August 8, 2008 Gettysburg, PA to Clarksburg, MD 50 miles (50)

Our string of UNBELIEVABLE luck continues to hold…yesterday’s storm brought with it a welcomed change in weather. Clear skies, low humidity, moderate temperatures and a tailwind accompanied us all day. The usual for this area this time of year is hot, sticky, almost unbearable weather. It is one reason, even in Abraham Lincoln’s day, that people left Washington, DC for cooler locations.

Our ride traced routes taken by both the Confederate and Union armies as they marched back and forth through this area during the Civil War. Plaques, monuments, memorials, and parks commemorated many events of those troubled days. I was inclined to read them all – but didn’t.

In Taneytown, at mile 12, Doug, Joe and I stopped at a café for breakfast. As usual, our bikes out front signaled others to stop as well. We were soon joined by Bruce, Cliff, Letty, Catie, Rachel, Sam, Janet, Barbara, Rosie, and Tracey. The coffee was excellent, the food was good and the stop gave us a chance to acknowledge the fact that 24 hours from now (or there-a-bouts) we would all be going our separate ways. There was a melancholy mood settling over the group.

Rolling through the beautiful countryside, it was hard to believe that we were less than 100 miles from our nation’s capital. Well maintained horse farms, cornfields, brick and stone homes that had seen history march past enhanced the short day’s ride.

Just outside of Fredrick was the Monocacy Battlefield National Monument which I couldn’t pass up. I turned in; Doug looked and just rode on. The interpretive center was only 14 months old, well designed, and staffed by very helpful and knowledgeable people. The little known battle fought on this site stalled a last ditch effort on the part of the Confederates to attack lightly defended Washington, DC.

The last ten miles into Little Bennett Park had a few hills, to remind us of what we had just come through, traffic, to prepare us for what we will certainly face tomorrow.

Tonight’s camp reminds us of our first night’s stay – wooded, secluded tent sites, minus the roar of trucks passing by.

Most people seem somewhat subdued, almost melancholy, reflecting on the completion of our journey tomorrow. Spirits were brightened a bit by the actions of a “closet pyromaniac” in our group. Patty C.,with help from others, built and tended a huge campfire – the only one of the trip. The bright, dancing flames invited riders to sit around, talk and laugh, lightening the mood of the evening. Thanks Patty!

Noah liked the fire so much that he spent the night outside, sleeping near the fire pit. He said that he was watching the fire but some of us suspect that other factors contributed to his choice of sleeping accommodations. We also heard rumors that an unconventional, socially unacceptable method was employed in a failed attempt to put out the fire…I wonder what it might have been?