Today was a tale of two terrains, and the split occurred right around the Mason Dixon Line as we passed from Pennsylvania into Maryland.
We began our day with our toughest climbs yet. The grade was 10% at times, which basically means: straight-up. Or at least that’s what it felt like. Maddie and I both agree that the easiest way to get through a long climb is to just put your head down and focus on one pedal at a time. And though you may miss out on the beautiful scenery, the good news is that it’s still the same scenery 10 minutes later, because you don’t get very far. I believe we were passing through the Blue Ridge Mountains; whatever it was, the ride was very pretty. Most of the ride was lined with towering trees or a view out over rolling hills. The great part about hills is that what goes up must come down, and we came down really fast; our max speed hit 31mph today. No better way to make up for lost time than to cover a half mile in a minute.
Once we crossed over the border it was pretty smooth sailing. We stumbled across an ice cream shop, Misty Meadow Farm Creamery, and stopped to split 2 delicious scoops of cashew caramel and coffee crunch. There were cows right out back so you knew it was going to be good.
As we passed through the towns in Maryland we could see the rich American history all around us. Plaques detailing the Civil war battles popped up every so often. Much of the architecture was reminiscent of pictures in old history textbooks. We read that soldiers in the war had to march the very same path we took... in the pouring rain! We feel you, soldiers.
We got a chance to bike a small portion of Hagerstown’s historic cultural Trail. It’s a real neat city with cool art and history, probably the most interesting place we hit today.
We completed our journey with 20 miles on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal Trail, which runs along the Potomac River, forming the border of Maryland and West Virginia. The C+O Trail has been our most beautiful segment so far in my opinion; the trail is lined with densely packed trees full of vivid green leaves. Virginia bluebonnets spring up in patches between the trees. I compared it to the color in Monet’s waterlillies, but that may give him too much credit.
We met Greg along the trail, a fellow biker heading in the opposite direction. He’s an old timer, on the brink of retirement to Montana. He had lots of wisdom for us, including recommendations for some nice stopping points in our future.
We have set up camp for the night at Little Pool hiker-biker campsite just outside of Hancock. Maddie successfully boiled water and added it to our premade Chana Masala dinner. It was delicious. We are looking forward to ... EDIT: forgot to finish this sentence on the first go-round. Mrs. Plank suggested sleep, flatter roads, warmer weather, and more ice cream. To that we say, all of the above
-Charlie
Total miles: 296
States crossed: 3
Hills walked: 1
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