Gettysburg (February 5th - February 12th)

This stretch of the trip was the first time that I looked at the upcoming map and made an adjustment. When I planned out my original route, I wasn't zoomed in too far on Google maps, so I tried to make the trip go through some interesting cities, but there will probably be a few times where I'll see an interesting place that I'm going to miss by just a bit, so I'll make adjustments when necessary.

In this case, on February 5th I noticed that the next day of my ride would take me just a few miles north of Gettysburg, PA. I spent the night of the 5th in New Oxford, PA, but on the morning of the 6th, I adjusted my route and headed toward Gettysburg.

As I'm sure everyone knows, Gettysburg has enormous historical importance in the United States. For three days in July of 1863, the Union and Confederate armies fought a battle that most people consider one of the most significant turning points of the Civil War. If the Confederates had won the battle, there is certainly a possibility that they could have won the entire war. Gettysburg is perhaps equally known as the site of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery, just four months after the battle. My favorite fact about the Gettysburg Address is that most people were there to see the speech of Edward Everett, who spoke for two hours. Lincoln spoke for just a few minutes. For those with an interest in American history and language, I highly suggest reading Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America.

Lincoln at Gettysburg

While Gettysburg's historical importance is reason enough to visit, I changed my route mostly because of the personal significance that the place has for me. For those that don't know, I used to teach 8th grade social studies in Queens, NY. The subject matter of 8th grade social studies in New York is United States history from just after the Civil War to the present. Gettysburg probably played as much of a part in inspiring me to become a history teacher as anything else. My interest in the Battle of Gettysburg was first piqued by the movie Gettysburg. I then proceeded to visit the town twice with my dad (one of those with our friends the Daleys as well). To me, Gettysburg is a place that just overwhelms you with the significance and soberness of what happened there. I imagine that one would have a similar feeling in Normandy. While the two previous Gettysburg trips blend together a bit at this point, I think my favorite activity was taking a horseback tour of the the battlefields, which allowed us to see a lot in a fairly short amount of time, but in a way that made it feel like it could actually be 1863. Since I spent February 6th and 7th in town, I made sure to relive the horseback experience thanks to Hickory Hollow Farm.

The next two days found me in Rouzerville and Waynesboro, PA (following the route of Robert E. Lee's retreat from Gettysburg), before crossing the Mason-Dixon line into Maryland. My first three nights in Maryland were spent in Hagerstown, Williamsport, and Clear Spring.

D - Gettysburg, PA
E - Williamsport, MD
F - Clear Spring, MD

Real Life: A layer of ice kept me from riding to work on the 9th, but otherwise it was typical work commutes and some solid weekend rides. February 5th - 12.7 miles, February 6th - 5.2 miles, February 7th - 11.6 miles, February 8th - 19.1 miles, February 9th - 0.2 miles, February 10th - 10.4 miles, February 11th - 10.5 miles, February 12th - 10.4 miles. Total annual mileage: 429.9 miles (1.6 miles ahead of target pace).