years ago with a group of friends from Cape Elizabeth. They all trained. I did not. But it was really a remarkable experience. We started in Bethel and as you probably are aware, at least that year it ended at the Owlshead Transportation center in Rockland, I guess.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So people are able to get out and sort of ride across the state of Maine if they're at that upper level of fitness or even if they're not because there's multiple stops along the way.

Kevin Thomas:

Well, you know, Lisa, that was another amazing experience. There were a great number of riders for that trek and they were everywhere from people that biked for OA to kids on banana bikes. Just really a remarkable experience to see families going down the road and then a group of expert bikers biking past, which is great.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So what you've described to us now is sort of the full gamut of biking. Going out in the woods, going up to Acadia, the woods of Kennebunkport, going up to Acadia and doing Bar harbor and even going all the way across the state. So we think you're sort of personifying what you're talking about in your magazine.

Kevin Thomas:

I'm not sure that I would say I'm personifying, but I'm certainly exploring a lot of Maine via bike and foot.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, we appreciate your taking the time to come in and talk to us today and thanks for all the work you're doing to bring a positive focus to wellness in the state of Maine.

Kevin Thomas:

Thank you, Lisa. Thank you, Jen. I really enjoyed this.

[Unidentified voice]:

I've come to realize how vulnerable Maine is in terms of energy. To be honest, it wasn't a big focus when I was governor. Gasoline was 90 cents a gallon in my last couple of years in office, so it wasn't something we really looked at. But I've come to realize how vulnerable we are because something like 85 or 90% of all the energy used in Maine comes from fossil fuels, almost 80% from oil, of which we have zip zero. That makes us incredibly vulnerable, not only in terms of supply of just plain running out, but also price every time. Here's an easy calculation. You drive down, you look at how much gasoline is. Every time gasoline goes up 10 cents, or home heating oil 10 cents, that's $100 million a year out of the Maine economy. 10 cents a dollar, which it's gone up in the past year or so, is a billion dollars a year that just evaporates out of the Maine economy. And it's money that people don't have to spend at stores and at, you know, at the mall or going to the movies or anything else. It's an enormous economic impact. So, you know, my conclusion from that is we got to do something. And if I'm. If there's any one characteristic I have, it's like I like doing things and not talking about things. And that's what led Rob Gardner and I to go into wind power. Well, and wind power happens to be something we have. We're not lucky enough to be, you know, over a big pot of oil or natural gas. And hydropower and wind power are the indigenous. And wood, wood pellets and biomass. That's what we have. And I found a wonderful speech by Joshua Chamberlain when he was governor in 1867, and he's talking to the Maine legislature, and he has this. He was an incredible writer, and he talks about there is in Maine power to the millions of horsepowers that now passes unfettered to the sea. And he's talking about the rivers, the hydropower. And this was 1867, when they were just figuring out how to tap hydropower. And basically he was saying, this is something we have and we should take advantage of it. And to me, wind power is the same idea. We have the biggest wind resource in New England. Is it a panacea. Can it supply all our power? Absolutely not. But it's part of the solution. And we Americans tend to look for one big solution, the silver bullet. You know, that's going to solve everything. My friend Laurie lachance up in Augusta at the Maine Development foundation coined the term silver buckshot, which I like much better because that's how you solve problems, is with a lot of smaller answers which added together get us out of a particular dilemma. And this energy thing, I mean the long term, and I don't know whether that's three years, five years, 10 years, but the long term is the definition of unsustainable. We often don't think that way. We say, well, we don't want wind power, okay, we don't want wind power. And you think, okay, I'm saying no to wind power. But really what you're doing when you say that is we're saying yes to oil or yes to natural gas or yes to nuclear. It is a choice. And that's what I say to people. There are lots of opponents of wind power and I say, sure, if you don't like wind power, tell me what you want, because there is no, no impact solution to a problem of this magnitude.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

This is Dr. Lisa Belisle. For more information on the guests on our show, visit drlisabelisle.com Please take the time to let us know what you think and perhaps make suggestions for future shows. Dr. Lisa Belisle and Dr. Lisa Radio Hour subscribe to our E News like us on Facebook and become a part of our community. This is Dr. Lisa Belisle. Thank you for being part of our world. May you have a bountiful life.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

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