Go West young man!
Recently I got to thinking about a ride to Gettysburg and back next Spring. The route would mainly be Old Gettysburg Road, but I wasn’t sure how to get there. Investigating different maps and Google, I put together a route that looked fairly level and not too heavily traveled.
Overcast with showers predicted. 48F. Set out late morning to find a place on the map called “Deardorff.”
Rode past Pinchot, on through Wellsville, and along some beautiful country roads. Eventually I entered Adams County, which was a first, and got into some sloping hills, but completely manageable. Eventually I came across US 15, but wasn’t sure where Old 15 was. There was an intersection on the eastern side that looked promising, but the road sign was missing. To make sure, I crossed the 4 lane and checked out the roads west – nothing.
Back to the east side. My original plan was to do an out and back, but I knew that traveling on Old Gettysburg Road (15) would take me to Dillsburg, and I was feeling pretty good. I took the mystery road, and soon confirmed that it was Old 15. Not a bad road, but not as level as the earlier trip. There was no berm, but the road was lightly trafficked as well.
I had to cross US15 again and climb a few more hills, but then I started seeing signs for Dillsburg.
‘turned south into a strong headwind and headed home along Old York Road. By then my legs were rubbery, so it was low gears. Around Rossville the rain started and was stinging off my face for the rest of the ride.
Things of note: The trip through Wellsville into Adams County is great: good roads, nice scenery.
Dead things: 5 cats, 1 mouse, countless squirrels, and other very flat things. I figure the squirrels didn’t get the memo about hibernating and the cats are all excited about it.
If I go all the way to Gettysburg, I might just have to camp overnight somewhere. I can just picture a cool spring afternoon with everything turning green.
Distance: 40.3 miles 2009: 1084.9