Day 26: Westminster, MD to Delta, PA - Two Far 2017 - Florida to the Canadian Maritimes - CycleBlaze

May 23, 2017

Day 26: Westminster, MD to Delta, PA

We had a good ride today even though it was chilly and hilly. We both wore long pants and jackets all day. It was actually better to be so cool when we were climbing the big hills.

The route today was scenic and went through several small towns. Between the towns, we rode past farms and country homes.

Maryland farm
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Silos
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Maryland farm
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Kerry noticed this fence building technique. Did they run out of nails?

Fence mending material
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I thought this was a beautiful old school building.

Old school in Maryland. I don't remember which town.
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We stopped in Hampstead, MD for lunch at Michael's Pizza. The owners Michael and Christine and their daughter Lily made us very welcome and served us a good lunch. (The Rueben was excellent, Stan. I thought about you.)

Christine Michael and Lily
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With about 16 miles to go, we started to have light sprinkles. It's the first rain we've been caught in so far. It was very light, but after about fifteen minutes, we decided to stop and put our rain covers on the panniers. While we were stopped at a convenience store in Jarrettsville, a sheriff's deputy came up. He was concerned about our getting caught in a hard rain and got out his phone to check the radar. He also told us all the places we could find shelter on the way to our destination. We appreciated his efforts and concern. I'm sorry that we didn't get his name, but thank you to the Harford County Sheriff's Department. As it turned out, our rain covers retained their magic powers from last year and we never got another drop of rain.

With 2 miles to go, we reached Pennsylvania and the Mason-Dixon line. Last summer, we crossed the Mason-Dixon line on the GAP trail.

Welcome to Pennsylvania, state # 7
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Mason Dixon Line
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We also saw this marker about the local slate. I guess this is why our motel tonight is called the Peach Bottom Inn. It is a basic, but clean and comfortable older motel with an attached restaurant and bar. The beer and nachos were very good after our chilly, hilly ride!

Peach Bottom Slate
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The Peach Bottom Inn
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Kerry here:Tomorrow's destination is Manheim, PA. Although our planned route is only 45.5 miles, it will have most the elevation gain of the entire trip as well as the steepest grades. Jeanna is pretty fearful about tomorrow, but I have assured her everything will be OK and that she is a strong powerful woman who can do anything.

Today's ride: 50 miles (80 km)
Total: 1,261 miles (2,029 km)

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