We didn't leave the motel at Hunt Valley until noon. We made a stop at the post office so Hap could get some things mailed off. Then we rode to the North Central rail/trail that we had heard about. It wasn't paved but we were hoping that it was packed down enough for us to ride on. We were also hoping that we could ride on the trail long enough to get away from some of the traffic. Hunt Valley is just off of I - 83, north of Baltimore. A very high traffic area. We found the trail and headed north. This trail runs north all the way to the Pennsylvania border. We were thinking that we would get off of it where it connected with the Adventure Cycling route that we have been following up the east coast. But when we got to that point we found it so nice to ride without having to worry about traffic that we just stayed on the trail. The weather was beautiful finally! It was in the 70's and sunny. We ran into lots of cyclists, joggers and walkers. A couple of cyclists rode along with us for awhile. We saw an interesting sight on the trail. There were some very large trees that some industrious eager beavers were busily eating through. See the pictures above. I think I'm very glad that the beavers weren't around. They must have very large teeth! We crossed into Pennsylvania on the trail at the Mason/Dixon Line. When we got to the town of New Freedom we stopped for ice cream and debated on whether we should continue on to Lancaster or find a place to camp. We ended up riding back down the trail about 3 miles to a campground. The campground wasn't on the trail. It was in Freeland, MD. We had to climb a mile and a half up a steep hill to get to it. On the way we passed a large buffalo farm. At the campground they charged us $28 for a site with no water or electric. Somehow that seems so unreasonable. But what can you do? I guess I won't complain about a hot shower and a picnic table! We set up camp, cooked our pasta, salmon and green beans for supper. See picture above. Then watched a movie on the computer. Or should I say Hap watched a movie....I watched the inside of my eyelids.
It was an overcast morning when we left. We rode back to New Freedom for breakfast. Actually it was lunch since it was 11:30A. There's nothing wrong with hamburgers for breakfast is there? We decided to stay on the trail heading towards York, PA. then getting off the trail to Lancaster. We had a flat front tire so Hap went ahead and put a new tire on while changing it. This is the third tire on the front and we are on the sixth rear tire. That's great tire wear for a ride like this. We have been very happy with the tires that Hap picked when we left. When we got off the trail we ran into another cyclist who helped us with directions. Have you ever noticed how easy people make directions seem. We were able to follow the first four turns...it was the last few that caused the problem. We got all turned around. As we were stopped looking at the map (again) a lady pulled up and asked if we needed help. We told her we wanted to get to Rt 462 headed to Lancaster. Here is what she said "well, if you go right you can go to Rt 24 to get something to eat, because you are probably hungry, there's a pizza place down on the corner, and if you need something to drink there's a .......... so do you want to follow me?" We thanked her for the directions and took a chance and followed the sun! We got to another crossroads and another guy in a car stopped. We asked how to get to Rt 462 and he said "go to the T, turn left and it's right there". See we did know where we were! We got on Rt 462 toward Lancaster and found a very nice shoulder to ride on AND lots of cyclists on the road. That's always reassuring. We made one ice cream stop before we got to Lancaster. Riding through Lancaster wasnt' bad at all. Then we had to find our friend Fred's house. We asked a lady where Landis road was. She said go one mile and it's the next road. By the time we got to Fred's house it was starting to get dark. But we made it. It was great to see Fred. We plan to spend a couple of days here and then make our last left turn towards Ohio.
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