Kaitlyn Chana and Doug Stanglin

USA TODAY

FORT KENT, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage said Thursday that talks with nurse Kaci Hickox had broken down and that he is ready to exercise the "full extent" of his authority to force her to adhere to a 21-day quarantine aimed at Ebola health workers.

His remarks came only hours after Hickox defied an existing "voluntary" quarantine order by going for a bike ride with her boyfriend, Ted Wilbur.

The pair donned helmets, stepped off the front porch of his rural house around 9 a.m. and rode off on mountain bikes for almost an hour. They were followed by an unmarked state police car and a band of reporters and photographers.

"It's a beautiful day for a bike ride," Hickox said as she pedaled away, the Bangor Daily Newsreports. They returned about an hour later.

Without a court order, troopers did not have the authority to restrain her, although they did speak to her briefly upon their return.

LePage, who faces a tough re-election battle on Tuesday, said the state had been willing to allow Hickox to go for walks, runs and bicycle rides while preventing her from going into public places or coming within 3 feet of others, but that discussions failed.

The 33-year-old nurse, who recently treated Ebola patients in West Africa, told reporters late Wednesday that day-long negotiations could not resolve a deadlock over the quarantine issue.

"It is not my intention to put anyone at risk in this community," she said. "We have been negotiating with the state of Maine all day and tried to resolve this amicably, but they will not allow me to leave my house and have any interaction with the public even though I am completely healthy and symptom free."

She told reporters Wednesday night that she had offered a compromise to the state in which she would agree to stay within the Fort Kent area and to travel only by private car, not public transportation. It was not clear from LePage's remarks how far apart the two sides were.

"I'd love to be able to go to the Moose Shack in Fort Kent and get an amazing slice of pizza and not be worried about what people are thinking or if I am going to get arrested by state troopers if I walk out of my property," she said.

The Doctors Without Borders nurse arrived in Maine on Monday after being forcibly held in an isolation tent in New Jersey for three days under that state's strict new rule for health care workers who have recently treated Ebola patients in West Africa.

Hickox was the first person pulled aside at Newark Liberty International Airport on Friday under new regulations after her return from Sierra Leone, one of the West African countries hardest hit by a deadly Ebola outbreak.

Hickox has not displayed symptoms of Ebola and was allowed to leave New Jersey Monday, traveling by private car to Wilbur's home in Fort Kent, a town of just over 4,000 people near the Canadian border.

"We have to make decisions on science and I am completely healthy," she said. "You could hug me, you could shake my hand. There is no way I would give you Ebola."

Maine health officials have instructed her to remain at the house for 21 days but acknowledge they don't have the authority yet to prevent her from leaving until a judge signs off on a court order.

For now, Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew says police, who are parked outside the Fort Kent residence, will monitor Hickox if she leaves the house.

Hickox shied away from commenting on LePage's involvement, saying she is "sticking to the science and away from the politics."

"I didn't sign up for this," she said. "I flew into Newark airport on the wrong day. This has all been a little overwhelming to me. I think I am fighting for something much more than myself."

Hickox said two dozen American health care workers will be returning from West Africa in the next month and "it scares me how they are going to be treated and how they are going to feel." She said she wanted to fight the kind of "stigmatization" once associated with AIDS.

Northern Maine Medical Center says Hickox had originally agreed to a 21-day quarantine, according to WLBZ-TV. NMMC also said Wilbur had also agreed to a self-quarantine for 21 days and will be taking UMaine Fort Kent nursing classes online. There is no word on whether he would abide by quarantine for the full period.

Hickox, according to her attorney, had only agreed to remain home for two days after arriving from New Jersey.

Kaitlyn Chana reports for WLBZ-TV in Bangor.Contributing: Associated Press

Follow Doug Stanglin on Twitter @dstanglin