Activity: road cycling
Location: Urbana > Middletown > Boonsboro > Gapland > Jefferson > Urbana, MD
Distance: 66.2 miles (hilly)
Duration: 3:42
Weather: cloudy and temperate, 76 degrees
Avg HR: 167 (max 195)
Type: aerobic

PPTC “Antietam Scout” ride. This ride had far more hills than last week’s almost-century: almost 3,400 feet of climbing. Most of the major climbs would be Categorie 3 in the Tour de France, and one would be Categorie 2, in all likelihood. The views were spectacular, and the pace was lively. We met two hikers who were hiking the length of the Appalachian Trail, south to north. They made us all feel like abject wimps. We also rode past Antietam Battlefield and Cemetary, site of the bloodiest battle of the U.S. Civil War. The towns of Middletown and Boonsboro are really picturesque, and I must go back and spend some time there. I fell apart a bit on the third climb of the day, but managed to get my legs back shortly thereafter.